know your street dance.

a blog about street dance.

[knowyourdance-blog]

my cads story

hey guys!

siguro long overdue, but i wanna thank yall for voting for me as performer of the decade last cast party. =))

if ever i had an acceptance speech. this would be it. its preety long, but i wanna share my story and perhaps some of yall could get something from it.

preety long, but yall are on break naman =)

--

first up, whenever people would ask me when i started dancing, i would say these...

grade 4. madison avenue - dont call me baby.

usher - u remind me.

  but i really started 8 years ago, when i went into CADS. =) how?

1. it was in cads that i started to know who i am. before that, i would just rely on myself and how i felt. not even the mirror. and some friends who liked what i was doing.

and then i entered college and met Jazz Zamora, Reflex Gotangco and ito na, Timothy Nolan. BOOM!

These were my batchmates.

and who was i back then, i could say, ako si feeling close, kapal ng mukha, super confident, all heart, krumper dude, bat-man chasing timmy dick tracy dance head that somebody wouldnt listen to =))

back in the day, we had what we called the newbie dance. this was your RIB. you have your own newbie dance, and you get to dance with the upperclassmen too. my dances were Dick Tracy and Sin City. That concert was called Stripped right off the pages. it was comics based =)

and when i saw my videos. yak! so feeling. so confident. so dancer, from the neck-up!

and i would freestyle in cads. and people would make noise. you know when people jest you, when they make noise and your ego says that "oh yeah, im dope" but its really you trying to make consolation prize that people think you're dope but really, you're not. and they're patronizing you.

mocking laugh.

(to all yall who did that, its okay, im not trying to be bitter here or whatnot, but thank you. if it werent for all yall, i wouldnt have so much to say in my freestyle classes =D)

but there was one voice among the noise that stood out.

  any guesses who that voice was?

ding ding ding! yes you got it right!

it's coach Jess =) what would he tell me?

he'd tell me, "match lang tayo" "tuloy mo lang yan" "go"

yes, you now understand why he is my bestfriend =))

what is my point here though?

it hurts to be laughed at. it hurts to be mocked. it hurts to give out who you are. even if you dont know yet fully who you are. even if hilaw ka pa. it hurts to put that out there and be made fun of.

but it takes one man/woman to change that all.

proverbs 16:24 " Kind words are like honey -- sweet to the soul and healthy for the body."

proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

(speak good, guys. even if its the truth. you can say it in an empowering way.)

back then i could say that, Jess was lying to me, just to make me feel good.

but right now, looking back, no, he wasnt lying. (if yall know Jess. that dude will tell you the truth.  trust me =))

what was the truth in "match lang tayo", the truth was i had my own path and skillset, and he had his own. thats why we were match. kasi we were both in a journey. journey of transcendence. journey of progress.

how did i know who i was in cads? i knew who i was in relation to another on the same path as i was.

      2. that lead me and jess to take a workshop. it was the topdog workshop of the philippine all-stars.

if yall know me, i had a kenjhons phase =)) siguro not how you know him now. back then, he was mister all-stars. he was that big man. he was the one who pointed up. he carried a dude.  he had a shirt on his head =)

and he was the one talking.

and he had a gift of talking. we would take the allstars class, and the allstars class was 4 hours. the first 2 was ken talking. =)) (now yall understand why i talk a lot i guess)

what would he talk about though?

he would talk about a lot =)) kaya nga 2 hours eh.

but he would talk about two things really. two things i learned

-SARAP LANG BOI

-BESTFRIEND

  sarap lang is one thing i learned really. and it was saying that dance should be masarap lang.

thing is we were born in dance in a community of competitions. im sure all of yall  were inspired by your skechers team, and that was the goal, some of yall, were inspired by hhi.

buti nalang ako naisnspire ako from usher. some from mj. but these are being forgotten in lieu of strong moves, of "killing it", of killing the song, of a killer routine.

kill kill kill.

back then, it was about life =)

and nothing is more livelier than dancing who you are. of enjoying how you dance.

that was what got me. if yall saw in number one, i was trying to please people, i was trying to kill it in every round. i didnt know that i was the one being put to death everytime i did that.

it wasnt until i enjoyed dancing. i enjoyed who i was. that i got back to the days copying usher =) that i went back to the first time i watched Rize, the krump documentary, that i didnt think krump was killing it, krump is a dance that gave life to people.

back in the day, i was the most dirty unprecise dancer. crazy. thats why krump spoke to me. =)

but after i found myself enjoying dance, loving it, loving me, then that is when i started to take it seriously. that is when i cleaned my dance up.

it was a process. but it started from love.

not from revenge. not from beef. not from trying to make a point. nope.

it was because i loved it.

one more thing about sarap lang. it says, love who you are, and love others. spread the sarap.

ang sarap to dance with love. and to be in a cipher full of love =)

and sarap comes from the Man above. Love comes from Love Himself.

that is how i got to know God too.

i remember telling myself, if these world champions can speak about God so boldly, siguro thats how they dance to. that is where they get their dance from.

and as Mami Lems told me one day 8 years after the top dog workshop, "your dance is a reflection of your life"

siguro, in line with the holy week. know this guys. He is nailed on that cross so that you are not. so that you can dance =) and dance freely. dance with life. dance who you are. =)

so i got to learn these two things from Kenjhons and the Philippine All-Stars.

i have a verse everytime i go to a battle or a compet or a dance showcase or basically to dance

"then david, girt with a linen ephod, danced before the lord with all his might...

It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” 2 sam 6: 14, 22.

