missy elliot: shake yr pom pom
as you guys may recall, i was a *tad* bit excited about the EXTREME dancing i witnessed in the masterpiece known as “step up 2: the streets.” in fact, i was SO inspired that i made erica g. watch it, and then one night, over a bottle of wine, we had a conversation that went something like this:
* * *
erica: so i finally saw “step up 2″!
sarah (waving her arms frantically): OMGGG WHAT DID YOU THINK? WASN’T IT AMAZING?!!!!
erica (waving her arms frantically): IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! I TOTALLY FREAKED OUT!!!
sarah (face flushing with excitement): like, can you believe people can MOVE THAT WAY?!! I CANNOT HANDLE THAT.
erica: no, i can’t. it was amazing. and that lead guy?
sarah: SOOO HOT. GAH. dude, i wish we could dance like that, you know?
erica: yeah then we could form our own team and do street battles! in the rain!
sarah: YES. we would so keep it real. hmm. maybe we should take a hip hop dance class? like, to really learn some moves!
erica: i would sooo do that.
sarah: SERIOUSLY. let’s look up dance classes and see what’s going on! RIGHT NOW!
* * *
now, usually this type of conversation falls under the category of “ideas that seem great late at night, after a bottle of wine, that will quietly fade away with the rise of the morning sun.” topics in this category include “WE TOTALLY HAVE TO DRIVE TO DOLLYLAND! THIS WEEKEND!” and “you know, it would be really easy to make our own art car.”
but there is something about the Spirit of the Dance that lingered with erica and me. whether it was the allure of the streets, the hotness of the lead dancer guy or the rain-soaked finale, we suddenly felt *committed* to this idea.
especially cos we found an intro to hip hop class at the DANCE ZONE.
first of all, it’s called the dance zone.
second, it’s located on the first floor of a UT dorm.
third, just look at the website. seriously. look.
fourth, here is the description of this class:
Wanna dance like Usher and Ciara but can’t figure out how? Learn how to isolate, roll and gyrate! Start with basics & finish with a combination that will bring out your inner Hip-hopper.
IT WAS PERFECT!!!!!!! isolate! roll! gyrate! YES! my inner hip-hopper was doing headspins at the mere thought of it all.
so, yesterday, erica and i met up in front of THE DANCE ZONE for our v. first class.
and yeah, um, we were pretty nervous. even though i’m a five year veteran of jazzercise, i haven’t taken a dance class since i was four. and back then, the pinnacle of my career was sashaying my hips to “the good ship lollipop” (ya’ll, my sailor costume was KILLER). so i was pretty worried, and erica felt the same away.
our instructor didn’t do much to assuage our fears, cos girlfriend is FIERCE. gorgeous face, shaved head, professional street dancer shoes… i was in awe. in fact, i’m *pretty* sure she grew up break dancing in the subways of new york, even though she was wearing a “mcallum high school student council” shirt.
fortunately, by the time class started, a lot of other people had arrived, and they all looked pretty normal, i.e. not from the streets.
we started class with some warm-ups and then did this thing where we had to strut across the floor, three at at time, and just “do our own thing.” i have never felt so white in my entire life. this exercise was followed by a few moves that our instructor, k.d., assured us would be v. necessary “in a battle.”
you guys. this class is totally preparing erica and me for REAL DANCE BATTLES. ON THE STREETS.
unfortunately, i only got down half of the battle moves before i had to “take on” erica (we got to pick our own partners, thank you sweet fancy moses). she totally beat me, which in the real world would mean the loss of my street cred and the derision of all of my (former) homegirls.
THEN… we learned a break dancing move. you guys. i have DREAMED of learning how to break dance ever since i was a kid and saw “breakin’ 2.” and now, finally, IT WAS BECOMING A REALITY.
well, kind of. the move is supposed to look like this:
but, uh… the floor is hard and it scares me! so i could never really get my legs up, but erica did. i think erica secretly spent a year on the streets without telling me.
the class then moved on to the choreography of a dance we’re going to learn over the course of the month. i actually don’t know the name of the song we’re dancing to, but i’ve heard it before… something about wind. and a backstroke.
hey i just googled those words and found the song!! THANK YOU INTERNET. it’s called “backstroke” and it’s performed by teedra moses.
erica and i got really excited about the prospect of learning a dance for an ENTIRE SONG. i mean, trying to learn n’sync moves from videos is one thing, but having Her Fierceness teach us all of the moves, step by step? OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME. esp. cos i’m pretty sure we could do this dance to basically any hip hop song, which means there are gonna be a LOT of dance solos at the beauty bar this summer. FYI.
so we signed up for the rest of the month! and at the end of the month, we’re gonna perform our dance! and maybe even have it video recorded! so i can put it on this blog and feel really, really embarrassed!
but yeah, i’m pretty excited. and also, i’m proud of erica and me, for pursuing our dream with no reservation, in spite of potential embarrassment, white people genes, broken wrists, lack of arm muscle… just, you know, the obstacles of the streets.
my only hope is that we don’t turn out like this:
LINKS
erin sent me this link of, seriously, the CUTEST KITTEN I HAVE EVER SEEN IN THIS LIFETIME OMGGG.
whoah. fish with human faces? as if henri didn’t have enough to worry about.
dude, kanye has been posting all kinds of CRAZY info about his upcoming tour… I CANNOT WAIT. thank goodness i’m taking this hip hop class so i can represent at his show.
