"Accept The Challenges, So That You May Feel The Exhilaration Of Victory." - General Patton

It's one thing to challenge ourselves because we want to better ourselves, and it is another thing completely to walk into a room, not sure what your getting yourself into, and challenging yourself anyway. Going with the first idea, in a way, you've mentally prepared yourself for the challenge, which means you know that you are going to have some rough moments up ahead of you. However, if you go with the second idea, you may see those rough moments as obstacles that you cannot handle. Sometimes... it is those moments that are in fact extremely defining.

I know you've heard me say it a million times already, but I really am impressed to see how these students here at Dancers Anonymous face challenges that they just simply walk into. Half of the time I know they keep pushing forward simply because they love to dance. What more could I ask for in a group of students? I mean... is that not the same thing we want in every job? Employees that want to be at work, students who want to learn, dancers who love to dance, teachers who ENJOY teaching, and people who just actually want to better themselves in every way. Today was no exception for these great kids! Most of them are used to Hip-Hop... or some form of whatever they learn off music videos these days, but to throw in a more flowing aspect to it, such as contemporary, is like asking them to walk a tight rope. No... it's not impossible, but it sure does feel like it! Especially limiting the class times to only an hour and a half, makes it even harder on them, but I become more and more impressed with them as I watch them take on these styles they've never done before. They always prove to me that they know they have to work hard to get some things, while they may not have to work as hard to learn others.

A student, Eddy Rodriguez, mentioned that he would enjoy teaching a class to our instructor Josh Bernal. Josh swore to me that I would be impressed and that I could trust Eddy to have amazing choreography and do a great job teaching. He was right! Eddy taught a really great class and I was so impressed with his choreography! There were moments when he was on one side of the room and I was on the other we all would have just learned a new move and I would be telling the students how much I loved that particular move. What's funny is that I'm pretty sure I mentioned loving a particular move about twenty times! It was definitely a challenge for me as well, but one that blessed me in a great way! Not only was I blessed because these students were working their butts off trying to get the choreography down, but also because I was challenging myself and also (as General George S. Patton said himself) feeling the exhilaration of victory. Sure... most of us messed up quite a bit but we had a great time and we pushed ourselves to do something new, and ended up having a great time. (Even if they were WAY too quiet for my liking for most of the class) Ha!

Courtney

I only got to know Eddy through our instructor Josh Bernal. He's been to quite a few of our classes, and seems to have enjoyed himself. His style is really great and his personality is easy to get along with. I wish he had taught sooner, because I really enjoyed his class. Hopefully even after he moves, he will return back for a class or two :)
"Well I first started dancing the way most other small town kids start; in their room, emulating what they saw on tv. My favorite style by far is hip hop, naturally, and pop, but I also like the movements and stories that contemporary can tell, so I always try to merge the two if I ever have to choreograph a piece. I would just like to see myself continue to use dance as an outlet to vent my feelings, emotions, thoughts, ideas etc. The way I have always done it. I've never sought notoriety for what I can do or compared myself and my 'skills' (for lack of a better term lol) to other dancers, nor do I think I will ever. To me, dance has always been one of the friends I can go to, if I need to set myself right by venting to them." -Eddy

It Was Smooth. Like Cherry Dr. Pepper.

One thing I did not know, even with the extent of my love of Hip-Hop, was how many different forms there could possibly be. Not really sure what my style of Hip-Hop would be called, but we've had some girly hip hop, gangsta hip hop, and Thursday, we got to experience a real treat, and it was smooth hip hop, taught by our very own Julian Rodriguez. To get a better understanding of what smooth hip hop is or looks like, imagine if you will, Justin Timberlake and the way he dances in his music videos, and there you have it!! Smooth Hip-Hop!

I am by no means very good at being smooth... I mean... I'm not a boy... only boys are supposed to be smooth when it comes to these kinds of things. Lucky for me I had a good teacher, and while I still may not be very smooth, I think the whole class started to feel a little more suave by the end of class! Julian has a style ALL his own and he makes dancing smooth look really amazing! So amazing that as a girl, you can't help but smile. It's like being 12 all over again and at the concert of your favorite boy band. It's hard not to get giddy! HA! The students obviously had a great time and we are all looking forward to Julian's next class! He has a great personality, great dance style, and he is turning out to be a wonderful teacher. But then again... I had no doubts! :)

Julian has been dancing for almost four years now and he enjoys every second of it. In fact... it's hard to even have a conversation with the boy without him movin around or trying new ways to "Tut" with his hands. :) Which is quite entertaining! What's funny, is that Julian did not even begin to dance because he had a passion for it. He actually started doing it simply because he wanted to see how it was to dance! It was only then that he realized he was a journey he would never want to end! "I love dance because of the fact that you're able to just let loose, let your emotions out, and just have fun with it!" Julian see's himself hopefully traveling with his dance career and possibly touring. If he can't do that, he knows he wants to be teaching in a studio somewhere... ( Hopefully with me ;) ). "Dance has made me who I am. Without it, I wouldn't be who I am today!"