      3. from there i started to believe in myself now. i knew i was in a process. i now enjoyed my dance. and i understand now where it all comes from.

then people started to believe in me too.

then came Alden Ong and Gio Gahol =)

this was that age when cads believed in its members. and we tapped into it.

thats when krump started to be in the routines of cads =D it started with o-lunch. then groove manila. then skechers 3 elims. then skechers finals. then dirediretso na yan.

that was when denoument was done too. =) hwoo that concert.

it really reflected who cads was. who it's members were =) that up to our last year together skechers 5. =) it was a lot of believing in each other.

yes, there were times when hindi kami one. we believed in each other but we also had different beliefs on how to handle things.

but it was when we united under one leader that we all humbled ourselves to believe in each other. =)

leaders are nothing without followers. but the leader is the biggest follower of all. he/she follows the company into their vision. =)

and in my experience, that was when Timothy Nolan, the spearhead, really rallied us to make skechers 5.

every chapter has a specific dude in it. so what about Timothy Nolan =) some of yall dont know this, but i had beef with this guy back then. =)) what was the beef?? he was just too dang good. and he liked Jess and Jazz's piece better than Dick Tracy. hahahaha!

kidding aside though, i learned a lot from this Man. and the one thing i learned with him, is to be who you truly are in the eyes of people and in the eyes of God.

what made me look up to this guy? was how can a christian be so cool?! and pogi?! and freaking good?!

dang!

imba! =))

but one thing about Moy is, he'd never boast about those things. Humble lang.

one thing i learned is that you dont need to prove anything, say anything, put up a front, try so hard, when you got God in you. =)

it was my friendship with him that got me pursuing God.

      4. hrmmm.. so fun fact, did yall know what T3 means? any guesses?

so ill skip the skit.

but it really is, Transcend To Truth. =) (we have a documentary.. if yall want, i could give. hahaha! produced by us lang rin. one bora trip. four words)

Transcend To Truth. why? this is the real deal guys. nobody is perfect. everybody has their own quirks, own fears, own mistakes, own times of failure, own weaknesses.

and truth be said, when you're friends with somebody, you get to know these things. and you understand that it is a process.

a process that is fun to share with people ;)

hwoo, if yall know how i am, and my quirks. i really do thank yall for voting me =)) it means a lot =))

ang raming kwento, but siguro one kwento na masaya for all yall is to ask Jess how we first met =D

and ask about the sparkling eyes kwento too.

      5. after skechers 5. and thesis came in. and i found myself being a student again and not a AB CADSTER only.

lemme tell you something though. i was Ab IS with tracks in Education and Theatre Arts. it wasnt that heavy so much, why? because i loved my course. this was what i wanted to do talaga.

and in my senior year, i was 3.23 qpi. that was .02 from dl. (not much, but for me, yes. haha! value is subjective)

and i didnt quit cads. i didnt quit dancing. i even became unschooled third year college. =)) i even started teaching in brewing point summer of my junior year before going to my senior year.

what am i saying here? kaya eh! yes, rehearsals ends at 10 sometimes. yes pagod na. yes, its not excusable to not rehearse to study. why? coz you can manage your time. yes you can!

and in my time in college, shucks, the phrase God is good, everyday man! =))

because he will make a way when you follow your heart.

and college is not about making the grade. its about learning.

i tell you, i took economics three times, first time was i overcut it, second was i failed it, both was because i wasnt learning at all, then the third, i got it in. C.

kasama ko pa si timmy nun, sa summer, sa ctc, umaga. everyday.

then i learned it!

and i should have learned too, not to take a 730 class on an tth (coz you got rehearsals the night before).

YOU LEARN!

so do take dacanay! do get your minor! do take risks!

get this time to learn!

and manage your time

and pray! =D

James 2:18-19. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God.Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

pray and do your work. dont be like the demons who shudder only. who are paralyzed by fear.

do not quit!!!!

challenge yourself. and let God help you!

if he created this earth, he created you, he created your magnificent beautiful partner now, he can most definitely manage your time ;)

      6. in our senior year, everybody was getting their transcripts and going on job interviews na.

what did Jess and I do? we were learning philosophy =))

we knew na that we werent gonna send in applications, we were gonna be professional dancers. He was with Groovejackz already then, then i would follow.

Then he became a pe prof and he became the bboy he is meant to be.

i went to the us, learned a lot, got my exp, went back, been going back only to understand that it is here that i am needed to serve.

still serving. teaching zumba. teaching classes. performing. choreographing. hustling. rehearsing. coaching.

today resting and playing ps4. hehe!

but yeah, what is my point here?

kaya maging professional dancer! kaya maging artist!

the industry right now needs artists! ang raming may kailangan ng coach. ang raming may kailangan ng dancer.

but you gotta put yourself out there though! faith without action is dead right?

know this!

money is just a symbol of value. real wealth is you! you are what businesses pay for! and as said by Bo Sanchez,

Real value is only acquired in one way, it is in developing real COMPETENCE, competence that will make the world stand in awe

and this competence starts in your rehearsal. in your training. in your life.

so lets go guys! this is follow your heart =)

    7. and lastly, have you seen Tha Project lately? who do you say that we are?

who do you say that i am?

who do you say that you are?

at the end of the day, ask yourself this, who is CADS? and what do we wanna show, that is competent, unique, sarap lang, truly us, DIFFERENT? =)

then ask that for your own individual life :D

lemme share to yall who i am as a dancer. maybe this is why you voted for me. =)

back in 2006-2007, i really went to the top in the krump game. they called me Murda. (matt padilla of the allstars gave this to me. coz i would murda people in the dance floor)

it was cool at first, but it turned a wrong turn when i would only dance to keep myself up there.

nawala na yun sarap lang.

nawala na yun life.

it was only about kill kill kill. murda.

so in the mountains, in baguio, (i was born there), i prayed to God.

