Dancin, it's in all of us, you just have to give your body a moment of freedom

21st December 2009

Probably the last day i'll be using for myself, only woke up in the afternoon though. Home there was just myself and my third elder brother, Boon Liang, but he's quite a pig; sleeps until late in the evening. Haven't been practice dancing enough recently so i think i spent 3 or 4 hours just practising and freestyling. Managed to enjoy myself with just randomly dancing, just makes me feel free from responsibility and those stressful times.

Hah, i can't really remember the time when i first got interested before eventually self taught myself popping; since i was a child, i'd probably just randomly dance when i watched people dancing in MVs, in my mind, it maybe was i wanted to just have fun with music by moving my body to the rhythm. From Michael Jackson to Backstreet Boys to random classical, rap and hip hop music, i mimicked them all, which probably explains i like a variety of genres from jazz to techno.

Until around Standard 6, one particular move caught my attention for the rest of my life onwards was strangely though, a video that showed the arm-waving move made me really wanted to know how it was done. As silly as it is true though, i took the next 3 or 4 years just learning that and probably, just the right arm, with no instructions from anywhere what so ever. Till the time i finally started to browse the internet, i think my made my right arm all looked liquid-like when i do the move, which literally, took 3 or 4 years. At that time i didn't know the move was from a larger categorized dance type called 'Popping' and it's sub-categorized in "Animation". Later, because i followed a random tutorial downloaded from the internet, i was learning breakdance too as the video contained both of popping and break dancing, but after a few attempts, breaking wasn't really cut out for me.

It's only then in Form 5 i realized what i have been doing for the past 4 years was actually just one part of the dance called popping from one of my friends. Hence with the power of internet and youtube, you don't know how excited and motivated i was when i saw these 'popping' videos; people were 'hitting', doing 'robots', doing all kinds of illusion with their body that will blow your mind. After that time, i think i used the PJPK classes for practicing, with a bunch of others too but they were self practising break dancing.

Nobody was really interested in popping i guess, the name's not well known but the moves were famous all around the world. I think break dancing probably over-shadowed this kind of dancing, people are more interested and more attracted to moves like head spins and windmills that people will be more familiar with. But as time passes, the one's which practised breaking, same people that motivated me, their convictions dwindling one by one until i'm the only one left still held his ground. I practice on my own, either at home or at break times during school, yes, since i don't go for lunch at school, i used those small remaining times on practice, on a side note it's also because i'm shy. And of course, my family at first, did not like the fact i'm wasting my time on this when i can't really improve much by myself and don't have the spare time to go for classes. Was i angry? Of course, but i still practiced every now and then.

SPM, i probably stopped for 4 months before it began, it was hard to go back on practising later, somehow it probably weakened my will and conviction. Life was dull without dancing, other than dancing, i can't really find excitement from other activities that can feel up the void. Until one day, i stepped into the world of internet again and again, motivated myself to try one last time. Ever since then, i've been practicing two or three times a month, 30 minutes to 3 hours a day, with small practices during classes, hang outs, trips, any given opportunity to just practice, practice and practice some more.

Other than guitar playing, drawing, filming, singing, writing and all the other activities; i think dancing could be the one and only hobby that will stay with me forever, it's just literally part of who i am and through dancing, i express a part of myself through music. To show that compassion for it, whether it's going to be good or bad, i've decided to perform for the next year's prom, with help from Junior of course. Even though he's a B-Boy, if i have never met him, i probably wouldn't continue to practice popping as much as i can. I thank him for supporting me and giving me hope in what we both like to do.