Tradition meets trend

Today I had the privilege to do one of my all time favorite performances. I got the chance to collaborate with a very talented kantele artist, Ida Elina. Kantele is Finland’s national instrument that has a significant role even in our national epic Kalevala. Today the concert kantele looks quite different from the early versions of the instrument but, nevertheless, it is as traditionally Finnish as an instrument can be.

It was exciting to get to dance to kantele music especially because I am a street dancer. Combining techniques and movement from the various dances I love that are usually danced into very different music, allowed me to almost be an extra instrument. I tried not just to dance to the music but to tell stories and appreciate her artistry. The performances combined a traditional instrument, pop music and street dance in a historic venue… Definitely interesting.

All this was made possible by the event organizing platform Venuu and of course the entrepreneurs of the White Hall.

Ida Elina: http://www.idaelina.com

Venuu: http://www.venuu.fi

Dancer, choreographer, dance teacher – and now also a dance school owner.

Year 2015 seems to become a big year for me. I am working hard to be the best version of myself and I am also taking big steps in my career. I finally became officially a bachelor of psychology (I’ve completed the studies ages ago but now I got the thesis and the certificate), I’m involved in a research project about dance therapy for chronic brain damage patients, I coach and make choreography for 6 competing teams, I train harder than I’ve trained before and I’m happy to be a part of a crew. I am also the executive director of a new dance school in Vantaa and quite excited about that.

As some of my readers might have deduced from my earlier posts, I am quite into this dancing thing. Dance is the major component of my life and I love it. I never dreamt of becoming the head of a dance school, though. But, I think this is a prime example of what my father has told me: do the things that feel right and good now and life will take you to the right place.

I have taught dance for 5 years at VVS (Vantaa gymnastics club) and it is almost hard to believe how a gymnastics club has become one of the leading street dance centers in Finland. Our crews do extremely well in local competitions and we have hundreds of dancers. At the same time, we teachers have been craving for more! We want our students to have the chance to dance as much as they want and train as hard as they want. During the last year I’ve worked very hard to be able to enable my students (and other dancers) to have an environment that lets them explore their capabilites and limits as dancers. I feel like this is the right path and I want to keep pushing to create even more opportunities. These are some of the reasons why starting our own dance school just feels right. Having a dance organization instead of a dance department in a gymnastics organization gives us a sense of importance and dignity that we think street dance deserves.

I’m proud to introduce Vantaa Street Dance Association (VKTY) – the new home for street dance and also other dance styles in Vantaa. The organization of which I am the executive director of. We are a non profit organization so we exist for the dances and dancers – not for anyone of us to become rich or for other personal reasons. We have a mission of raising the level of street dance and street dance teaching in Finland and to allow dancers pursue their goals and dreams in dance.

There are of course many dance schools in Finland already. But I really do think that we are a breath of fresh air among the dance schools. Some schools only strive for success in the Finnish Championships, others don’t have any classes for ambitious dancers, some want to look cool and some are expensive. Because we are a non-profit, we can keep our prices low. We offer classes and groups to dancers on all levels whether they want to compete or not and we train dancers both in freestyle and choreography. We are known for good vibes and a warm atmosphere. I know I might sound like I am bragging but I am just so proud and for a good reason. I cannot wait to see what the future has for us! Personally, I feel like this is the start of a new chapter in my life because now I can represent something that I fully believe in and work with people who believe in those same things.

Street SM 2015

Once again it was time for the biggest annual street dance competition in Finland – the Finnish championships. Or as we say, Street SM. This year I had 5 groups in the competition. Two of them had made it through the preselection earlier this year, one had won another big dance competition just a week earlier and two were competing for the first, and last time.

On the first day of the competition, I had groups in the street dance showcase and adults2 street dance formation categories. These categories are open to all street dance styles.

My vogue group called the House of Gs participated the showcase category with a choreography called Mafia. I wanted to do a vogue showcase because I think that the way vogue is seen in Finland is very unidimensional. Every one wants to see vogue femme and if there’s new way, the choreographies are always based on the same angles and lines. So, I wanted to show them a bit more variety in the techniques and a different approach. I also wanted to give a chance to students I had already been working with and that’s why I didn’t put up open auditions. One of my seven dancers had been doing vogue a bit more than the others but most were new to the dance. So in a way, I was taking huge risk – I wanted to make a point but I didn’t necessarily have the dancers for that. But, part of the reasons why I do choreographies in general, is that they are a great tool for learning, and that’s why I actually liked it that at the same I got new people into voguing.

Here’s the showcase. They placed 9th and I think that is a really good accomplishment for newbies. With time and training, I think these guys can become quite dangerous dancers.