Lord, i dont wanna dance like this anymore. make me dance.

then he asked me, "why do you dance?"

then everything came back to me. what i learned in all-stars.

it is not to kill people off, it is not to shut people down, it is to encourage, to give sarap, to give life.

then he told me, "then dance for that. dance for me. dance for freedom.. ill change your name. turn around murda, and make it ADRUM"

so that is who i am as a dancer. i seek to dance. dance good. dance competent. dance excellently.

i seek to perform. to make the audience feel something. to give them an experience.

then lastly, after all of this, i seek to share.

because i believe in the power of words =)

if it werent for Jess. i wouldnt be here right now. Honestly =)

so this is me, who are you? =)

  --

thank you for reading. i know its long. hopefully this set you free to. express that in your dance. i wanna see it.

  Godbless guys!

in dancing excellence, Groove Glory God pa rin talaga. Astroboy =)

[knowyourdance-blog]

your energy.

the past month, i was privileged to be part of hhi philippines and i was also able to go to bulacan to judge an event =)

whenever i would go somewhere, i would as much as possible be of service to the people around me. especially those who want to learn more about dance and whatever.

"ask and you will recieve" =))

so there was this one question by a coach in bulacan. 

her question was "so, coach, pano ba maging on top? and stay there?"

i kinda knew na where she is coming from, so i asked her, "who put them on the top?" 

"what if i told you, that for me, you are on top. you are the best dancer, that i know. in my honest opinion, you are =)"

and she said, "hindi naman po. pero thank you. ginagawa ko lang naman po yun sayaw ko."

--

that is the secret =)

i know all of us have those dancers who we put on top. who are the best. 

but ask any of them, how are you on top? and they would tell you the same thing, "i'm just doing my thing."

BUT

what's important is, they do it! 

"Faith without Action is dead"

--

I danced in hhi south luzon leg. and i felt my krump there, and a lotta people also felt it. 

but i knew in my heart and mind that i could have done a lot lot better. my body could have followed more. 

what am i saying? yes, dance is spiritual indeed. no doubt about that. 

BUT it is also physical. and the body must follow to the spirit! that's why we practice.

--

in our minds, we are the best dancers. we feel the best when we dance. yes! but, those people we look up to? they practice! they spend time on dancing. they ask questions. they learn. they train. they workout. 

they DANCE.

thats what they mean by doing their thing... they dance.

So dance =)

--

I had a chance to talk to an industry dancer in the states. He was a dancer of Austin Mahone =)

we were talking about this. how we put some people up there. 

and what we have to realize is they are just like us. they are dancers. they are people finding their way in this world also.

WE ARE THE SAME. 

and sometimes when we put the people up there, we tend to NOT DANCE..

have you experienced that? when you're "idol" is there you tend to freeze up.

but what happens? your idol even encourages you to dance. right? 

i titled this entry, your energy, because, i wanna ask you. where are you putting your energy? to your dance or to somebody else? to those who you put on top? 

it is not bad to have people to look up to, but, lets change perspectives.

how about we look at them on the same level. we are not any different. we have the same body. same mind. same heart.

we might not dance the same. but we are all dancers. 

just look at it like that.

--

lets use our energy to dance, not to just look.

GO. BE FREE. DANCE. =)

[knowyourdance-blog]

Things that I have learned through Krumping and Dancing.

I’m no writer, I speak and dance. I want to write but I am not a natural in it, even though I would want to practice and work on it, for now, I have no time to do so.

I have been dancing Krump ever since 2007. It was when I watched the documentary rize by david la chapelle that I was mesmerized by it. I remember the last scene, where the Krumpers (Tight Eyez, Miss Prissy, Lil C, and other Krumpers) were Krumping, and it was on slow-motion to the song O, Happy Day. After watching that, I stood up from my couch and I did a chest-pop. From there, It just came over me.

I Krumped ever since that day. Why and How I krumped changed though.

From that fateful day in our living room, I danced because it felt good. After that, I got into joining krump battles, and I would win, it transitioned to dancing because I always wanted to win. It wasn’t that free, there were a lot of pressure, pressure that I put upon myself from myself. From the dance coming from inspiration and a simple move as a chest-pop, it was coming from a strategic thinking process of what the music will be, what part of the music will I follow, on what part of the music will i be able to do that specific move. Krump wasn’t coming to me, I was enslaving it to fight for me. Like a gladiator, brought under the whip and forced to fight. Sooner or later, the gladiator also became tired. I was tired. I called myself then Murda-Warrior. Murda because it came from Matt Padilla, Warrior because I was fighting with my dance.

But a fight is nothing without a purpose. It is the purpose that drives the warrior to war. It is what fuels his sprint, his strikes, his resolve, his resistance. Purpose is the fuel of the warrior.

Winning battles was not a sustainable purpose. Winning could only take you so far. Sooner or later, there is no end to the battles, no purpose, winning lost its purpose. The purpose had no purpose. Winning for winning?

And without any purpose, there is no direction, why still run?

I became lost with why I was dancing. To what end?

Until one day, I was in the mountains, I tried to dance but it did not come to me. So, I prayed, asking God to help me dance. And then he asked me, why do you dance?

And then I was transported back to rize, to my living room. I danced because it felt good. But along with comparing it to how I danced the years after that day, I saw that, I danced because it felt good, it made others feel good. I danced because it was me being expressed through the movements. Me, with a purpose. That purpose being, I want to feel good and others feel good also. It was about that feeling!

It is in feeling good that I feel this is how I should be. It is in feeling good that I feel this is what God made me to be.

But this does not take away the fact that prior to that, I didn’t feel good dancing. Why didn’t I feel good? It was because I was not feeling what I was doing. It was just being done. I was eating steak, but I just swallowed it straight.

I read once in reader’s digest, it was said by author Robert Louis Stevenson, “to miss the joy is to miss all”.

I was missing out on what God gave me, what God was presenting to me. Here we are, always asking God to reveal himself, to give us those good things, but really take a look around you, really chew that adobo, really drink that water, it is when you really do these things, that you see that God is REALly there!

He always answers your prayers, you just have to see it. You don’t even have to look for it. Look at yourself now. And you could answer a lot of your questions right then and there.