I'm glad Julian just simply decided to try dancing. He's great at it, and he's so much fun to watch! We all look forward to what Julian has in store for DA this summer and for his own future!

Courtney

We're Used To Hearing Words. Now We Have To Hear Beats Too?

There is no doubt in my mind that the students that come through Dancers Anonymous are amazing. They take every routine we give them, big or small, easy or intricate, and they do their best to stay above the game and make the routine their own. It's something that I have begun to take pride in when it comes to these students and these classes as a whole. By no means are they trying to be the best dancer on the floor. They just go out there to have fun, which in the end, if you ask me, makes them look like a ten times better dancer.

Tuesday's class was a lot of fun! Amber came back to teach the students a Laura Edwards routine that has movements that go more to the beats and clicks in the background more than the words of the song. This is something new for a lot of the students that are dancing with us this year because, for example, in one of the classes I taught, the words were "wear my hat low like you", and there were specific movements to each word. Now, for Amber's class, the students really had to rely on their ability to hear certain sounds behind the words in order to know where each of these movements should go. This is not unusual, especially with a choreographer like Laura Edwards. When I took classes from her in Dallas, she did a dance to one of my FAVORITE songs and there was a move that she was doing that I did not really understand where she was putting it in the song. So when I asked where it was, she turned on the song and did the move to a sound in the background that I've never even HEARD the whole time I've been listening to this song. It's what makes her a great choreographer, and it's what makes her a unique choreographer.

The students however did a great job! They mastered this dance in their own way and it ended up being a really great learning experience for them! As teachers that is our job right? To teach them something new and useful? Now, they can go out of this class with confidence that if another routine like this comes up where the moves are not to the words but to the beats, they will be able to handle it with ease! These kids are amazing and continue to amaze me!

Stay tuned for a recap of Thursday's class, where you'll be introduced to a new teacher! :)

Courtney

If One Of Us Struggles... We All Struggle Together.

It's amazing what being a part of a team can do to a group of people. The bonds that are created just by being a part of that team, may be stronger than most bonds formed today. Even after I left the dance team in high school and moved away, the students that continued to come in, I concidered them family. When Dancers Anonymous started up I was not sure what to expect in terms of what bonds would be made, but I have been pleasantly surprised that it does not matter whether the whole class are kids from the high school or it's a mix of high school and college kids I've barely met. We dance, so that makes us family.

I forgot to mention in my last post that the Lady Gaga class that was held on Tuesday was an important class for our kids. When my dance family found out about my mom's breast cancer, they surrounded me with love, support, hope, and best of all... pink! :) Well, we recently found out that one of our other dance family members has recieved some bad news as well. Her dad has been diagnosed with Lupus in his kidneys which is not a good thing at all. So as a request she asked that her friends and family wear purple on the 14th of every month (14 is her dad's favorite number) to help show their support. I was excited to see that one of our classes was on the 14th so all the kids once again surrounded one of their own with love, support, hope, and this time... purple! What a great blessing to know that it does not matter who we are, who our family is, or what style dance is our favorite, but we can all still get together and support one another in some of the hardest times we have ever had to go through. (So if you watch the video posted in the last blog, you'll see a lot of people wearing purple).

I am fortunate enough to have this job this summer that allows me to not only be surrounded by my friends, but those that I concider my dance family, especially as I begin this struggle with my moms chemo treatments. At the beginning of the summer, I had no idea what I wanted to do when this particular Thursday class came along, but I soon began to realize that my pain and my struggle with watching my mom battle chemo was starting to become a lot harder than I thought it would be. So I began to choreograph to a song by Coldplay called Fix You. After all, all I want to do is fix my mother and make it so she does not have to suffer through these treatments. It seemed perfect. So it was then that I began my journey choreographing how I was feeling, and allowing myself to be completely vulnerable to the song, to me, and to how I felt towards chemo.

When Thursday's class arrived none of the students knew what I had in store for them, but yet they came with their prop in hand. (I'll get to the prop in a second). I told them of the story of my piece and they embraced it whole heartedly. They allowed themselves to be vulnerable with me, and therefore they struggled with me. I have not always viewed myself as the best lyrical dancer, but I do like to choreograph them sometimes when a story hits me, so I knew when people who were actually good at doing the style did my piece, it would be everything it was meant to be. After we finished the piece, it was time to film in groups and add the finishing touch... the prop. I asked them to bring scarves to class, and after they learned the choreography, they used the scarves to wrap their heads like chemo patients often do when they begin to loose their hair. We have just recently started wrapping moms head, so it made the piece even more meaningful for me. Cancer affects so many people these days that it's hard not to be close to the subject in one way or another. Whether my kids have had to deal with a loved one sick from chemo and cancer or not, I would have never been able to tell, because as soon as those scarves were wrapped around their heads, the room changed, the mood changed, and people began to feel deeper about the piece they'd just learned.

