Since right after the first class had ended I was extremely excited for the second class, and L felt the same way. That first class was her first dance class EVER, and she really had fun and enjoyed herself, which I was really happy to see.
(picture of studio from street)
The second night we learned the beginning up to where we started the first week, up to 0:36. This was the part I thought I would have trouble with (aside from the floor part, but I'll cover that in the next post). At first glance I thought the beginning would be hard to learn because of all the little movements. They were simple but fast, and it was sometimes hard to catch little things. But when everything was broken down in class, I saw it really wasn't hard at all and it was really fun. There was one part, from 0:29 to 0:33, where I was having some trouble. For some reason I kept messing up and it wouldn't click. I knew I would definitely have to practice this once I got home.
L and I left class in a lot of pain once again. I didn't practice until the following Wednesday. I finally got up and took a walk around the development for about 30 minutes then I came home to practice. I started out in the living room but my bouncing around knocked stuff over (whoops...sorry dad). So after I fixed everything I headed to the basement where I have a small piece of floor to work with. I danced for probably over an hour. I was having way too much fun.
While I was practicing I did notice a slight error we learned in class. During 0:29 to 0:31 after the little leg twist, the boys quickly cross their legs while raising up their left arm, then they step out with their right leg when they put their hand on their...crotches (that's right I said it). When I was practicing with the video, I remember thinking that I didn't remember doing the quick leg-ball-change-cross. When I got to the third class I realized why: we stepped out right away with the right leg instead of crossing first. Now, I'm such a perfectionist, so this slight difference really bothered me. On my own practice time I did the cross, but in class I wouldn't do it.
I was only able to practice that one day, because Thursday I woke up with a sore shoulder and a sore neck, and the sore turned into a strain when I moved the wrong way. I could barely move until later that afternoon, and I spent all night and the next day trying to keep the pain away. I couldn't believe I hurt myself that badly, and I was just hoping it wouldn't hurt in class and that I wouldn't strain it again.
So I'm going to stop with the lame titles because I'm not creative, and I'll post screencaps from the video later because right now I don't feel like doing it (don't kill me).
The first night we learned the first bridge and right up to the end of the first chorus, from 0:37 to 1:03. The chorus is so much fun. The little floor part was a little tricky at first because I felt like I was just switching legs instead of swinging them around, but after a while I started to get it. Everything on the "eureurong" parts is really fun. I especially like the parts from 1:01 to 1:03. It took several run-throughs, but by the end of the hour I felt pretty good about knowing what we had learned.
Once class was over, though, L and I were in so much pain. My shoulders and thigh muscles hurt so bad, and they took days to heal. I'm really out of shape.
And then I was bad all week and didn't practice. But I had a lot to worry about! I took the NCLEX the following Wednesday and I had to make sure I was prepared. I also still needed to figure out where to practice, as my dad's house has some room but a lot of breakables. I did review it in my head constantly and reviewed the video several times. I know it's important to physically practice it, but I at least remembered what to do and when. I was also resting up my muscles for the next week. Now let me take a minute to talk about the experience itself, because that was probably more exciting for me than the dance. L and I took the train into NYC and then hurried off to the studio. Luckily it's only a few streets and an avenue away from Penn Station, otherwise we probably wouldn't have been there. We get to the door and had to buzz in, then we walked up stairs, walked down a short hall to another set of stairs, then probably went up 2 or 3 more flights until we got to a door. We went inside and came to a small open area with a desk, couches, several doors to different studios, and another set of stairs. We signed in then went upstairs where there were many other studios and more couches, and waited outside of Studio 10. The whole area had a kind of loft appearance, and I really liked it a lot. Inside the studio there were big windows on the wall opposite side from the door. You could see inside them from the street, and I just thought that was so awesome. As we were dancing, I couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride and achievement. I was dancing in NYC. Okay, sure, it wasn't a prestigious ballet company. It was just a KPOP class purely for fun. But I was dancing in a studio in NYC, where many other dance companies practice. It's something I never thought I'd ever do, whatever the style of dance. I just thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the atmosphere, and enjoying the dance made it even better.
Wow September has flown by. I passed the NCLEX and I learned a new dance! So obviously I don't have my review yet for EXO's "Growl." I'm still trying to figure out what exactly to put in the reviews.
*Sigh* I keep saying I want to make this blog into something good, and I've been wanting to do it for a while, but I never update. That's not going to get me anywhere.
I had an amazing time at I Love Dance in NYC, and once I get a job (which should hopefully be soon) I hope to return to learn more dances. I definitely do well in a class setting with someone teaching me the moves. I remembered the moves from week to week and I still remember them. I am also in the process of locating local dance studios that will take adults. My friend is taking classes at her college, and I almost signed up until I found you have to be associated with the school in order to go :( I know of one other studio that one of my old teachers now teaches at. I don't think it's all that close, but they teach adult classes so I will keep them in mind. I definitely want to take jazz classes again, and I really want to try ballet again. I haven't done ballet since I was 6, but watching Dance Academy last year gave me a new, greater appreciation for it and I want to try my hand at it again. I may also try lyrical and hip hop. Lyrical looks very pretty, and I usually picture lyrical dances in my head when I listen to music. I also want to feel more comfortable dancing hip hop, and I've been gaining a new appreciation for it as well.
Since I don't want to make a really long post, I will write about each class in four separate posts.