It is in that day in the mountains that God revealed this to me. And he also gave me a new name, Adrum Tha Warrior. Adrum is the inverse of Murda. One of the purposes of this name change was the purpose change of why I dance. Regardless of the style, I dance to make other people win. If winning means they have a smile while they watch me dance, that’s still a winner right there. Don’t get me wrong, if we battle, I would fight you hard, fight you wildly, but it is in that fight that WE both win. It is in that challenge that I present, and that you present to me, that we both emerge victorious. That we both feel good to why we dance.

I love teaching. More than just performing, I believe it is what I was designed to be. My desire is for people to know what dance is, and to experience it. Desire reveals Design, Design reveals Destiny. I believe I walk closer to it, though it is still far, it’s a joyful walk with everything that I see.

--

So that was a story, let me share to you some of things I have learned through dancing.

Do not just let the move pass you. Feel it! Sayang kung hindi.

Dance is more than movement. Dance is movement with meaning. It is in feeling the move that gives it meaning.

Dance to feel good. Make the move big so that you feel it big. Tis not just for the audience, tis for you to feel it. A pinch of burger is not the same as a quarter pounder. Mas masarap yun mas malaki. And well, don’t think you do not deserve the quarter pounder. Yes you do.

You are good enough! What is the difference between a good dancer and a not so good dancer? The good dancer knows, believes, and expresses through his movement, all of it, not just the face, that he is good. The latter doubts, so does his movement.

Remember, your mind equals your dance.

A dance battle is A. Dance. Battle. Dance comes first before the battle. You battle WITH your dance.

You win when you feel good. This could be official, meaning the judges voted for you, or it could just be with you, there’s a lot of battles that I didn’t win, that I felt good. that’s a win for me. J

When you feel good, the audience feels good. sadly, same goes with the inverse.

Life ain’t just about dancing.

Have a goal on why you dance, strive for something, if there is no purpose, there is no direction, if there is no direction, you are lost.

We were all made to be something, I was made to dance, teach, and speak. Some were made to be doctors, businessmen, singers, chefs, soldiers, poets, etc. BE YOU! If you are an artist, BE it. Do not just do it, you become it.

You find your direction through your design, we were made to be something. Strive to become it. If you were made to be a dancer, friggin go to class and learn your dance, join the events, challenge yourself, stretch, condition, talk to fellow dancers.

Faith without action is dead.

ACT ON YOUR DESTINY!

God doesn’t give you strength, he gives you an opportunity to be strong. The mere fact that you are living is already an answer to your prayer! GO FOR IT!

Men were made to be wild and dangerous. We weren’t made to be nice. We didn’t want to be nice. We didn’t want to be the cowardly security guard that Batman easily pushes away to get to the bad guy. We wanted to be batman. We wanted to fight for something, we wanted adventure, we wanted to rescue the beauty. Men, get it back to that yo! BE MEN! (this came from me reading Wild At Heart by John Eldrege)

And lastly, aside from many more, Philippians 4:13. “For I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength”

Done! Hopefully this makes you get up out of your seat and do a chest-pop! Don’t forget to feel it!

Namnamin niyo yan! :D

Godbless! Pinas Pataas!

Phillip Adrum Pamintuan

[knowyourdance-blog]

reflections on snowboarding and dancing. :D

Hey guys! Kamusta? First up, salamat sa mga nagbasa at nag share nung last kong sinulat. And based sa feedback, mas ginaganahan ako magsulat! So please do keep on reading and commenting and sharing this blog to a lot of people. And also let’s talk! Dun rin naman nabubuo itong mga muni-muni na to!

So marami akong narealize on dance the past weekend nung nag snowboard kami ni timmy nolan. So please do take time to read this all. Ginawa ko siyang English para makareach out siya internationally. and first time ko uli magsulat na parang paper. 

Kasi actually, most of the posts na nakasulat dito ay mga chat conversations or questions by people that I answer as if nag uusap talaga kami harap harap. With that said, salamat sa mga conversations at sa mga tanong niyo. Tanong lang ng tanong, usap lang tayo kasi dun rin nabubuo ang mga ganitong bagay.

—

i wrote a full story on it with more details. www.thelongerversion.tumblr.com

its a long read. but the points here are just a summary of what’s there. so if yall want to read on that. please do. :)

--

Reflections on snowboarding and dance

Why do people snowboard? I mean it’s just sliding off of a slippery slope with a wooden board clamped on your feet.

It’s because they want to experience it. Now after the experience they want to express themselves in the slope. They snowboard just because. Most people at the resort weren’t pros, they weren’t jumping, they weren’t doing flips and spins, the mere slide down the slope on a wooden board is what they want to do.

Now why don’t we dance just because. Me, Timmy, Decky, Sassy and Denise, all were competent dancers back in the Philippines went to a line-dancing club here. Youtube it up. it’s like the dance they do on footloose, where EVERYBODY dances. I didn’t see any fancy stuff there, (though it was complicated) it was just everybody dancing together. Not separately, but together. And why would they dance, because they want to. And they express themselves in dancing. Not to be better than anybody else, not to win a competition, not to battle somebody, definitely not to prepare and practice moves or labb to battle somebody, they were just plainly dancing and expressing themselves.

When we dance sometimes we forget to just dance. There is always a motive, a reason to why we dance, when we could just dance. J try it. It’s freedom!

I don’t limit this to just freestylers! Nope, try just dancing the choreography on your next class. Of course you are learning it, and with learning it comes process. But come time to dance it, just dance what you learned. And express yourself in it. Will your way in the choreography. And enjoy it.

It’s like you learn the basic manoeuvres of the snowboard in the bunny slope, the beginner short slope. Now there of course you’d fall and wouldn’t get it on the first try, but with repetition and a sound mind, you will get it sooner or later.

