Recidivism Deferred: A Hip-Hop Dance Blog

Safi A. Thomas is the Artistic Director of The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory in NYC. This blog centers primarily on his thoughts on hip-hop dance and the need for pedagogy but also includes his philosophies on life as well. Feel free to reblog and share his words. Here is his story...

[safithomas]

We continue to mistake a concatenation of cause and effect for what we deserve. Both positive and negative. Fall back. The design is predestined. Play your part but don't get cocky nor sullen. Your life has purpose but only insofar of the design the universe has already preordained. Listen and enact your purpose without attaching ego to it. When you detach from the personal satisfaction and feeling that you are owed something, then you're ready to get to work living. Silence the cacophony of voices in your head begging you to take this all personal. It's physics. Quantum causality. You are a cog, a speck of dust on the ass cheek of an empyrean and deific animal called the Universe. Stop hurting yourself by injecting expectations into a life which exists in a fluid state. Live, love, forgive, inspire, create and repeat. THINK SMART

Safi A. Thomas

[safithomas]

More free services for NYC dancers coming in April!!! Go to http://hdcny.org/pms Pimp My Style® is a dancer-run, pro-bono boutique service for dancers providing professional headshots, dance videos and resumes once a year. PMS® is alleviating the stress so you can compete on equal footing in the industry with quality representation of your personal brand. Make your appointment today: http://hdcny.org/pms Created by: Safi Thomas Work by: AK47 Division Funded by: H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #inspiration #positivevibes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #danceNGO #hiphopdancers #artsed #hiphoptheatre #hiphoped #nycdancers #photography #videohot #pimpmystyle (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

"I applaud the desire of a dancer to be original. But we cannot sacrifice dance education for a "feeling" of originality. Originality is a deliberate and systematic dismantling of ubiquity. Not a hodgepodge of random, off-beat, unfinished movement with no direction and no vocabulary to teach it." -Safi A. Thomas #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #hiphoptheatre #hiphopdance #dancers #danceNGO #artsed #danceeducation #dancestudio #educationiskey (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

"The dance studio, assembly line, 2 hour class, just got off their first tour or dance show and teaching, body count, format has robbed dancers of the most crucial and empowering aspect of their dance pedagogy, knowledge of self. Dancers prematurely teaching classes but having absolutely no knowledge of the body, kinesiology, biomechanics, kinesthetics, breath, lines, levels, shapes, flexibility or how to explain dance aside from their own pedestrian language diminishes the quality of dance movement and homogenizes dance. Which is why so many dancers look the same now. Carbon copies of a movement style that was once original but is now just a watered down mirage of it." -Safi A. Thomas #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #hiphoptheatre #hiphopdance #dancers #danceNGO #artsed #danceeducation #dancestudio #educationiskey (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

"I find in dance that we wade through the alluvial filth of poor dance quality and aoristic movement by masquerading it as some difference in epistemic dance principles. When really it's simply a desire to remain as lazy as possible and not have to put in the work to be grounded in dance foundations before experimenting with our own technique. We have a generation of rule breakers who don't even know the rules or care why they exist." -Safi A. Thomas #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #artsed #moderndance #dancengo #hiphopeducation #education #nycdancers (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

"To be an artist you must embrace both ambiguity and change. If you are unwilling or unable to this, your career as an artist will be short lived or extremely annoying. Both are your choice." -Safi A. Thomas #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #dancengo #hiphoptheatre #hiphopdance #hiphopdancer #moderndance #artsed #hiphoped (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

"There must be a purity relative to movement. Movement purity requires honesty. Honest articulation and assessment of movement informs its authenticity. It's not about "feeling" honest as most dancers think, but more about being empirically reflective and being truthful in your self assessment in order to effectuate positive change within your limbic system. This leads to individual growth as a dancer. Which then allows you to lead the charge as a vanguard of truth within our art-form. Not through words alone, but through action. Your very presence within the art-form creates an aura of truth, and with it comes a silent request to follow suit. If this is your impact you have done well and you have contributed to dance in an honest and spellbinding way." -Safi A. Thomas #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #dancengo #hiphopdance #hiphoptheatre #hiphoped #artsed #ballet #moderndance #nycdancers (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

