A Learning by Experience and Reflection
It is my belief that, in order to be an effective teacher, I must be a learner at the same time. Only then can I empathise with my students' learning curve.
Recently, I completed a 3-month-long learning process. Proud to say, I was part of a dance recital, “Remembering You”, spearheaded by the STEP Studio. It was the first-of-its-kind in my life.
Back in 2016, I was looking for a studio to learn Contemporary Dance from the very basic. So, I looked up for a studio near my place. STEP Studio was it.
Thank God, I have very understanding and generous teachers to begin with. Jing Wen (JW) and Stephanie Loh (Step) are the Contemporary Dance gurus and accomplished dancers in their own field.
Despite her young age, JW has a whole wealth of performance experience to share with her students. She is a teacher-at-heart. Her keen eye for details makes it almost impossible to escape her correcting and sculpting our every move. She knows her students' weaknesses well and she will design choreography to target their weaknesses.
Here are JW's three laws of learning which I think can be transferred into language learning:
(1)You don't spend an inordinate amount of time on what you are already (naturally!) good at; instead, you put in more time and more practice sessions to overcome your weaknesses! It's muscle memory!
(2)And when you practice, practise it right. What's the point of practising it the wrong way? You only perfect the wrong to become part of you.
(3)When you have limited space, dance with your body (torso), not your limbs. Dance small in the space, but DANCE BIG INSIDE YOU!
Step is the boss. For the sake of promoting dance culture in Singapore, she and her husband, Deo, set up the STEP dance studio, which is a perfectly safe space for novices to learn to dance.
Deo and Step, husband-and-wife team, dancers, teachers, founders and owners of Step Studio--all rolled into one
Step has the perfect voice that out-sizes her petite frame, any time, any day and anywhere. You can't miss her. And her voice is only matched by her great sense of humour and an even bigger heart. Like a strict but indulgent 'Lion Mom' and a Big Sister, she protects and trains her students well, especially the Youth Crew members. She often reminds her students that, techniques aside, “Contemporary Dance is all about intent and purpose. So, channel your emotions through your movements. Every bit of purposeful movement elevates the quality of the dance. There's no need to look pretty or super ballerina. Remember: TENSION, INTENTION, EXPLOSION, EMOTION!”
In fact, it is her awesome gift of encouragement that nudged me into signing up for the audition for the dance recital. I got through and joined JW's dance team. Altogether, there were about 10 teams.
Warm-up session for all dancers before the big performance
More than a dance recital, it was a dance production, The narrative arch was inspirational. In the world of competitive dance, there bound to be winners and losers. While the winners may bask in all the glory and enjoy limelight, they should not forget their roots. In the story, Jeff was the winner of a dance audition. But he remembered his good friend and fellow dancer, Sheryl, who had encouraged him to pursue his dream. Although Sheryl felt dejected after losing out to other aspiring dancers at the audition, eventually, she picked herself up and set up a dance studio to inspire others to dance.
Sharing a meal together after dance practice
Although I had a bit of dance background, that did not exactly prepare me mentally, let alone physically, for the new adventure! Furthermore, switching my role from teacher to student, learning new stuff from the vibrant youths (who could have been my students' age!) was an unforgettable experience.
Some acquaintances of mine and my siblings did not look upon the idea favourably. In not so many words,
“So old already, why you still want to prance around on stage?”
“Don't you think Social Dance or Latin Dance is more suitable for your age?”
“Your place is to teach the next generation. Why let them teach you?”
“Why take the risk?”
In other words, why risk losing my “dignity” and “respectability”?
Yes, it was a risk. However, years of overseas work experience had earned me a different life perspective and a “thicker layer of skin” to take such a risk. And please, it was not that I would risk losing a finger or a toe for this!
Two good friends, TS and TG, supported my audition and risk-taking adventure. In her spark of wisdom and professorial tone, TS said, “This is an age of robotics and AI. The young people are harnessing the technology better than the older generations. So, imagine a world when the children are leading the adults?” And TG would move heaven and earth in order to re-organise my tuition classes around my new adventure schedule.
Initially, I was really struggling. I was not used to listening to the music “In This Shirt” (by The Irrepressibles-Royksopp's version) let alone JW's new choreography which comprised of many powerful moves. It was challenging. What I lack in capacity, I learnt to make it up with the sheer will power as well as my maturity.
The dance team consisted 17 members, including Jing Wen the choreographer. Each member was a big ball of joy and energy and a seasoned dancer and/or performer. Only I and another young lady, Deb, were completely new to such stage production. Understanding this, the team had extended their kindness and generosity to me. Thank God! The “Help Culture” in the team was tremendous.