This is when the choreographer teaches you the dance without the music and just the counts. You learn it.

Now you take the lift towards the higher slopes. There no one will teach you. Its just you and the slope and all that you’ve learned. Now just apply what you have learned. And ride through it. And will your way to whatever direction you want to. You can’t just go down on the slope on a straight line because the board is straight and the slope is straight, nope, you’d want to steer, brake (you would want to brake i guarantee you) you’d want to speed up. why because you want to express yourself in the moves that you have learned.

This is when the choreographer plays the music and lets YOU dance! It’s a great feeling already to just get the steps down on the music plainly. But it’s just like going down the slope on a straight line, its boring. In the moves or choreography that was taught to you, you could still express yourself. And please do express yourself. Moves are moves but dancing is expression!

Watch how the dancers in the classes in millennium, Debbie Reynolds, BDC dance. They express and perform it! They go hard with it! The choreography may call for one spin but they’d do two spins. When they want to point out something on a move like a gesture, they wont just do it to the mirror, they’d gesture to a person watching them (normally the other students who aren’t on the select group, they were precisely sent there kasi there’s more to how they move the choreography. They were dancing and expressing themselves in the choreography. a dancer dances, a mover moves.  WE ARE DANCERS). We should EXPRESS ourselves in our dance!

Its boring to go down on a straight line. Be loose and EXPRESS!

[knowyourdance-blog]

lets dance and not just compete to dance or to do fancy movements.

okay.

nagsusulat ako ngayon ng bago kong blog entry and then may nakausap lang ako sa facebook. gusto ko lang icopy-paste to at ishare. naffrustrate na kasi ako sa ganitong thinking eh.

--

friend: Hey Coach Philip! =)) remember me? hehe i was just wandering if you have a video of you krumping to "Not Afraid by Eminem". =)) cuz we've got some dances in school. and we came across some of your krumping videos in Youtube and it was awesome! but if you're busy, its okay. thanks Coach! See you again!

me: Its all good mayn. Wala eh sorry

friend: ok lang Coach, Hip Hop nalang raw kami. hehe, masyadong pangPRO yung Krump. thank you!

me: hindi ano ba! wag kayo maghold back kasi "mahirap". supot yun! playing safe yun. kung gusto niyo gawin, gawin niyo! dance competition ba yan?

wag niyo kalimutan na sa dance competition, una ang salitang DANCE! ibig sabihin rin ng dance ay iexpress niyo yun gusto niyo gawin! soo unahin niyo muna yun gusto niyo gawin tapos yun yun ipanglaban niyo! hay nako.. sayang yan.. oo pwede kayo hindi manalo, pero hinohold back niyo lang yun sarili niyo kapag hindi niyo gawin yun gusto niyong gawin!

--

siguro medyo hindi ganun ka appropriate yun reaction ko. siguro hindi naman niya talaga minean yun sinabi niya. siguro nga hindi competition yun ginagawa nila.

pero its just ang raming taong naghohold back and just doing what's safe.

even though they want to express something, and do something. they hold it back kasi hindi mananalo yun.

aww man. pwede bang sumayaw lang tayo kasi gusto natin sumayaw?? hindi para manalo or whatnot..

yan yun problema sa puro competitions ang nakikita nalang ng mga tao eh. punta kayo sa clubs, punta kayo sa sessions, punta kayo sa cyphers, mag class kayo para sumayaw at hindi maging select group. sumayaw kayo on your own at hindi lang pag may competition na pinaghahandaan. sumayaw kayo para sa sarili niyo kasi GUSTO niyo.

--

okay, just wanted to let that out. 

pero seriously, cmon yall! lets DANCE and not just compete!

and dance is expression

[knowyourdance-blog]

(your mind = your dance)

and ito kasi yun thing, how free the mind is determines how free your dance is. soo, free your mind and the rest will follow (that's a song.) 

and how do you do that? you dont think. BUT it does not mean you are devoid of thought. kasi cmon, when you dance you have something in your head. you ARE thinking. and that's cool. LET THE MIND THINK. LET YOURSELF DANCE. (your mind = your dance)

 -James Wong also told me in his freestyle class. "what determines the freedom of your dance is the freedom of your mind" (go take his classes sa capital g!) now what gets us stuck, frustrated, constipated in dance? THINKING also! how so? kasi nangyayari, your mind has this NATURAL THINKING, yes. now, nangyayari is nagkakaron pa ng isa pang thinker! CRITICAL THINKING. and nangyayari is nahihiya mag isip yun Natural thinker kasi naka tambay si Critical thinker saying "wag mo gawin yan, MALI yan" what one has to do is LET the natural thinker flow. you can do this by detachment. Critical thinker is there because of ATTACHMENTS! now if you detach yourself, mawawala si Critical thinker and you can just let Natural thinker flow. and then you can just dance! what are attachments... 1. i gotta be dope 2. i gotta look good 3. i gotta be right 4. i gotta _____ (fill in the blanks nalang) DETACH YOURSELVES FROM THESE AND JUST DANCE AND YOU WILL DANCE (and actually be all of those also.) But there is a place for Critical thinker. after your rounds, after your battle, after your training, after DANCING!  you think critically of yourself to improve! and ito yun secret, there is nothing to improve upon other than making yourself free! that's the ultimate improvement! freedom in dance! when you can dance without doubting yourself, ay alam na pag ganun! THING IS, there is a time for everything. the time to dance is time to dance. the time to think is time to think :)

and i tell you this! DANCE FIRST. THINK LATER.

may term si bruce lee for this eh. tawag niya no-mindedness or Wu Shin 

 "make your mind like a mirror. Grasping nothing but also Not refusing anything."

if you think like that, no attachments. just like a mirror. you will indeed be FREE!

