This past week has been CRAZY. I had the chance to meet two of my biggest dance inspirations and I've just been riding on the high of being in the presence of my idols. They say that you should never meet your idols because you'll be disappointed. I get it, when your heroes are distant and seem unattainable, they maintain their untouched, perfect status. But with such high hopes, if you do see them in person, you may be disappointed to find that they're human just like you and me and have their own flaws. I heard this a long time ago and I completely understand the logic. But upon meeting my idols, I was not disappointed, but rather blown away by just how real and genuine they were.
I'm honestly still in a bit of shock that I was able to meet Dylan Mayoral. He's an urban choreography dancer from London, England and the fact that I got to learn from him last week still seems unreal. He's been my favorite dancer for a while now and I watch all his
videos, amazed at his strength, flexibility, and creativity. I admit it, I'm a bit of a fangirl but who wouldn't be?? Such incredible dance ability seems humanely impossible yet here he is surpassing my expectations time and time again. When he taught, he wasn't simply teaching movement, but intention and awareness. As dancers, we tend to forget that dancing is more than just moving our bodies from point A to point, but rather about the emotions and meaning behind each move. In a sense, you don't dance to the music but with the music, riding the rhythm, never anticipating the next sound (AKA, being in the pocket). This is pretty hard to do but just being able to see him execute the choreography so patiently and fully was enough to push me to work harder. Meeting and learning from him was definitely a blessing and it's great to know that he's not only an amazing dancer, but also a humble, dorky, hardworking individual who truly loves his craft. He's normally never in the states, let alone teaching such a private class, so I'm thankful that I was in the right place at the right time and got to learn from my favorite dancer.
And following Dylan Mayoral, I was given the opportunity to learn from Mari Madrid this week. Mari Madrid is basically a household name in the dance community. She's such a
powerhouse and Of all my years of dancing, I've never been able to take a class from her because each time a chance came up, I wasn't available. And on top of that, Keone and Mari have been busy with teaching internationally, World of Dance, and other jobs so there haven't been as many local learning opportunities. But last night, I was able to spend a couple hours learning from one of the most influential urban choreography dancers of my generation. It was truly magical to learn not only choreography, but also learn about how dance as changed her life and what motivates her to keep doing what she loves. Her message through dance is so inspirational and really demonstrates that movement can be a language in and of itself and can be used as a means to communicate with others. Movement that moves. Granted the choreography was a bit complicated, but I was just so happy doing that piece that I couldn't help but smile the entire time.
So meeting your idols and heroes doesn't have to be a scary things. I can definitely say that I'm even more inspired by these two individuals. Their genuine love for dance and knowledge gained through experience is unparalleled and I'm going to push forward with my own goals, keeping their lessons in mind. Your heroes may seem like distant and unattainable stars, but at the end of the day, they're people just like you and me.
Take it easy~
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