#teamKODACHROME

This past weekend, I travelled to Richmond, VA for a Kodachrome Summer Intensive workshop with my best fwend, Perry! (: It was such a great experience being able to dance again and seeing all of my old friends as well as making new ones. Kodachrome is a dance community based in Virginia and North Carolina that puts on dance workshops once a month at different colleges in the state. Each workshop offers a different style in dance, not just hip hop, and allows all of us to meet new people and meet local choreographers as well as choreographers from the west coast and other areas. Basically, Kodachrome's mission is to #exposedance and bringing in new experiences for people in all forms of dance as well as all different levels. We are a huge community that has expanded from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, etc. Kodachrome is an amazing family that I am so grateful to be a part of.

                                          

When I am talking about a huge and amazing family, I really do mean it! The vibe that Kodachrome emanates at each workshop I've attended is always friendly, approachable and familiar. This is a family that welcomes you with open arms and allows you to meet so many new and different people who are always going to be extremely supportive of you in all of your future endeavors. I'm glad to have been adopted into this family and am even more excited to be a representative of the Kodachrome workshop at JMU this year!   

Teachers (left to right) - Top: Tierra Green, Michael Esteban, Reza Mina
Bottom: Malcolm "Blaze" Little, Jake Pesquira, Dion Denis, Alonzo Williams

The teachers from this weekend's intensive were so diverse in styles and each one brought a different dance and life lesson when they taught. It really made me appreciate the dance community even more and furthered my passion to want to start a community just like this after I've graduated. The second day, we had an entire workshop taught by choreographers part of the dance crew "Rhythm City" from the Bronx, NY! They drove all the way down from New York at 4am to come teach at Kodachrome which made me so much more appreciative of what they were doing. Each class was different and pushed me in a different way. My body is extremely tired and sore from this weekend, but I am definitely hungry to learn more. I'm so inspired by everyone that I really cannot wait for the upcoming school year and being able to travel all over and learn more! Hooray! Anyways, enough about all of my revelations and life knowledge I've compiled this past weekend. Below are some snapshots I took (: 

3 above pictures: Teachers from Rhythm City

hanging out with the teachers, ya knowww

My FIRST Kodachrome apparel! (: The newest crew neck that they've created! I love it so much and it's so soft on the inside (: The picture on the left is the front with the sleeves saying "EXPRESS YOURSELF" and the picture on the right is the back of the crew neck.

Mah Best Fwend - Perry (:

New Friends! Hadiya &Megan

Marbien! (: matching tourist couple 

Dance Inspiration: Breakdancing Around the World

I haven't posted anything about dance in a while, but take a peek at this vimeo I found. Produced by: Adam Sjoberg, he has set out on a mission to discover and document hip hop culture through out the world. This video is extremely inspiring! It helped me realize what I could possibly want to do for my future. Hip hop is what connects people and it is the heart of dancers and any artists who associate themselves with the culture. After watching this video it really inspired me to travel the world even more and see how others connect with dance or any form of the arts. (I'm about to go into my "the arts" ramble, you can stop reading here if you'd like)

I really would love to pursue something in the arts later on in my career. I blogged about this on my tumblr, but creating a space for artists and children to explore this type of field would be really wonderful. A lot of people don't understand how important any form of the arts is to children, whether it is dance, song, theatre, painting, sculpture, etc... all of these are areas in which people can escape, transform, feel inspired, or express themselves in a different way. Being able to really appreciate and understand all of these forms of expression has become something I am trying to do more of. A lot of people can find inspiration, motivation and self discovery through different aspects... something about dance lets you explore yourself as well as being able to share and understand the expressions and thoughts of another person. It really is a gift. Enjoy the video!

With Love, Cassandra 

Dance Dance Dance

I couldn't resist posting another video I found featuring choreography from Sohey Sugihara and Miki Emura. The song is so upbeat, how could you NOT dance to it?! Plus, this choreography is so fast paced and perfect... it'll really get you moving. Must start dancing again soon...

Dance Dance Dance

I miss dancing so much! Ever since practices ended for Mozaic Dance Team and Visual Distortions Dance Crew, I've only been focusing on finals and packing up to move home. Now that I'm back home, I haven't found any time to really dance or freestyle. Watching Daniel Jerome's newest video really inspired me and is really motivating me to get back into dancing and freestyle as often as possible. Plus, the fact that he came to JMU for Coalescence to teach a workshop is even more inspiring because I learned from him and was there to shake his hand! This summer, it's my goal to train hard and grow in my dancing. Hooray!