--

personal blog ps

uuwi nako soon! salamat sa mga lahat na nag pray para sakin at nag wish well! ill be back soon para ishare lahat ng natutunan ko dito and aangatin natin lahat ang sayaw sa pinas. kasi kaya naman natin! kailangan lang natin malaman yun mga "secrets" hehe! and one secret is, KAYA NATIN! 

soo hopefully sa mga classes ko makapunta kayo para masharan ko kayo ng mga natutunan ko dito. and kahit hindi sa classes, usap lang tayo gamit ang salita or gamit ang sayaw! JAM! CYPHER! SESSIONS! 

dun tayo gagaling! pag nag tipon tipon tayo at nag share ng mga alam natin! hindi natin to magagawa sa facebook lamang o sa text, magagawa natin to sa cypher at sa usap! soo pumunta kayo sa event, kasi yun mga event hindi lang pagalingan yun, ginagawa yun para magkita kita ang mga dancers at mag share at sumayaw at magbigayan sa isa't isa! 

okay? kita kits mga kapatid! pilipinas pataas pa rin! :D

[knowyourdance-blog]

what does it take to be a dancer? for me, at least. :)

coach, my question is "what does it take to be a dancer?" and "what does it mean to be a dancer?". kasi sa totoo lang, i love dance, i love music especially hiphop and rnb, pero hindi ko matawag ang sarili ko na dancer and i even find it difficult to declare na "sumasayaw ako". hindi ko alam bakit hindi ko siya ma-claim. masakit siya actually kasi nagiging totoo yung sinasabi nila na "you are afraid of that which you most desire", it sucks to want something and at the same time be afraid of it.... ayan coach nag-evolve into a short story yung tanong ko hihihihi

-anonymous

=====

Hrmm. What does it take to be a dancer. Umm it takes nothing at all to dance coz u bounce to the music, u enjoy, u express. Dance na yun. Being a dancer means you personify that. You Are A Dancer. You dont just move to music, you express yourself to the music. You express with movement. Not just normal movement ( coz anybody could just do normal movement and still dance. ) but extraordinary movement. Why? Because what you express is extraordinary  and you should justify that with extraordinary movement. I think that is what a Dancer is. They strive to Dance extraordinarily. Not to impress people ( but it is inevitable that people will be impressed. Because the Dancer is Extraordinary ) but to express the Extraordinary, which is the human soul. :) It's not easy being a Dancer. But it's a process that can always be started with Love. Love for yourself, express it and do more. Be more :)

[knowyourdance-blog]

Stuck in a rut?

Stuck in a rut? Have you ever been stuck in a rut in dancing? That phase where you just cannot dance. Regardless of how relax you try to be, how closely you listen to the music, how much you let it go, you still get stuck in that rut. That rut where all the dance moves you try, or when you just DANCE, you are sick of what comes out of you and the statement “this again” or in Filipino “ito nanaman!” I hate it when that happens. And it is a sly rogue, striking at you without any definite timing. And you’d tell yourself, “I wasn’t like this a week ago”. And it gets you more frustrated on why this is happening! (even with me writing it now my muscles TENSE up and I get so stressed just thinking of those times!) So recently, I have stumbled through that hole and it was such a struggle! But ill share to you how I got by it :D Being stuck in a rut always starts with denial at first! You deny to yourself that you are in that rut. You’d get up and play your music and you move, and you just feel that there is something wrong but you just keep on moving. You notice that there is no feeling unto what you do and you repeat the same moves. And then it gets to you! You’re stuck! And then you ask yourself am I a good dancer? What am I doing? What will I do? Is what I’m doing correct? How can I bring out something fresh? All questions though always lead to the root, Why do I dance? Answers to these questions are so many, and what’s funny is you will always answer it the same way every time you get stuck in a rut. (well in my experience, yes. It might differ a bit, but in essence it is the same) I read in the warrior of the light book by Paolo Coelho, that when you get faced with the same problem or situation again and again it means that you haven’t learned what you need to learn. Or you think you know the solution but not quite given the present circumstances, or you just need to be reminded on the answers that you have given. And really the answer to the main question in your mind is because you love to dance. You are you when you dance. and that love pushes you to explore your dance more, be better at it, be more creative, more expressive, and more dynamic. And sometimes, these are what gets us stuck in a rut. Where you are so far on dancing that you lose sight of what it really is. Expression of you. So I have two ways of coping with this. 1. Go back to the basics! Why do you dance, because you love it, when that music comes on you just DANCE. You do not just move, you dance. So get back to this, take out everything else, and go back to the roots of dance. Play music and just dance! That is the most basic thing. Sometimes it would help if you play that JAM song of yours where you just get down and dance, but sometimes it’s also good to find new music. Next is use your basics, your foundation. Why are they called foundation? Because you build your dance on those moves. And for me, the most basic, most essential foundation of dance is DANCE. When you just bounce or you rock to the beat, when you sway to the rhythm of the music. Don’t just try to HIT the music, you make love to it. Dance it. And then you add your basic MOVES above that dance. And it goes on and on. It’s important to know that Dancing is different from just doing moves. So dance! Eff perfection, eff cleanliness, eff everything, just dance! 2. Move on from the basics and your room! (FROM the basics, they should still be there) Sometimes the basics is not enough, actually sometimes, the basics is what makes us so frustrated and say, “this again!” Even if you feel gooood doing it, you would always want something more. You want to push the envelope and just be more. How do you do this? Get inspired! You can get inspired by yourself but nothing will inspire you more than your fellow dancers. So jamm and session with them! (look back at those times that you were in a rut, most of the time you get stuck in a rut when you are just dancing with yourself.) Dancing with others ignites your creativity, gives you a challenge, opens you up, and that jamm and session atmosphere is what will get you to think less and dance more! And after dancing ya can comment on each other. And with this, honesty is the best! Dancers grow from honest opinions and not just "yeah it was okay" be real and help each other out! I also watch those dancers who are more in their craft and get INSPIRED, these were the peeps that made me start dancing or opened my eyes to what dance could be. For Krump, I watch tight eyez. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2jl6O_JciQ For House, I watch Brooklyn terry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b2FyTF2yGM For Hip-hop, I watch Les Twins. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLGYxeL1iQ For you, who inspires you to dance more? I get inspired by these people because they are so FREE! And I try to emulate and absorb that freedom more than anything else. Again, you jamm and session with people, even if they are only in the computer screen. GET YOURSELF INSPIRED! There is no excuse to not.. there is always youtube. There are always some friends you can text. Get out of the house and dance! You find yourself in a new light and then you just keep on dancing. Let go and let it Flow So that rut will happen again, especially when you get off track, but it really boils down to what are you gonna do about it? BE ACTIVE, HUSTLE to the simplest reason; because you love it! And don’t forget that Love is a verb more than a noun or an adjective. Faith, Hope and Love. And the greatest of these is Love. (1 corinthians 13) If ya got any other questions or would want to discuss something just feel free to ask. There’s an ask button there. We could also discuss things personally after my classes at brewing point dance studio. I have a basic hip-hop class today Wednesday, June 29, 2011 6-7 pm at brewing point dance studio. I also have a krump class tomorrow Thursday, June 30 2011 5-630 pm at brewing point dance studio. Also check out bboy reflex’s class at 630-8 and our collab choreography class at 8-930 pm also at brewing point dance studio. 280/class see yall there! Peace yall! Phill Pamintuan aka Adrum Tha Warrior

