Chocolate Love: Day 2

(I did say I was done with trying to be creative with my titles)

I was off from work today so I got to dance some more. I decided to just spend today's session practicing what I learned yesterday. I definitely felt more comfortable and less awkward than I did yesterday. I mean, it is a bit awkward swinging your hips from side to side as you slowly walk backwards while making fists with your hands and moving them up and down next to your head.

 

I mean really

 

 

But like I said, I did feel better about it today. After about 20 minutes, though, I was starting to get messed up. I would move my hips the wrong way again and I would turn my fists the wrong way or get confused as to which way they were supposed to face. That does happen sometimes. I would be doing well for a while and then all of a sudden I'd start messing up. But after a few tries I was back to doing everything correctly.

 

I can't remember if this happened yesterday (or really how often it happened because I know it did happen), but I noticed myself losing my balance quite a bit. It mostly happened during various parts of the bridge. Ever since I stopped dancing at my studio when I was 16, I lose my balance easily. It really sucks when you're a dancer because dance relies on balance. I just try to ignore it most of the time, but it usually catches me off guard and then I end up embarrassingly stumbling. I really need to work on that.

 

Aside from mini mistakes and slight loss of equilibrium, I had fun dancing today. I really feel like I'm getting the bridge and the chorus, and I'm thinking that next time I dance I should be able to move on. It all depends. Maybe not next time since I don't think I can dance again until Saturday, and I'll want to make sure I'll still remember what I've done so far.

 

Because of the holidays, work is going to start getting crazy, so I may be dancing less, but I'll try to squeeze in more time!

I Call It Chocolate Love

I call, I call it Chocolate Love~
Yup, I'll be learning this dance next.


I've gotten so slack with this omg. I'm going to try harder to update more.

So it’s about high time I finally choose another dance to learn. I haven’t done anything since the Growl classes ended, but I’ve really been feeling like dancing lately. Funny how I was unsure if I really wanted to put Chocolate Love on my list, and now I'm really excited to try it. It did take a little while for me to like it. I didn't like the song or the dance very much when I first saw it, but several months ago I decided to give it another try. Again, I didn't really care for it, but I was liking the dance more, so I decided to just put it on the list. It’s now been in my head ever since I randomly selected it over the weekend. It has a slower, sexier feel to it, and I guess it’s better to start off with this one. Like I said, I haven’t done anything since September, so it probably wouldn’t be good to do something fast, difficult, and high energy. I think this is the perfect dance for me right now.

I've been watching the practice video nonstop for the past few days, and today I finally had the house to myself, so I started learning it. Instead of learning a new section of the dance each day, I’m going to learn a new section every week, (or at least try to) as if I was taking a class. So tomorrow and every day I get the chance I will be going over what I did until next Tuesday, and then I will learn the next part. I feel like this worked with the Growl class to help me remember (as well as having an excellent teacher; I really do better in an instructional setting), so I’m going to try it on my own.

I focused on the bridge into the chorus, from 0:33 to 1:05. The chorus was probably the first thing I picked up from watching it over and over, so it was really easy to do. The part where they take small steps backwards while bringing their hands up and down by their faces was a little confusing at first. I had started to try it the other day and I kept moving my hips in the wrong direction. But since I had the space to practice I was able to actually move backwards, so it was easier to do and my hips were moving in the right direction.

The second half of the bridge is really easy, just small steps from side to side while fan-opening and closing your hand over your head. The first part is a little trickier, just a lot of quick, sharp movements that can get your head spinning at first. It took a lot of repetition and watching that part on the video over and over until I got it. What works with difficult parts is to split the arms and feet. I first practiced all the hand and arm movements separate from the feet then vice versa. Of course at first when you put them all together you might get a bit tripped up, like I did, because now you have to remember two things at once, but you’ll find you’ll get it quickly. After the first try with the hands and feet together it was smooth sailing.

After practicing for almost an hour, I decided to run through Growl one time because I haven’t practiced it since the last day of class. Oh my gosh I forgot a lot more than I thought I did. I knew I’d have trouble with the second bridge and the part during the rap leading into the slower section, but I wound up messing up in just the first verse! That was embarrassing. I had to turn around and try it with my back to my laptop. I think I was distracted by anticipating messing up and wanting to watch the boys dance. I’m afraid to do all the other dances I know now >< I haven’t practiced in months!

I’m going to try to be better at updating. My accounts of the last two Growl classes at I Love Dance will be up soon.