Women expressing themselves freely. ❤ #blackgirlsrock #blackgirlmagic #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #inspiration #positivevibes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #danceNGO #hhiphopdancers #artsed #hiphoptheatre #hiphoped #nycdancers (at Dumbo, Brooklyn Bridge Water Front)

[safithomas]

[safithomas]

"The erasure of women in hip-hop dance happens daily. In covert and surreptitious ways. Which then makes it difficult to address. Very few men will admit that a woman taught them. Even fewer will admit that a woman had an equal impact on the art-form. Then women start their own dance organizations to pay homage to each other. Then men say, "That's unnecessary, but I respect your right to do so. Do you." These same men say, "I respect women." Yet how we define respect as men has more to do with symbolic actions we take (like offering a woman a seat on the train or offering to carry a baby stroller up some stairs) than it does actually deconstructing our covert sexism." -Safi A. Thomas #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #inspiration #positivevibes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #danceNGO #hiphopdancers #artsed #hiphoptheatre #hiphoped #nycdancers #safithomasquotes #dancequotes #quotestoliveby #quotesbyme #quotesaboutlife

[safithomas]

"The tendency to often act in the selfish interests of our perturbation or vexation is pointless. Yet we do it daily. Somehow we have concluded that the world is supposed to serve our interests and cater to our oft oblique and reductive thinking as a society. One can only arrive at that conclusion through a field of narcissism filled with flowers of bloviated self-importance, self-righteousness and indignation. The desire to be seen as "right" over having the requisite knowledge to be correct has thrust us into an age of abecedarianism. While I am hopeful for the resurgence of common sense, critical thinking and cogent reasoning, I am not convinced. People's emotions are now in the driver's seat. Their anger, fear, judgment and paranoia are at the helm and have no intentions of letting go. God help us all. " #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #hiphoptheatre #hiphopdancers #hiphopdance #hiphoped #artseducation #artsed (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

#dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

"The tendency to often act in the selfish interests of our perturbation or vexation is pointless. Yet we do it daily. Somehow we have concluded that the world is supposed to serve our interests and cater to our oft oblique and reductive thinking as a society. One can only arrive at that conclusion through a field of narcissism filled with flowers of bloviated self-importance, self-righteousness and indignation. The desire to be seen as "right" over having the requisite knowledge to be correct has thrust us into an age of abecedarianism. While I am hopeful for the resurgence of common sense, critical thinking and cogent reasoning, I am not convinced. People's emotions are now in the driver's seat. Their anger, fear, judgment and paranoia are at helm and have no intentions of letting go. God help us all. " #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet

[safithomas]

"The criteria for judging a dancer's aptitude must be based on something quantifiable & empirical. Mimicry of choreography is not dance aptitude. Being your 'friend' does not contribute to their dance aptitude. They need to have a command of their body and an understanding of dynamic range. They require assessment skills, critical thinking & creative thinking. It is our job as choreographers to imbue this skillset." #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #hiphopdancers #hiphoptheatre #hiphop #nycdancers #ladancers #NYC #nycdance (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)

[safithomas]

Off beat dancing is destroying the quality of our suffering in this horrid world.😂 #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #hiphop #hiphopdance #hiphopdancers #hiphoptheatre

[safithomas]

"It is not enough to simply acknowledge people's pain. That's pain tourism. Where you gawk at the sight of their suffering or experience. Be it sexism, abuse, suicidal ideation, rape, sexual assault, depression, racism, gender bias, etc. The key is to also acknowledge your role in the perpetuation of an environment which condones these actions against the oppressed. Don't be an oppression tourist and thank people for sharing their stories. They share their stories for you to recognize the issue and to solve it within YOU as well and maybe get an ally." #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #advocacy

[safithomas]

"The views of most dancers are antithetical to their desires for autonomy and agency. Which is why they keep feigning ipseity instead of truly BEING free." #dance #dancers #dancerlife #dancetheatre #theatre #dancequote #quote #inspiration #instaquote #positivevibes #safithomasquotes #hpluslife #dancerproblems #theatrelife #ballet #hiphopdancers #hiphoptheatre #hiphop #nycdancers #nycdance (at H+ The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory)