#kodachrome va

[fyeahdance]

A Conversation With Jayson Wright + Lyle Beniga (Part 1)

[kodachromeva-blog]

OPEN MIND

"An open mind is a mind that cannot be confined ... it strives to defy all that the world says it cannot ... because it believes it's a lie ..."

Calan Bryant has been avid supporter of the KODACHROME movement even before he taught an African-fusion dance class for KCVA Season II. His mind is always traveling far distances, gathering all that is good in his path and applies it to his work at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center in Newport News, VA. ​Tonight is no different. Calan has choreographed an amazing dance showcase, entitled OPEN MIND, with the youth of Downing-Gross and Reaction Dance Company. For more information, check out the Facebook Event and this very colorful and elaborate poster, which was designed by our very own Creative Director, @theprft! 

​As if you needed more convincing, here's a video sneak peek at OPEN MIND...

[kodachromeva-blog]

Journey Through Movement

The following stream of videos document Daniel Jerome's journey as a dancer. From his humble beginnings dancing in his garage to teaching and performing internationally. It's been quite the ride for Daniel. Come along with us on his Journey Through Movement...

"My first choreography vid ever..I started choreography a week before I did this."

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"In Korea performing my choreo with Jay Park & Andrew Baterina."

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"Traveling around Asia back-up dancing + shooting music videos."

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"New choreography to the song in my first choreo video to show progression."

"Moving from Washington > Texas & teaching at Soreal Performing Arts Center."

"Teaching Coalescence/KODACHROME Anniversary Workshop in Virginia :) My first teaching gig away from home."

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"Teaching a lot of different pieces in Spain, Russia, Switzerland shortly after Virginia."

​Stay tuned on the blog tomorrow for a very special video from Daniel Jerome to the KODACHROME Family!

[kodachromeva-blog]

Study. Practice. Goals. Love.

Hello. My name is Daniel Jerome Obispo and I'm a 21 year old dancer.

This is probably my 54th time starting this over...I’ve been writing for the past 2 hours trying to figure out how to go about this. I will write whatever I want, however I want, so you know it's me and not some default, professionally written bio I give to everyone, [haha].

All you really need to know is: to get where I am, to do what I have done, it all took practice. Hours and hours of practice. People ask me all the time: what do you do? How do you do this? My answer? Practice. When I was coming up, I didn't rely on anyone – I never asked – although, it's not a bad thing to ask. Asking is good – it means you are hungry to grow as a dancer...but I'll tell you the secrets now...

STUDY & PRACTICE

There wasn’t a lot of YouTube back then. Now you can find everything on YouTube. Don’t rely on it because there are plenty of other ways to gain experience and knowledge by attending events and going to classes. However, I didn't have that. Just my garage & internet, [haha].

When you watch a video from a dancer who inspires you, study. Ask yourself, "What do I like about this person so much? What is it about their style that I find captivating?" Find what it is, apply it to your training, and make it your own style.

You can practice all day long, but if you don't focus on what you are practicing, then it's pointless. Don’t waste your time and valuable energy. You will grow faster if you know what to practice and follow through with executing it.

GOALS & LOVE

Most likely you dance because you love to dance. DON'T forget that. You don't dance because you want to be famous. Sure, that'd be nice, but that shouldn’t be your focus. You dance because it’s fun, helps you pass the time, and gets you through tough times. If you always remember that, it will never be stressful. Dancing should never feel like a job that you are forcing yourself to have because you are in need of money. If you get to that point, eventually you will hate it and get bored of dancing. Plus you'll grow at a slower rate and think to yourself, “why haven't I done anything yet? I have been dancing for way too long – I should be at this level!” Then you quit...that isn't fun. Remember to have fun.

It's good to have goals with anything you want to do when you grow up. Goals help you work towards something and achieve it. A simple goal would be to become a good dancer. If you always keep that goal in mind and envision yourself in the future, you will work for it. Then, you will be there without even realizing it.

I hate listing accomplishments because I don't like to sound like I am bragging about anything (that's not me) but for inspirational purposes I will write examples.

I started choreographing because I was inspired by Soreal Cru on ABDC & Tony Tran. Eventually I found more inspirations, but they were the reasons I started.

Andrew Baterina was a big inspiration because he did a lot of "weird" & creative moves on the floor, on his toe, with his hat, etc. Very original and I loved that about him. I wanted to be like him and meet him.

I worked hard at what I did. I ended up uploading videos to YouTube for myself and NOT for subscribers -- I didn't even know what that was when I started out. I utilized YouTube to document my growth in choreography.

Eventually I got on Art Of Movement Crew with my b-boy skills. Through that, I met Jay Park, a Korean pop star, and was offered the opportunity to be a dancer in his music videos.

Jay Park asked Andrew Baterina to be his choreographer. So I started working with Andrew Baterina. We did music videos and traveled all around Asia doing big concerts. All of a sudden, I was performing on stages in front of 20,000 people at a time, with my #1 inspiration.

I loved Soreal & their studio. It was a goal to be there one day. Eventually, Andrew said I should move to Texas. So I did. On my move to Texas, I got in a car accident, lost my car, lost my money...but I still went for it.

Now I teach at Soreal Studio. Andrew Baterina is my roommate. I’m still doing what I love. I didn't give up because I have goals to be a better dancer for myself. Not having money and a car is hard. I eat ramen noodles everyday, but I'm still alive and able to dance. That’s all that matters. Everything else will come to me if I continue to work hard.

Working hard and staying motivated has gotten me to travel around the world: Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Spain, Russia, Switzerland...soon Germany, which is where I was born, haha.

Things that I could only dream of are coming true because I continue to study, practice, set goals, and love what I do.

Study. Practice. Goals. Love.

From my garage in a little town known as Spanaway, Washington, to a well-known studio in a huge city known as Houston, Texas – with the blessing of working with some of my inspirations. It has taken a lot of work and time to get here. To travel and teach, anyone can do it. I went through a lot of experiences and times that I hate thinking about (#thestruggle), but I don't regret anything..

The last thing I would like to address is...

COMMUNITY.

Dance itself is a very competitive job. For example, when you go to LA for auditions, you are dancing next to many dancers trying to get the same job as you. So even though it’s very competitive, don't take that with you outside of the auditions. When you do team competitions, get to know each other and the other crews. All of you love doing the same thing, why hate? Dance is small...there are a lot of dancers, but the spotlight given to dance is very little. If people come together and create a dance community, the spotlight for dance and dancers will only grow. More people will want to be involved with dance events, kids will want to learn, and classes will be more fun. Don’t get into team vs team: love each other. I'm not saying this is where dance is going, because I loved what I saw in Virginia. Everyone inspired me because you guys were so friendly with one another. Keep doing that. I only address it because sometimes people stay within their own crew or studio -- that is just separating the scene. When people hate, that is creating unnecessary drama. Let's try to bring back the fun in dance, you know?

If you took the time to read, I really appreciate it because I took the time to write this, [haha]. Hopefully I was able to motivate dancers or inspire people in some way. I thank KODACHROME for giving me the chance to share my thoughts and what I know. Everything I wrote is basically how I have gotten to where I am today. Hope to come back to the East Coast soon and teach again :)

​Words by Daniel Jerome

Follow him on Twitter @iDanielJerome​

Subscribe to his YouTube Channel DJDanielJerome

Stay tuned in the coming days for more from Daniel on the blog!​

[kodachromeva-blog]

Throwback Thursday #TBT

​We came across this gem recently. This was taken at one of our first ever Summer Intensives, during the summer of 2009. Dancers took 6 classes PER DAY that weekend. Now that's INTENSE! Brian Gerardo + Cynthia Chavez, representing the Baltimore Dance Crews Project, decided to have some fun during groups and faced the two groups towards each other to introduce a battle vibe.

[kodachromeva-blog]

WAVES with Teresa Ofoia

​Here it is y'all...KODACHROME's first WAVES video featuring the lovely Teresa Ofoia (@fatherteresaa). We're excited to follow Teresa on her journey through dance. Join us...

#WAVES

#EXPRESSYOURSELF

#exposedance

[kodachromeva-blog]

WAVES with Teresa Ofoia

​Here it is y'all...KODACHROME's first WAVES video featuring the lovely Teresa Ofoia (@fatherteresaa). We're excited to follow Teresa on her journey through dance. Join us...

#WAVES

#EXPRESSYOURSELF

#exposedance

[kodachromeva-blog]

WAVES with Teresa Ofoia

​Here it is y'all...KODACHROME's first WAVES video featuring the lovely Teresa Ofoia (@fatherteresaa). We're excited to follow Teresa on her journey through dance. Join us...

#WAVES

#EXPRESSYOURSELF

#exposedance