In the adults2 formation category I had high expectations. My group Sprainz had won the category twice in a row and this year we had been working a lot on their technique and I really wanted them to be able to dance and not just execute.

Well, in the final round they really went in and the result was an overpowering victory. Here’s their show “Wild Wild Vantaa” (Vantaa is the city where our dance school is based).

I’m really proud of them! The oldest dancer in that group is 53 years old. Most of them have started dancing less than 3 years ago, some have been on it less than a year. It’s not easy for a grown up person with a real job to throw themselves so far out of their comfort zone but these people do it without hesitation.

On the second day, it was time for the adults street dance formations, adults2 and adults hip hop small groups.

The adults hip hop small group choreo was made by my friend and colleague but I had trained the dancers in the fall so it was kinda my group, too. Unfortunately they didn’t make it through to the final round, but 10th place is not something to be ashamed of. In my opinion, they should’ve been in the final because they represented something that I didn’t see so much in the other groups – genuine fun, enjoying the dance and being there as a crew. The level was high, though, and all the groups that were in the final were very clean and sharp.

Adults2 hip hop small group category was a new one. My dancers were a lot more nervous about that one than the formation and that could be seen. They got an extremely fast song and it was almost funk rather than hip hop so they were struggling a bit. Some clear mistakes in the choreo got them nervous and unfortunately they couldn’t do their best. Dancewise I think they were one of the best groups but in a competition, mistakes count. They placed 4th which was a disappointment to them. I’m still very happy that they had the courage to enter and try a new thing. And sometimes competing is like that – you simply can’t always win everything.

The crew I was most “nervous” about was the adults formation. This was the fourth season I coahced Rascalz but it was the first season when every dancer was new. In the beginning of the season I really didn’t believe they would’ve necessarily even been in the finals. I have enjoyed teaching them tremendously! Their attitude towards practice is really good and they have grown as dancers during the year more than I ever expected them to. The hard work paid off and they placed third in a tight competition – the second place was one judge vote away. Here’s their final round:

What made me happier than the medal, was their thoughts and feelings about the whole year, each other and dance. I received multiple messages from the dancers saying that they’ve either learnt more than ever before, fell in love with dancing, realized what this culture is about or something alike. I was crying my eyes off when some of them told me they had received more compliments during the year than ever in their lives and that they had reached long-term dreams. Things like that make this whole dance teaching thing so much more meaningful than what it would be just teaching moves.

All in all, I was very pleased to see that the level in Finland is rising. I feel like almost every choreographer had stepped up and at least tried to bring something real (there were a few unfortunate exceptions that weren’t either street dance or that had no clue of what they styles really are).

One of the best parts of the whole Street SM weekend was the after party on Saturday! The club was super nice and clean, sounds were clear and the DJs played really good music. I loved seeing my students getting it in on the dance floor and having fun with it. Sometimes it’s so hard for students to enjoy dance outside of the studio because they’ve learnt to just execute. So now, when people were sweating and smiling, jumping into cyphers and being a bit silly, I was really happy. Experiencing that and also sitting through the competition and just cheering for my students and friends, got me hyped up! Now I can’t wait to start creating next year’s choreographies and keep working on my own skills, too. Who knows, maybe 2016 I will make a comeback as a dancer and not just choreographer in Street SM.

The last year, the next year

Happy anniversary with wordpress.com!

Thank you, wordpress. It’s been a good year. Quite a busy one full of challenges. I guess this is a good moment to look back at my year and see if I’ve achieved what I’ve wanted to achieve or worked towards my dreams.

During the last year,

I was organizing the biggest annual street dance event in Finland, which was a huge success. All in all, I organized or co-organized 11 different dance events,

my students placed 1st and 2nd in their own categories in the Finnish championships. Personally, I won two different hip hop battles, placed third in the hip hop 2 vs 2 category in the Finnish championships and was in the top 4 in three different dance competitions,

I taught 10-15 hours a week all the time. Hip hop, house and voguing, all levels of students, in three different dance schools,

I submitted the first version of my bachelor’s thesis about dance therapy, mirror neurons and empathy,

I kept studying in the university and getting good grades,

I was a singer in a nationally touring band that plays gipsy music,

I performed as a singer in various events and took vocal lessons regularly,

I started studying Japanese,

I became the executive director of a new dance school / organization.

During the last year, I was also tired and stressed out at times. I felt like I do too much for everyone else and my own art and my studies suffer because of that. I felt like no one appreciates what I do and no one sees my work, and that I am always second to my colleagues. I felt like I can’t reach my true potential in anything that I do because I’m involved in so many different things. At times I felt like I am a bad girlfriend, a bad daughter and a bad friend.