Jaberwockeez! You need to look at their videos on the MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Seriously, how could you love all this dance stuff and not have cable???!!! I can’t wait to see your video. You should have Desiree pick out some clothes for you… Maybe some apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur, or some baggy sweat pants and reeboks with the straps!
Awww…I was TOTALLY going to mention America’s Best Dance Crew… Seriously, Sarah, I’m not even that into hip hop and dancing, but I happened to catch an episode of this in my hotel room in Vegas and HAD to watch the rest of the marathon. And I was in VEGAS! Sitting in my HOTEL ROOM. It’s that enthralling… Just for you:
http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/dance_crew/series.jhtml
Oh man that is the most incredible thing EVER. I’m so glad you’re doing this. Can I help videotape the battle, please? I REALLY want to be there for that!!! Do you ever watch So You Think You Can Dance? It’s awesome. You would be into it.
This post was so amazing that I made Sean listen while I read it aloud.
At least So You Think You Can Dance is on network TV… You can watch it! It starts back up in May.
Plus, you should watch America’s Best Dance Crew just to see the groups do part of Bye Bye Bye… http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1583319&vid=217727
What an inspirational post! No. Really! You are so brave for even showing up to the first class. I would have hightailed it the other way, but then again, I can’t and have no desire to spin around on my head. But that’s me.
Go Poshhiphoppants!
I can’t believe you guys didn’t tell me about this last night!! I took a weird ballet class at the Dance Zone…lets just say it was interesting. It was supposed to be a ballet class for beginners set to R&B type music…but OMG most people there totally grew up with ballet. Basically everyone looked graceful and me and my friend were hopping around like bunnies. I have no problem with Hip Hop and have done alot of that but ballet is another story :(. I am totally gonna make you guys perform your dance for me!
Yay! Those hip hop classes at UT are really fun. The highlight of my life is still when the (tough, scary-looking) instructor said, “Y’all ain’t moving your booties enough! Look at that girl. THAT girl knows how to use her booty!” That girl was ME! That’s the only compliment I received from him for the entire class, b/c, as it turns out, “using that booty” doesn’t quite translate to “being able to learn routines and dance well.”
Also, where are the ears on that kitty? I WANT.
Despite the huge coverage on dancing in this post, it just makes me wonder why I haven’t hung out with Erica G in forever. Is this a conspiracy? This is EXACTLY the kind of awesomeness one misses out in such a circumstance!!
I appreciate everyone’s support on mine and Posh’s hip hop journey (and I will see you on Sat. John), but I do not know if She has truly explained how proud I am of what we did.
I arrived before Sarah, and while waiting I only saw 2 people go into Dance zone for this class and they were both HARD CORE!!! And were actually practicing and discussing moves outside. I was very nervous. Then not only is Dance Zone inside the dorm, but it has windows that can be see both from outside and from the lobby. So we had people watching. I was very tempted to tell Sarah….”ummm nevermind..I think this idea is much better over wine” but I did not and we Did it together….GO HIP HOP PANTS!! We were so nervous we at first paid just for one class, but after we realized during the class just how bad ass we were, of course we did the whole month.
I am sooo happy we did this together Sarah!! I see a great April in our future.
Oh yeah…and it is true. I must be a natural at breakdancing cause I totally rocked it!! Perhaps I can show off my mad skilz pirate style this weekend!!
(and we are taking suggestions for our battle group)
Sarah and Erica, I am so proud of both of you. As Mere and I can attest, it takes a lot of courage and fierceness to walk into a dance class for the first time. At least neither of you rolled on top of each other, like I did to poor Meredith.
When you guys step it up 2 the streets, I want to be there to watch. I love dance battles nearly as much as I love rap battles, which is a whole lot. Nothing will of course top my love for drumline battles, as immortalized in the amazing climactic scene from my favorite movie ever, Drumline. Which I would link for you if youtube were not being all screwy right now.
Instead, I’ll let you in on a little blast from my past - my very first dance recital. Isn’t my makeup amazing? Also, notice that I have the exact same haircut, 24 years later.
ha! I knew if I stuck with it, I could find it.
I mean, how amazing is this??
Erin, your eye makeup skillz have improved madly, yo.
Also, you may have rolled over me in our jazz class, but I was definitely the worse dancer of the two of us (which sadly makes me the worst dancer in our class of mostly 14-year-olds). We are so hilarious, enrolling in Intermediate b/c we took jazz, like, 15 years ago. We’re beginners all the way, baby.
dude, becky, you are so right. WHY AM I NOT WATCHING AMERICA’S BEST DANCE CREW?!!! oh that’s right, i don’t have cable. but rest assured i will be scouring the internets for videos of it.
and erin, that picture is awesome. i have to say, though, my ballet outfit had more sequins than yrs. so THERE.
Yeah, watching the video of the dance-off could be cool…but you should totally have a dance-off party and invite me because this is something I wanna see live.
I still can’t believe how brave you two are. Seriously.
mere, the stage mom had a heavy hand. And/or just wanted to make me look like a hooker that even the fifth ward wouldn’t claim.
Sarah, yeah, but did yours have a tiara made out of a pipe cleaner? No? Then I think I still win. But that’s okay, cause there’s no way that four-year-old me will be able to do anything but stare, gobsmacked, when current-day-you takes the streets in your forthcoming hip-hop battle. You better bring it!
Also I’ve tried on my pirate outfit and I fear that I look more like a vaudeville girl wearing fingerless gloves and a crazy bone necklace. Were there any vaudevillian pirates?