There were tears shed, and thank God not only by me. A few students hugged me and cried while they told me thank you for doing the piece and who it reminded them of. Many students simply hugged me to thank me and support me. And one student, Jonathan Martin, told me words that I will never forget because they meant so much to me. "Thank you for teaching this. My mother would have loved it." My automatic response was that he should show her, but then I rememberd him mentioning to me that he had lost his mom to cancer. I felt even more blessed that he joined my class that day. As dancers there will always be a competition of some sort, but when there are moments that mean this much, pieces of work that mean this much, and people that mean this much... we will always bond instead of compete. Thank you to everyone who came to class. Thank you for not only helping me through my struggle, but going through my struggle with me.

Courtney

We're Dancers. Not Perfectionists.

It's interesting how rude some people are on the internet. People are hidden behind their computer screen, so automatically they feel they can be hateful to other people, and say things they would never say to that person in real life. Unfortunately that is the type of week my YouTube account has been having, and I've gotten some pretty hateful comments on my dance videos. It makes me wonder if people really don't like the dancing, or maybe they just feel the need to be angry at people for no reason. Either way, I've tried to just brush it off and keep posting stuff! :)

So with that side note, I realize that while others may feel the need to be disrespectful for no reason, we really are our own worst critics. Needless to say, Dancers Anonymous had a few bumps in the road during class yesterday. Our instructor, Josh Bernal, had a great piece of choreography and the whole class had so much fun learning it! It was obvious Josh was having a great time, and depending on what type of mood the teacher is in while teaching, usually plays into how the students feel about the class! If you were there, you would have realized how much fun everyone was having. The routine was pretty challenging and it was definitely fast, but the students once again stepped up to the challenge and handled the routine with swag! (For those of you reading that are not up on your dancer/hip hop lingo, Swag has to do with appearance, style, and the way he/she presents themselves). So bascially everyone was making this routine their own and it looked amazing!

Towards the end of class we were all so sweaty and tired that we all started to forget the routine. It's a natural thing when you've been dancing full out and have really put your all into a routine. But unfortunately, as dancers, we strive for perfection, and when we don't deliver, we (like I said before) become our own worst critics. It happed for a few people yesterday, but none the less the out look about the routine and the class was so positive and fun! Everyone knew it was because they were tired, and by the end of class most people just chalked it up to another day in the life of being a dancer. We make mistakes, and sometimes the worst mistakes, teach us not only about ourselves, but they also teach us to be humble.

Josh Bernal who also goes by "J-Bot" is an amazing teacher and choreographer who has been dancing for five years. Josh only began seeking out his love of dance when the Las Cruces High School Performing Dance Team came to his middle school to recruit. Ever since then, he has done everything he can to be the best dancer he can possibly. His passion for dance is extremely obvious when you watch him, and when you have a conversation with him. It's pretty much the only thing that is on his mind 24/7, and that's why he makes such a great teacher. He strives to pass down his love of dance to all his students, which is one of the main reasons I wanted him to work for Dancers Anonymous. "I have so many friends and loved ones because of that choice that I feel something now. Something I didn’t feel when I was alone back in elementary and middle school. I feel true happiness. I love Dance. I love the doors it has opened for me and I love the people it has brought into my life. I love how I can feel the music course through me and make sound and lyrics come alive. Dance is my passion and it is that passion that saved me from myself those many years ago. Though I have come along way in dance there is still many challenges ahead of me; Challenges that require me to push myself to be a better dancer and be a better person. But I face those challenges with a smile because I have found what I want to do for the rest of my life and I couldn’t ask for better best friends to walk that path with me." 

The Dance Moves May Be Fast, But We Make It Look Easy.

There will always be classes, instructors, and dance moves that will challenge us as dancers. The same goes for life does it not? There will always be jobs, tests, and expectations to live up to and they will challenge us. But if we do not try, how can we succeed?

Thursday's dance class was awesome! Our instructor, Amber Arnold (who I will introduce soon), taught a Jaz Meakin routine that definitely challenged the students and our instructors! "The moves are easy....." Amber started to tell me, and then she smiled, "It's just freakin FAST!" She couldn't be more right... the dance moves were not over challenging (although I beg to differ, because making it down to the floor at the ripe age of 22 was already not workin for me) but the tempo to "Not Myself Tonight" by Christina Aguilera made the dance a lot harder and more exhausting. None the less, the students stepped up to the challenge. While they were unsure whether they could handle that challenge or not, they did it anyway, and they rocked it!

Many of our students have facebook and when scrolling through their status's the next day, many of them were sore but were so thankful for such a great workout. I was sweating like crazy and I wasn't even dancing half as hard as these kids were! Amber on the other hand was working her butt off not only teaching, but dancing as well. She is definitely one of those students and instructors that goes full out every single time she dances, and that dedication is what got her to where she is today. The students definitely tried to follow suit and tried to keep up with her non-stop energy, and most of them succeeded. It was such a proud moment as I watched these students realize, that not ALL choreography is easy, but it's worth it to have so much fun.

Amber has been dancing for 13 years, and enjoys trying any style that she can get her hands on. She feels most at home doing Hip-Hop and the style suits her well. Amber enjoys dancing because it's her escape. "I feel what I have to say is, more times than not, better expressed through dancing" and it shows in her awesome technique. She sure has a great passion and it's obvious that she loves dancing when you watch her. We're looking forward to all of the great dances she has in store for this summers program!

They Are More Than Just Dance Steps... They Are A Story.

My students, my teachers, and myself.... we come with a lot of baggage. I have many students who struggle with their home lives, students who have wanted to drop out of high school, and teachers whose parents don't believe in their childs dreams. All of these things make people question themselves... make them wonder what it will take to simply make things better, or what they have to do to prove themselves to the world. Sometimes we all just want a place where we can drop off our baggage and be left alone.

In a strange way, I like to think that Dancers Anonymous is allowing my teachers and my students a way to leave their baggage behind and be left alone. Except... they aren't left alone because they are suddenly surrounded by other people who understand what they are feeling. Dancers Anonymous is an escape from the many troubles the world brings to our doorstep, even if classes only are an hour and a half.

There are many beautiful things in life. God has given us sunrises and sunsets to marvel at their colors. The babies that are born each day fill us with joy as they giggle at the simplest of things. Snow during the winter is beautiful especially when it blankets a desert for the first time in years. But the one thing I find most beautiful is the story told during a dance. As I watch my teachers dance, I understand why I asked them to do this with me in the first place; their passion is just as great as mine, if not greater. When I watch my students, whether they've been dancing for years or are barely beginning, it's as if the weight of their world has been lifted and they are finally free to simply be themselves. There is a sunrise and a sunset in each dancer. There is an inner child in each of us that comes out unafraid.

Yesterday was on of those days at Dancers Anonymous. A day when the students and teachers were not afraid of what anyone else thought, but they allowed their inner childs, their sunrises and sunsets to come out and be captured for what they really are.

Angry. Frustrated. Hurting. Tired. Broken. Silly.

Beautiful.

I have the best job in the world and if I already see what Dancers Anonymous has the potential of doing and there have only been two classes..... then we've got to be doing something right.

Until next time... tell a story... everywhere you go.

Courtney

If You're Gonna Do It, Might As Well Do It Big!

I was like a young child on Christmas morning yesterday. I'm sure many of you know the feeling I'm talking about. Back when Christmas was the most magical day, presents appeared out of nowhere, and that morning, you couldn't wait to run to the living room and tear open all of the wrapping paper. Sometimes I believe that the tearing apart the paper is the best part.

Yesterday, was like the unwrapping of a great gift. While it seemed that 4 o' clock would never come around, when it finally did, my greatest dream came true. Dancers started lining up for the very first official Dancers Anonymous class, and I thought I would cry. Dancers were excited not only for class, but to see each other. Dance means a lot more to these students than just an activity to keep them busy, and what a beautiful sight it was to see a group of kids bonding over an activity that many of them call their life.

I taught a Hip Hop routine to Jay Sean's "Hit The Lights" to around 38 students. Some have been dancing all their lives, some just started recently, and some haven't danced since leaving high school, but either way, the energy that they fed me made for an absolutely amazing and inspirational class. Being a teacher is about more than just passing down your knowledge of something, but it is also about what you feel towards your students and what they feel towards you. Let me be the first to say that I would not love my job as much as I do if it were not for my students! I feed off of their energy, their laughter, their facial expressions while they dance, their attitude that fuels their movement, and most of all the passion that radiates from every inch of their bodies. Dance would not be worth it if we did not love it!

The video below is just a small group that joined us yesterday because I was having so much fun I forgot to record the whole group! None the less, this video will give you a little taste of the fun we had! I can't wait to see what these classes bring this summer, and more importantly I can't wait to watch these students grow not only in their friendships with each other, but also with their passion and style of dance. We have a big summer up ahead of us, and we are all ready to face the challenge. Thank you to any of you reading this, for coming to class, supporting this dream, or just simply being a part of our journey through this blog! None of this would be possible if it were not for all of you wanting to be a part of it!

Stay tuned for a recap of next weeks classes!

Courtney