I was talking to my sister the other night. I mentioned to her that when I was growing up, I used to kinda hide the fact that I love to dance. Middle school, High school fellows did not really fond of the idea of dancing. There was a stereotype that those who dance in school events, or wherever might be, are type of people who flirt, trying to be the center of attention. Not wanting to be associated with those things, I never participated in school's dance activities, like any talent shows, or extracurricular. However, secretly and diligently I was working my ass off practicing at home, at Marlupi dance studio, and some dance groups. Silly times, hahaha.. I still remembered that MTV aired Wade Robson Project on Sunday afternoon, my mom and I watched the show together. Then, I would try to learn his moves. Whenever they air the show, I would always watch it, even though I had watched that particular episode before. I remembered 2 contestants from the show: Twitch and David Moore. I sort of cant believe, now I took classes from these people, even Wade Robson himself. Well, anyways, before I left for Seattle, I did my research on dance studios. Found one, and learned there. But, I've always had my eyes on Millennium Dance Complex in LA. The place to be for high caliber dancers. It is such a shame I didn't train seriously until a year ago. So, I went to LA every summers, danced for hours there. I've always wanted to move to LA for this reason. Well, here I am now, purposely just living few blocks away from Millennium. Plus, My parents are quite, not fully, supportive of dancing. I don't have a word to express this grateful feelings. Sometimes, I would feel like there are people who are less fortunate, but are more talented than me, they might deserve the privilege I have. Dancing is surely a privilege. Learning from the best gurus are just beyond words. I'm aware of that, and that's why I'm learning as much as possible, and trying not to take all the available resources for granted.
Do I deserve to be here? I don't know. It's been a long way for me just to reach this point. It was only a dream, but then the ball start rolling. I've been working pretty hard, juggling with kinda hectic schedule, picking myself up every time I'm down, and growing thick-face.
I might not the best or the greatest dancer (yet). But, I know I'm quite proud of myself. I'm coming from a country where the dance scene is nowhere near comparable to Hollywood standard. Society overlooks and undermines dancing. Telling you the truth, most of kids in my culture have our future jobs pre-determined already. It's businessmen/women (or business-related jobs), engineering jobs, and some designers. My parents keep telling me thousand times that I couldn't pursue dancing as a major, let alone career. Really, the job options are limited. Dancing blood is not running in my family. I have very little training of it. So, now I'm here sharing the floor with talented people from all over the world. Most, if not all, of them have been dancing since they have been dancing since they were born.
I feel it's just miracle that took me to this point. And, few times when I got called in class, you know I feel like going to cloud 9.
It's been a long way. And yet, there's a long road ahead of me. I'm eager and excited to learn, improve, and share the passion.
Most credits go to Him the Big Guy, my parents who are sincerely putting up with my "weirdness," supportive friends, my beloved Ps. Scott Dudley, my teachers who helped me grow in one way or another: Tante Marlupi, Wade Robson, Jermaine Browne, Luam, Eric Negron,Nick Demoura, Jayson Wright, Misha Gabriel, Marty Kudelka, Kenny Wormald, Ivan Koumaev,Joesar Alva, Karon, Donyelle Jones, Nick Wilson, Tucker Barkley, David Moore, Shane Sparks, Rhapsody, Nick Bass, Lyle Beniga, Shaun Evaristo, Leslie Scott -> it's a long list, not a complete one, those are who I can remembered their influence in me. But hey, I gotta respect those who make me who I am today.
As my mom always says: Ora et Labora, and nothing is impossible.