Angela (an NUS student) was the overall team coordinator. Her work was multi-faceted: messaging, scheduling, planning, costume scouting, practice venue scouting, ordering food and drinks, helping me to order Uber transport and right down to reminding us “Please don't make Step angry”, for Step was already very stressed with the dance production. To date, Angela was the dream coordinator every team would want.
"Let's all flash our megawatts smile before going onto the stage!"
For three months, minimum twice-a-week, the team practised, rehearsed, ate, sweat and breathed together, interpreting only one song and one dance piece. And for three months, I learnt to stay in character.
In the team, the stronger ones would automatically lift up the weaker ones, and in turn the weaker ones would work a lot harder to catch up. The more knowledgeable ones would teach the less knowledgeable ones. I still remember Weixin who taught me how to spin more efficiently, and Wen Jun who taught me how to jump much higher to have more air time. Fel, GonYew and Zi Qun would remind me, from time to time, about my moves and positioning. When the heat of the practice venue affected our full-out rehearsal, Zi Qun would exercise her video-editing skill, so as to deliver an almost perfect-looking video for JW to inspect, making sure it would not drive JW up the wall!
"Let me squeeze in more Biology notes before our next performance!"
The older ones would also make extra consideration for the younger ones (no too-late a rehearsal, must finish by 11pm; exercise self-censorship in speech and deed, set good examples). The younger ones would help the older ones. When one was about to fall from a lift, those at the base would save the person—not once, not twice, but multiple times. When one was injured or could not execute a move any better, JW would try her best to implement what was called “blocking”, in order to protect them in the dance and still keep them on stage. When some of us did not know how to put on stage make-up (especially the dramatic falsies!) or Katniss Everdeen hair-do, the seasoned dancers such as Clara, Vera and Ginette—university students and graduate—would extend their expert helping hands. When the full-run was scheduled to start at 10:30am, everyone would try her best, fight every other life battle (sleepiness and traffic jam), to get there as soon as possible.
Final touch-up before the performance
Step Studio Dance Teachers-the "blood" flowing behind every choreography in the recital
Prior to the performance, every instructor took turn to lead the 100+member dance crew through a series of warm-up exercises. Edmund, the Hip-Hop instructor, was always affable, encouraging us to jump and stretch those muscles. Wen Jun, who wore the hats of Contemporary dancer, choreographer and Creative Director, led us through a series of facial expression exercises—with his signature laughter and huge dose of humour. Whenever Step wanted the crew to be very very warmed up, she would send JW to deliver us through her high-power, high-energy PT which, probably, only National Service guys could handle better. Deo, Step's husband, also a Hip-Hop dancer and instructor himself, led the crew through team and pair-work exercises. That enabled us to get to know other dancers from other teams.
Jing Wen, choreographer, teacher and Contemporary Dance soloist.
Don't try this near-impossible feat at home lest you don't mind breaking your back!
Don't even think of trying...
The invited guest choreographer from Vietnam, Alex Pham, reminded us on the last night of the performance, each of us is small. However, every one is significant. When all of us come together and do our part, we become much larger than our individual self.
His words reminded me of what JW wrote after the final dance practice at SMU, that the dance piece was no longer her choreography; it was “our” choreography. Therefore, it was up to each and every one of us to plump the depth of our own emotional and intellectual well to bring out the dance, TOGETHER.
For three months, we laughed together, we cried together, we fell together, we rose together. Ultimately, what I brought to the stage on the performance nights was no longer “I-Me-Myself”. It was “We”--the teamwork.
I remember, Step often stresses, while the music is there, it is very much up to the dancer to interpret it, to decide which part of the music to emphasize and highlight. Is it the lyrics? The drum beats? Or the string melody? From hindsight, I realise, it is very true. It is the dancer who decides how to “visualize” the unseen music for the audience. The dancer embodies the music.
The entire three-month-journey has changed me. Had I stayed in my comfort zone, I would remain the overbearing queen of the garden, still blind to my own bind spots. Stepping out of my comfort zone into the jungle (albeit still a safe jungle provided by Step and JW) has helped me to humble, receive help and help others, lean on one another in order to reach higher together. In a nutshell, it takes a village to raise a dancer.
JW once said, “Dancers are not human.” Why? The dancer's body is no longer his or hers to keep. It is an instrument. Real dancers are actually generous, kind, courageous, humble, helpful and resourceful. They are not self-centred, vulnerable and irresponsible. The fact is, they choose to be vulnerable in order to do the responsible and selfless thing: to bring the best performance they can into the world in order to change it for the better.
During the rehearsal, Step made an inspiring speech, “Not everyone must be a dance studio boss like me. Not everyone must be an internationally renowned choreographer like Alex, travelling all over the world. Not everyone must be a top dance soloist like JW. But everyone can dance and be a dancer at his or her own pace. Even if our dance touches just one soul out there, we have done our job."
Thumbs Up!