[knowyourdance-blog]

Perfection is in the Imperfections

Mr. Wiggles

[knowyourdance-blog]

"Perfection is in the Imperfections" - Mr. Wiggles

""Perfection is in the Imperfections".

this was said by Mr. Wiggles. one of the Og's in Hip-hop! check his articles out at this site.

http://mrwiggles.biz/id229.htm

I love that particular quote about hip-hop freestyle dance. "Perfection is in the Imperfections"

what makes hip-hop dance (and all street styles) very passionate is the letting go of perfection and the emphasis on expression!

It is when you let Go that you Flow :D

[knowyourdance-blog]

Hi! :)I'm just curious... What's your view on mainstream hiphop VS/and underground hipop?

umm, the mainstream tend to water down what hip-hop is, or make it more understandable for all to understand, make it more marketable so that it will sell.

 krump in its raw essence is not all in all that understandable and marketable. so when you krump in mainstream, it must be more "clean", or not as raw. look up street kingdom in america's best dance crew, what was the comment the judges would say most of the time? "make it more understandable." "make it choreographed" now watch street kingdom in youtube, street kingdom gully blokk for example, or Impact krump sessions or xtreme movement. see the difference! the difference is my opinion on mainstream hip-hop, it will be different from the raw and underground hip-hop! too different to the extent that sometimes it changes all in all but it is still called "hip-hop"

hip-hop is born in the streets. in the underground. it is where raw expression is born and not packaged and marketed to sell to an audience.

i am not hating on mainstream hip-hop. it helps the promotion of hip-hop, why not? but hip-hop does not live on the television set, it is in the streets.

people are aware of what hip-hop is in movies, but check it out for real, go to the hip-hop jams and see for yourself. media only shows a bit of it, not everything, because not everything is understandable and marketable.

(same thing with countries like the middle east or some countries in asia, we see it in movies and we think its all that, but go to that country and im sure it is very different, some of it we may not understand but thats whats real)

:D

[knowyourdance-blog]

5 things for freestyling.

check this video out by buddha stretch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DmrpK1gRkM

1.Rhythm

2.Technique

3.Style

4.Vocabulary

5.Character

-> let the video explain itself for you.

Yes, it is FREEstyle but it must still be understandable. even if you dont regard the audience, you yourself would want to make your dance understandable and it is with this five that you can make that happen.

Music, Clarity, Knowledge, Creativity, Expression. :D

---

I myself also have a 5 point strategy on dancing freestyle or even choreography. lemme share it to ya :D

1. Relax

-What makes dancing hard on people? Why can't most dancers freestyle? why would somebody say, "i cannot dance"? because they think that dancing is about MOVES  and they tend to think of moves as opposed to just dancing or listening to music and grooving to it.

people forget why it is fun to dance, because you do not think of anything you just relax and the music just dances you.

"relax your mind let your conscious be free

And I roll with the sounds of BBE

Do it do it do it do it / Do it do it do it do it ..."

-tell me by P Diddy feat Christina Aguilera

(hip-hop knowledge: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080202165754AAZmGIH)

2. Let the music in. AND Feeeeeel that Music.

-Dance is really about that feeling the Music gives you. let that pump you up. and when it does do it. (do it, do it, do it, do it, do it, do it)

but thing is.. something will not go in you if there's already something occupying inside you. so really empty your mind, heart, and body and let the music in. only the music.

There's a lotta Faith needed when you let yourself go and let the Music in. But just do it.

3. Dance to the Music

-One can dance without music. express themselves, be free, be creative. but for me it is more free when you let yourself BE expressed by the music.

just like floating at your back in the ocean. you dont think, you dont panic, you just have faith in the water, lay back and relax, you move with it.

it is different when you do not have anything on your mind or heart or body and you just let the music dance you.

but there's something deeper to it. it's a two-way thing.

you dance to the music and the music dances you.

you express the music and the music expresses you.

4. One at a time

-Dance one at a time. now you express yourself with moves. If you're gonna do a two step you just do that two-step for that time. and when you do that two-step, you DANCE it, you do not just DO it, YOU DANCE IT!

you make it visual, you make it understandable, you make it auditory so that the people hear the music in your two step, you make it soulful so that the people feel You in that two step.

5. Flow

-As the rain flows to the river, the river to the sea, the sea to the ocean. so does your two-step flows to a three step and then to a four step and then to the jack of your whole body and then to expression in movement.

