Gyu Min’s In-Depth Blog Post #5: The Crunch Time Stretch!

(Disclaimer: The featured image of this blog post is indeed not me but an edited photo with my face. I could OBVIOUSLY stretch my body farther than that.)

See what I did there with the title and photo? The crunch time “stretch” as in extending my skills and putting in the last stretch of my progress, and the crunch time “stretch” as in the physical stretching of my body as I continue to dance! Wow, I am hilarious. All that social distancing has really improved my comedic taste if I do say so myself. But my lack of comedy isn’t what this blog post is about.

Since my last update on my In-Depth project just over two weeks ago, I have had a chance to meet with my mentor, Kailey, research and view more clips of professional hip hop dancing and learn a new “special” move that may prove to be helpful in my final project. Through the video calling platform “Zoom”, Kailey, Indah, and I were able to hold our first online mentoring session that lasted for just over an hour, where we discussed the future of our project and continued to make extreme mileage on our final dance. For our finished product, Indah and I are hoping to film our respective parts of the dance and merge the two videos to look like one smooth routine. Although some of the notable components of a duo routine are not possible through simple video editing, we are hoping to still take advantage of the two of us dancing at the same time to make some interesting moves. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I have continued to research hip-hop dancing and expose myself to the art with the help of 1million dance studio, the YouTube channel that has kept me in check during times of boredness at home. Finally, I am excited to share that my initial side goal of learning some sort of “power move” for my dance has been completed in my spare time. While I was staying quarantined at home, I had the idea of getting my body moving and active by learning a new skill relating to physical activity. Below you will find a video of me successfully doing the “kip-up”.  Simply put, the kip-up is an acrobatic move where a person transitions from a lying position to a squatting/standing position in one swift kicking motion. I was originally aware of this move from its use commonly in breakdancing, martial arts, and old action films that I used to watch, and I was inspired to have my attempt at the move. With countless hours of practice in my small living room over the span of four days and one extremely sore body, I was able to closely perfect the kip-up!

Kip-up video 

1. What kinds of learning opportunities does the mentor provide to expose you to new learning?

To assist me in my learning and progress of my In-depth project, Kailey has provided me with a helpful video guide of our dance (linked below), so that I may be able to practice with the proper movements whenever I want. This exposes me to learning and perfecting my dances through a screen rather than with hands-on practice.

Kailey’s guiding dance video

2. What kinds of learning opportunities exist to reinforce new learning?

Learning opportunities such as online resources exist to reinforce my learning whenever I want. From countless professional hip-hop dancing videos that help me to understand the art in a more critical and creative sense, to a large array of workouts that can push my physical limitations to ensure that I can continue to progress through my dance.

3. What kinds of opportunities exist that might accelerate learning?

When it comes to the acceleration of my learning and progress with the final dance, there is nothing that beats effective practice. Setting aside a couple of hours each week to purely focus on my dancing is the most beneficial way to accelerate my learning. I have recently learned about and studied the Pomodoro Technique, a time management method that I am quite curious about, and I will implement strategies like such to ensure that not only am I working hard but that I am working smart as well.

4. When you get together what do you talk about?

When Kailey, Indah, and I get together for mentoring sessions, we talk about the progress that we have made since our last meeting, any new comments or ideas we would like to share, questions we have about what Kailey said, and a mixture of many casual conversations within it all.

5. What is going particularly well in your mentoring relationship right now?

As Kailey and I had already established a relationship prior to our mentoring sessions, we were already quite comfortable with each other and could treat our learning space with plenty of leeways to crack jokes and mess around every once in a while. Because of our strong chemistry, the transition to online mentoring sessions with Kailey was not a huge step in our project, as the element of communication between the three of us were still just as strong as they were before. I find myself to be relaxed when I’m speaking to Kailey, and we are able to hold conversations as friends just as well as during her mentoring. Although there is a level of professionalism between us, I am grateful to have a close friend also be my mentor.

6. What are you learning about one another?

As I continue to work with Kailey, I am reminded of the hard work, care, and dedication that she has towards my project, sacrificing her own time every week to work with me and Indah, even in hard times like this. I have learned that Kailey is always willing to step up as a leader as much as she is an amazing listener and that she genuinely believes in the skills and mental drive that we have to succeed.

 

As this In-Depth project continues, I am only learning more about dancing, determination, and myself, and I will continue to put my hardest efforts to complete this project with satisfaction.

Categories: Uncategorized

One thought on “Gyu Min’s In-Depth Blog Post #5: The Crunch Time Stretch!

  1. I love your hook for your post! Very catchy and stretchy the truth a bit! Maybe next time you should practise your moves on carpet and not concrete??? Insightful progress report.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *