For my In-Depth project this year, I will be learning how to Hip-Hop dance. My goal for the end of this project is to perform a 90-second hip-hop dance routine. I want to learn certain strategies and techniques require to train my body and become a successful dancer.
Dance has always been something I’m interested in. I love expressing myself through movements and creative interpretation, and moving my body in sync with musical beats is something I find very stress-relieving and fun. However, I’ve never had the time or motivation to take dance classes. Being part of Musical Theatre means I get to learn and practice singing, acting, and dancing, but learning the hip-hop on its own requires a whole other dedication.
Thankfully, I will be able to be coached one-on-one with my mentor, Kailey Huang. Kailey has been practicing dance for 10 years and is the dance captain in Gleneagle’s Musical Theatre program. She takes frequent dance classes and knows a lot about the art of hip-hop dancing. Our first meeting took place in the Gleneagle MPR stage from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm. Gyu min and I met with Kailey and asked her questions about hip-hop dance and what she could teach us to improve, and we captured it on video to use as a reference. She started by stating that hip-hop was different than other dances like Ballet and Tap because it is less about skill and more about interpretation and practice. We were told that she wouldn’t be able to teach us too much about the dance itself, but more about skills we would need to warm up for the type of dance we would be doing. She would also be teaching us some basic moves and techniques that hip-hop dances typically use, different styles that fall under the umbrella of hip-hop, and what to look for when creating a dance. She also gave us a few tips to start with, such as hip-hop dances usually use moves to hit the background beats that are off of the main rhythm, to emphasize the smaller parts and bring them out in the sound. After our interview, Kailey said we can start preparing by looking up short hip-hop dance routines and observing what beats they hit their moves on and also to start thinking about what song we would like our final dance to be with. Next week we will begin to learn some warm-ups and small snippets of dance routines for practice.
Some videos I watched for research:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLsqawB5vQs&list=LLcTJVcXxYTXlq4_P7Rl0kWw&index=7&t=0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9bo9KQROLg&list=LLcTJVcXxYTXlq4_P7Rl0kWw&index=8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC7iMA2CoQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6hSLZkI7GY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkhK2XJLJis
Wow! Incredible.
I really liked the dance and how you were very choreographed with Gyu Min. Did you enjoy dancing, and will you keep dancing for fun?
Hey Justin! I really enjoyed dancing and I’ll definitely keep doing it in the future for fun. I’d highly recommend learning a little online to fill some time in quarantine!