Flow comes from how you flow your dance.

IT CAN ONLY FLOW ONCE YOU'VE FINISHED THE FIRST MOVE.

if not, it wont flow.

(this really applies to choreography. :D extend and it will rebound to the next move, flow. if shortened, it will be segmented and wont look smooth and flowy

best example: Sophia Aguiar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSzf-e64Nkw check how her moves flow. <crush ko siya. weee> )

--

Of course these are a lot to think about. but it really boils down to the Music. the Music will tell you what to do, if you listen. the Music gives you that impulse to dance, so DANCE. it's up to you to let go and Dance.

after you discover yourself in dance, you hustle to make YOUr dance more effective, more understandable, more excellent, etc. and aside from other motives (inspiring, winning, being recognized, getting money) do not forget why you dance, because you Love it, you are Free, you are You. and when dancing does not make you feel like these anymore, stop

Relax

Let the Music in

Dance to the Music

Dance one at a time

Flow

(repeat)

--

for other questions or discussion you can facebook me at Phillip Adrum Pamintuan. also check out my classes this coming week at brewing point dance studio, we could also talk there.

wed

6-7pm BASIC HIP-HOP

thursday

5-630 KRUMP

630-8 BBOYIN BY REFLEX GOTANGCO

8-930 COLLAB CLASS

saturday

2-330 Choreography class. im preparin for this so do check it out. :D

(280/class)

--

and again, these are views are my opinion. for me there is no right and wrong in dance, in life, what may be right for you may be wrong for me and vice versa, just take this as a tool to arrive at your own Right :D

Good Music Makes Me Dance.

philippians 4:13

Peace and Love

-Phill Pamintuan aka Adrum tha Warrior

[knowyourdance-blog]

Fear and Love.

Whadup yall! it’s Adrum tha Warrior makin a new blog all about dance. Firstly I put it up as “know your STREET dance” because entries will not be limited to hip-hop dance only (which is a separate style) or krump. It’ll encompass street dance, which is the umbrella term for all types of street dance like hip-hop dance, popping, locking, bboying, krump, house, waacking, etc. Mainly dance associated with the hip-hop culture.

I may not be the most legit of authorities in naming terms or providing opinions, if yall would correct me, that’s aight but let’s do it for the sake of education and discussion and not hating or righteousness and judgement.

this is an education blog which provides videos, quotes, links, entries written by me based from what i hear see observe from OG’s or my fellow dancers. Therefore, as the OG’s would say, this ain’t the gospel truth of what dancing is.

Take it as a tool of knowing your dance more broadly by being open to what these entries have to say. :D

So follow it if you want. :)

For my first blog entry, i wanna talk about Fear and Love.

This thursday there’s an upcoming battle called Dance to the music 2. 6pm eastwood city. check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=15313258475765

I’ve been battlin for a good 4 years already, and it never fails that I have this Fear before battlin. It’s not that I am afraid of battlin. There’s just this anxiety, nervousness and fear before the battle itself.

Most of it comes from questions, how will my dance be like? Am I prepared enough? Who will I face? What music will play? What style will I use? What moves will I use? Will I make sets or just freestyle it?

I am afraid of battling because of the uncertainty it brings. Ideally, I want to be sure of how everything will turn out, how my dance will be. I can choreograph my whole set, the whole scenario of the battle, but it just won’t be right.

I look back to those times that I just Danced. Let go to the music, to my soul, to the body’s impulse, and it was at those times that I was not certain of how my dance would be but it just happened.

Dance just happens. 

That I believe is why people Love to dance, it’s because it just happens and you are just taken away. It is freedom. 

And I believe that this Love is what overrides the fear of battlin. Faith, Hope and Love.

Faith that the Music will move you. Hope in yourself as a dancer, that you got it down, that you will just get down. And Love in what you do, that Love that is unbreakable regardless of what your opponent will do or what the crowd will react. (1 Corinthians 13)

Love in the freedom of mind and spirit expressed in the body.

Caleaf reminded me this in this clip! Listen to the other messages by link and stretch also! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYculrDEx2s&feature=related

“Dancing is a spiritual thing”

And this spiritual thing is that Love that makes you wanna move!

So tomorrow I will be battling still. Why? Because even though I am afraid, I still Love to dance so I will dance.

So I asked Bobby Mileage and Buddha Stretch (Emilio Austin Jr.) this question in Facebook.

“(stretch!/bobby) i gotta anotha question, what advice can you give to dancers who have the jitters or the fear of battlin! but will still battle! coz i personally have it, but i know that i would still get down and give it my all.. just some words to help :) ima spread this to other peeps also here in the philippines and around fb :) (thanks stretch!)”

Stretch: fear is the MIND killer!the MUSIC is your master…to battle..channel the music thru you,let it dictate your movements…& LET GO!forget winning/losing…become the BEAT!..peace

Bobby Mileage: I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE I THINK IT IS GOOD TO HAVE NERVOUS ENERGY WHEN GOING TO BATTLE OR PERFORM! THAT MEANS YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WILL ALWAYS GO HARD! NOW BEING SCARED IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT! IF YOU ARE AFRAID TO DANCE OR BATTLE IT MAY MAKE YOU LOOK REALLY WEAK AND STOP YOU FROM BEING WHO YOU CAN REALLY BE ON THE DANCE FLOOR!! THIS IS SOMETHING LIKE YOU HAVE TO JUST GET OUT THERE AND DO IT MORE TO HELP CONQUER THE FEAR OF HITTING THE DANCE FLOOR!! IT IS A MENTAL THING!

——

Soo yeah that’s for the first blog entry! Follow for more! Holla back at me through facebook Phillip Pamintuan, just private message me there!

Peace!

Philippians 4:13 “For I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength”

Loading... Hide notes