1.  Seek and create genuine friendships.  No, not for the sake of networking, but to build a network of support in a very unpredictable world.  

2.  Keep your negative voices quiet.  It’s easy to give in, but negativity will cripple you .  Welcome experiences with open arms and an open mind… as much as possible.

3.  Simplify.  Make a list of very short-term goals, and start completing them day by day, week by week.  The feeling of accomplishment will empower you to do more.

4.  Continuously ask for help.  Ask for opportunities to be critiqued, to perform, to record videos, and to learn choreography. By putting yourself out there, you’re inviting others to care about you.  You’ll set yourself up for opportunity, growth, and progress.

5.  Remember why you’re there… 
and stay true to it.

with love,
April Rodriguez 

A respected leader once expressed,

I’m not above washing dishes.  I don’t believe that any job is too small because these things NEED to happen for the team.  I used to pick up phone lines… I held the title of administrative assistant once… I’m not above this, because these jobs are necessary for progress.  This is what I had to do to get here and I would never ask anyone to do anything I didn’t understand.

It’s so arrogant… how I used to think—that I would be SO QUICK to judge certain jobs such as working in fast food, discount stores, etc.  Raised from the shanty villages and farmlands of the Philippines, I have absolutely no reason to be arrogant.  But a lot of people think this way… honestly.  I’m sorry that I didn’t give people enough credit.

Growing up independently, trying to survive as a dancer, and fend for myself has really given me a slap in the face.  This “starving artist” life has shown me how ungiving the REAL world is and that before we have anything to be proud of, we need to humble ourselves first.

Ideally, we’d like to do only that which we dream, but we can’t just jump to our dream job without finding ourselves doing not-so-glamorous things first.  For anyone to think otherwise is to have really high expectations above what life is REALLY like.  Sometimes in order to pursue your dream, you’ll find yourself in very humbling positions, and this I believe is necessary to understand what it really takes to survive… to be accountable for your own life and face your real-life responsibilities while pursuing your fantasy.  I’ve seen that dreams are attainable, but “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.”  There’s no skipping the length of hardship in between.

To learn humility is quite a difficult experience, but I’ve seen it to be the spine of many great and respectful leaders.  I’m constantly praying to trust this more and learn progress through the hard choices life calls me to make.

10:00am - Prep: hair, makeup, outfit
12:00pm - Call time
5:30pm - Done with 330 girls.  Finish first cut
9:00pm - back for callbacks only to be told to come back tomorrow @ 12:00pm

12 hour day for this audition -__-

Taking a risk and progressing further than you expected is a pretty great feeling.  All in all, through the downs of today—waiting, nervousness, practicing the routine over and over again for 5 hours, I’d say that today was pretty successful.  Making it through the first cut was surprising.  I haven’t been to an audition in a long while.  Due to several conditions, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle the stress today, so I wasn’t too excited to go…. or… could I be making excuses?! 

Usually, everytime I get a call about an audition, there’s a big battle going on inside of me—my insecurity versus my will to pursue this life long dream.  It seems like everytime an audition comes up, fear strikes me to figure out some rational excuse not to go… but my willpower always opposes telling me that if I don’t ever push myself to go for this, I’ll never, ever grow.  What did I come here to do again?!

In the midst of it all, thanks to the support I’ve been receiving.  It really does mean a lot, and regardless of what happens tomorrow, to get this far is success enough.  I can sleep happy :)

Anyone care to share some resolutions?

Thanks for the ReBlogs on my previous posts!  Spreading the word about this tragedy even a little bit helps, because so many people haven’t heard about this and you never know who may want to do their part to contribute or donate.

@Orangepoopz, I agree—it’s pretty sad that NOT many people have reblogged.  I expect that.  I think that most people won’t because, naturally, people are more concerned with things that concern them.  Personal blogs are all about me-me-me, and that’s.. what …they’re made for… right?!  

Since I AM Filipino, this tragedy speaks to me on a personal level.  Whatever I can do for my homeland while out here in the U.S., I would do because I’ve realized that whole families in the PI are forced to share a packet of Instant Noodles for a meal… while we in the U.S. delight in our buffets and huge portions of food that would feed multitudes in other places of the world.  The $5 we spend on a Big Mac Meal can feed a whole family for a couple of days?!  How freakin’ ridiculous!  Most of us are unaware and so detached being oceans away.  It’s SUPER NORMAL not to care.

I would hope that in the holiday season, people are doing their part to put others before them.  Happy Holidays, everyone.  Tis the season for giving!  Most of us will experience the joy of opening presents this year and some may greedily wish for more.  Sadly, many of our brothers and sisters will be far from that and experiencing the saddest grief of their lives.  

What can we do?

In 60 seconds, type out as many “I choose..” lines as you can—whatever FIRST comes to mind. Afterwards, reflect through them.  Be motivated through the choices you know you’re responsible for making in life.

I choose to live freely. I choose to stand tall. I choose to create. I choose my music. I choose to dance. I choose to listen. I choose to observe. I choose to let loose. I choose to be happy. I choose to be fun. I choose to surround myself with good people. I choose to love. I choose to be entertained. I choose to entertain. I choose to trust. I choose to be careful. I choose to see the good in people. I choose where I drive. I choose where I spend my time. I choose where I spend my money. I choose to choreograph. I choose to not be confined to a cage. I choose to dance bigger. I choose to take criticism. I choose to follow my dream. I choose to live my dream. I choose to confront bullies in pursuit of my dream. I choose to step forward even if I’m scared. I choose to sacrifice. I choose to let God move me as best as I can. I choose to use my talent as best as I can. I choose to dance till I can’t anymore. I choose to grow. I choose to learn. I choose to cry. I choose to sweat. I choose to do whatever it takes to reach my goals. I choose to learn from good people. I choose to be honest with my flaws. I choose to recognize and deal with my flaws. I choose to not reject people. I choose to take every situation and see positive outcomes. I choose to battle addiction. I choose to educate. I choose to be a student. I choose to be a woman. I choose to be strong. I choose understanding. I choose tolerance. I choose patience. I choose to read. I choose to write. I choose to love art. I choose to find beauty in the simplest things. I choose to wear sweats. I choose simple things. I choose to live adventurously. I choose to see life as a big adventure. I choose to live passionately.

NOTE: wrote this in October 27, 2009 and surprisingly, it circulated throughout different dance communities in different countries—even ones in Europe and Asia.  WOW… totally wasn’t expecting that!  There are a couple new perspectives I’ve learned in the past couple of years—I’ve used the term “Urban Choreography” here, though there are definitely other names to term what I believe this “new style” is… AND I’ve also learned that popping and locking and house are not essentially “Hip Hop,” but they can fall under the umbrella of Funk styles, and have influences from disco or electronica.  Well.. I’m still learning and figuring this whole thing out.  Just thought I’d re-post my opinion for other reflective dancers to ponder upon :)

In class a LONG time ago, one of my first Hip Hop dance instructors told me…

“This isn’t Hip Hop.  It’s Urban Choreography.”

After a few years of experiencing the dance community, I’ve realized the need to re-evaluate my title as a Hip-Hop dancer.  As a beginner who was very NEW to street dance, I didn’t understand what he meant and continued to believe I was training as a “hip hop” dancer, when I really wasn’t.

Different languages of the world (chinese, spanish, english) are kinda like different dance styles (ballet, jazz, hip hop).  We’re able to distinguish between different kinds, because each language uses its own unique rules of grammar and sentence structure, just as each dance style uses its own steps and technique.  Over the years, languages and dance styles have changed.  We’ve used the term EVOLUTION to describe what we see now in Hip Hop versus what it was in the past.  On the other hand, I think what has emerged over time isn’t Hip Hop itself, but instead a different dance style that was INSPIRED by Hip Hop.  Urban Choreography–an entirely separate language, born and inspired by a collection of the earlier languages.  For example,  Tagalog (Filipino) was formed and influenced by the Spanish, Malaysian, English, Arabic, and Chinese languages.  Couldn’t we say that like Tagalog, our dance style was inspired by Hip Hop as well as other styles of dance, and has collected all of that to become it’s own language with it’s own unique structure?  We wouldn’t call Tagalog “Spanish-evolved” or “Chinese-evolved,” simply because the three languages follow entirely different rules.

Nowadays, people have a few different names to refer to the style of dance being taught in many Hip Hop classes:  LA style, West Coast style, commercial Hip-Hop, new-style Hip Hop, but to call it Hip Hop is to assume that it follows the basic fundamentals of Hip Hop dance–techniques in breaking, locking, popping, wacking, funk, groove, swagg etc.  I’m no Hip Hop head… I’ll admit it.  But when I SEE breaking, locking, popping, and all other styles of true Hip Hop dance, there is no denying that there is a totally different look to THAT kind of Hip Hop compared to what we call “new hip hop,” which varies greatly according to individual interpretation and also lacks greatly in strict rules and technique.  In true Hip Hop, there are basic names of steps and techniques that aren’t completely present in this new style… so though we may dance as freely and as creatively as we want to Hip Hop and R&B music, can we REALLY say that it is Hip Hop?.. or are we just over-generalizing things to spare ourselves the trouble of analyzing & truly understanding Hip Hop history?

With so many new dancers coming up in the next generation, I think it’s very important for all those capable to educate them wisely and accurately… and that we don’t discredit or undermine the value of Hip Hop’s history.

in God we trust
<33 APRIL joy
youtube.com/apreezee