But then again, during the last year, I have been with my family, loved my man and got love back, helped my friends in all kinds of situations from moving in to fetching forgotten keys and advertising for events. I read a few good books, listened to a lot of good music, saw some great movies, wrote lyrics and tried to capture the beauty of the world in pictures. I wrote diary entries and I read my own diary entries and on the pages I met a young woman who is on the edge of her own greatness.

During the last year, I started to accept something. The understanding that I am me, there is no one else like me and that I am allowed to shine, started to make its way into my thinking. That is probably where this writing stems from as well. It is liberating to be OK with it and it makes it so much easier to celebrate others, too, without the need to continuously compare me to them. Now that I have started to accept my own way of being, maybe during the next year I will be able to manifest it more – maybe I will take even bigger steps towards what I dream of without looking for acceptance from anyone else than myself.

During the next year, I will keep being a good dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, psychology student, host, event organizer, singer, girl friend, daughter, friend, book fanatic, generally intelligent person… me.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog and subscribed during the first year. There is plenty more of this so stay tuned. And if you like my dance videos, please share them. Visibility is vital to us dancers – it is what gets us work and brings food to the table.

 

 

My Style

Yesterday, I participated in a dance battle event called My Style. Jenni “Jeniwai” Tuunainen had organized a great event with international judges and there were many participants from both Finland and Estonia. I felt really relaxed and I just wanted to explore my own dance as much as possible and enjoy the music and movement. For me, the name of the event was quite accurate because I really started to express my own style of hiphop dance and that ended up well; to my surprise I won the battle! I had a really great time both on the dance floor and watchin people on it. It was good to see many new faces in both categories and everybody feeling the vibe.

Here are the videos from all my battles. In the quarter final I got to dance against my really good friend Sami who I entered the Battle SM with and we ended up winning bronze. Semifinal was against Julius, a talented young man who trains and dances with his twin brother Josua. Especially I enjoyed the final that was against Jenni from Cleva Crew and that’s also the battle where I did my best. Jenni is a really nice person and a really good dancer and I like her attitude and energy a lot.

I’m thankful for the support that I got from my students and my friends. Before the battles I got some good advice from a friend from Belgium when he told me to just show who I am through the dance and relax. I had to believe in the people who believe in me and decide not to talk myself down or give up because I thought I couldn’t make it. So, all in all, this was much more than just a battle for me. It was the beginning of a journey of me finding my style and enjoying my dance.

Things to do while waiting

I was in Central Finland practicing for a concert series and a cabaret with the team. One morning our director/lead singer got really sick and I was sent home because I simply didn’t have anything to do there. I wasn’t very happy but there was nothing really to do about it and so I found myself sitting in the train station of a really small city. Everything was closed and I had a lot of stuff with me and I didn’t want to start dragging my suitcase around while searching for something to do. Luckily I had my little speaker with me so I could dance which ultimately lead to filming this little video.

While shooting I noticed a very Finnish side of myself – every time someone walked in to that tunnel, I stopped dancing. It felt nearly arrogant to be there filming myself. Then again, as a dancer I should be used to people looking at me and be happy about that. And I guess, in the end, who gives a crap? At least I had fun and the time flew by and hopefully some folks will enjoy the product, too.

OKT 2014

For a few years, I’ve planned on doing a summer tour in Finnish street dance events but I’ve always been traveling to other countries. This summer I didn’t make a tour but I did make it to Oulu, a city on northern Finland, and it’s biggest annual street dance festival Oulun katutanssit (OKT in short).

I was happy to be a part of a fun group that practiced for this event for a few weeks. We called ourselves “Hustle like a sex machine” because of the song we picked. We had a lot of fun and we did make it to the top 3 after which new crews were formed randomly to the final all styles crew battle. My crew didn’t win but I had a good time anyway.

It was especially great about this event that the stage was in the center of the city and the weather happened to be amazing, too. Many random people stayed to watch the dancing and I think street dances got decent exposure to a big audience which is always a good thing.

Here’s a video of our showcase, I’m the one wearing a turquoise blazer.

And here is the final battle. I go in at about 7 minutes and 15 seconds, throwing a bit of house and voguing.

Nordic Soul

A few weeks ago, Cleva crew from Finland organised an international dance festival called Nordic Soul Festival. It was good to see so many Finnish dancers get on the move and share the dance floor. I participated hiphop and house, although I didn’t qualify to the top 8 in either one. Still, I had fun and I got lots of good feedback.

It is me from 1:00 onwards.