The vote was unanimous--I will be dancing for my 20-time project!
I chose this because of the vote and because of the advantages for it: stress reliever, a way to “zone out,” and to get myself off of the couch.
Because I needed to have a specific, measurable goal, I set out trying to find three dances that I could specifically learn. I started with finding a simple hip hop warm up since I was interested in hip hop. To save time and incorporate a technology component, I decided to dance to Youtube videos instead of hitting the gym.
However, I quickly discovered that any video that ends with “for kids” does not necessarily mean it is easy. Because I could not follow it after 30 seconds of watching it, I moved on.
So, I decided to narrow my search--I wanted to do the wildly popular Single Ladies dance. However, after looking at a step-by-step video where moved far too slowly in places and too quickly in others and was overall hard to follow, I decided that, since I couldn’t even follow the step-by-step video, I would not try to find a music video to emulate since it would take too much time trying to figure out what they were doing.
So I decided to foray into the Zumba dance world since it incorporates many different types of dances. I had attended a few Zumba classes way back when I was in high school and remembered enjoying them. I found a Zumba video to Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk that was for kids. Although I was skeptical from my last adventure with a “for kids” video, I decided to try it. I could follow along and decided to make it a warm up.
Then, I browsed around for a dance to help me loosen up. So, I did the I Wanna Be Like You video which, in addition to being easy to follow and using a Disney song (which is by definition awesome), it incorporated some Charleston! I loved every second of this video!
Then, I found Lindsay Jay. She’s an instructor from the U.K. The first video I watched was a dance to Shakira’s Wherever Whenever. The arm movement looked like fun--almost Bollywood-esque, so I decided I could give it a try. Additionally, the Waka Waka (also by Shakira) video looked entertaining and also had complex arm and leg movements. I decided to add this in so I could add to my Shakira repetoire. Lindsay Jay also had another video--This Girl Is On Fire, which is one of my favorite songs. I liked the slower pacing of the dance and the creative arm movements so I decided to pick this video as not only one to learn, but to learn at the end as a sort of cool down.
So, my specific measurable goal is to master the dances in these three videos: Waka Waka (Shakira), Wherever Whenever), and This Girl Is On Fire, all of which incorporate some sort of hip hop element. I chose these three because the arm movements looked difficult and I am not the most coordinated person.
The additional songs that I will be dancing to in addition to my chosen three but not necessarily learning are Uptown Funk, I Wanna Be Like You, Timber, and I Know You Want Me. As someone who teaches piano (and is a teacher in general!) I knew I would need some sort of warm up or anticipatory set. So, I chose Uptown Funk (a kids’ version) and I Wanna Be Like You, which are both sort of silly and have slightly easier moves, to warm up to and get loose. Adding in Pitbull's Timber and I Know You Want Me videos was so that I could have a break in between learning the three dances (I’ll do one I will learn and then one or two of these). These videos are all there to break up the solid focus of just learning (the play aspect of my 20% project. I also will not be bored and there is the added advantage that they incorporate many of the same moves in the dances I’ve chosen. I figure that learning these three dances will be a lot like learning to play the piano and, from my knowledge of that, the steps and general theory are just as important as learning a particular song and need to be practiced as well. There’s also a motivational piece in there because I get brownie points for being able to complete these. :)
So, this is my plan of attack for this project! Let me know what you think!
I chose this because of the vote and because of the advantages for it: stress reliever, a way to “zone out,” and to get myself off of the couch.
Because I needed to have a specific, measurable goal, I set out trying to find three dances that I could specifically learn. I started with finding a simple hip hop warm up since I was interested in hip hop. To save time and incorporate a technology component, I decided to dance to Youtube videos instead of hitting the gym.
However, I quickly discovered that any video that ends with “for kids” does not necessarily mean it is easy. Because I could not follow it after 30 seconds of watching it, I moved on.
So, I decided to narrow my search--I wanted to do the wildly popular Single Ladies dance. However, after looking at a step-by-step video where moved far too slowly in places and too quickly in others and was overall hard to follow, I decided that, since I couldn’t even follow the step-by-step video, I would not try to find a music video to emulate since it would take too much time trying to figure out what they were doing.
So I decided to foray into the Zumba dance world since it incorporates many different types of dances. I had attended a few Zumba classes way back when I was in high school and remembered enjoying them. I found a Zumba video to Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk that was for kids. Although I was skeptical from my last adventure with a “for kids” video, I decided to try it. I could follow along and decided to make it a warm up.
Then, I browsed around for a dance to help me loosen up. So, I did the I Wanna Be Like You video which, in addition to being easy to follow and using a Disney song (which is by definition awesome), it incorporated some Charleston! I loved every second of this video!
Then, I found Lindsay Jay. She’s an instructor from the U.K. The first video I watched was a dance to Shakira’s Wherever Whenever. The arm movement looked like fun--almost Bollywood-esque, so I decided I could give it a try. Additionally, the Waka Waka (also by Shakira) video looked entertaining and also had complex arm and leg movements. I decided to add this in so I could add to my Shakira repetoire. Lindsay Jay also had another video--This Girl Is On Fire, which is one of my favorite songs. I liked the slower pacing of the dance and the creative arm movements so I decided to pick this video as not only one to learn, but to learn at the end as a sort of cool down.
So, my specific measurable goal is to master the dances in these three videos: Waka Waka (Shakira), Wherever Whenever), and This Girl Is On Fire, all of which incorporate some sort of hip hop element. I chose these three because the arm movements looked difficult and I am not the most coordinated person.
The additional songs that I will be dancing to in addition to my chosen three but not necessarily learning are Uptown Funk, I Wanna Be Like You, Timber, and I Know You Want Me. As someone who teaches piano (and is a teacher in general!) I knew I would need some sort of warm up or anticipatory set. So, I chose Uptown Funk (a kids’ version) and I Wanna Be Like You, which are both sort of silly and have slightly easier moves, to warm up to and get loose. Adding in Pitbull's Timber and I Know You Want Me videos was so that I could have a break in between learning the three dances (I’ll do one I will learn and then one or two of these). These videos are all there to break up the solid focus of just learning (the play aspect of my 20% project. I also will not be bored and there is the added advantage that they incorporate many of the same moves in the dances I’ve chosen. I figure that learning these three dances will be a lot like learning to play the piano and, from my knowledge of that, the steps and general theory are just as important as learning a particular song and need to be practiced as well. There’s also a motivational piece in there because I get brownie points for being able to complete these. :)
So, this is my plan of attack for this project! Let me know what you think!