Choreographing Rena's Solo

On October 25, I choreographed a jazz solo for a girl from my studio, Rena Gong. I chose the song "Glamorous" by Fergie for her and gave her challenging choreography that I knew she could manage, because I wanted her to experience a different style from the jazz dances she was used to. She was great to work with and was a very hard worker. I'm excited to help her with her solo and can't wait to see how it turns out onstage!

Starting Dance Daze 2015-2016 Season!

I'm so excited to begin this year's Dance Daze program! We received over 100 sign ups, which was amazing and propelled us to start an additional class on Thursdays as well as Tuesdays. Ideally, we will be able to split up the kids into age groups to better cater to their needs. I planned for the program earlier this year, so I am more organized with our lessons and have a better idea about how to make the club the best it can be! This year, we are going to have our end-of-the-year show at a local senior center and perform for the elderly, which benefits both the kids and the seniors. I hope that the kids will have tons of fun learning the different styles of dance and that the teachers will gain an unforgettable experience!

Recap of Dance Daze Spring Showcase

On May 30, 2015, I organized a performance for all the Dance Daze kids in our school theater. They were so excited to perform for their parents, and it was so cool having the theater for their recital. We had a rehearsal before the show so that the kids could get used to the stage and go over their routines. Some Dance Daze members volunteered to help out with the show and a volunteer from our school offered to help out with the tech (lighting, music, etc.), which made my job easier. I was nervous about the show at first, because this was my first time putting together something like this, but the show went pretty smoothly.

I learned a lot from this experience. Next time, I would probably make sure the kids knew their choreography and promote the show more. I would also make sure to make a list of all the materials I need, because I ended up getting a little frazzled from making sure everything was in place. Overall, the show was successful and the kids enjoyed themselves!

Choreographing Snow Lin's Solo

Today (9/7/15), I choreographed a solo for a dancer from another studio to the song Colors of the Wind. She had excellent technique, and it was easy working with her and teaching her my choreography. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot from choreographing, and I can't wait to see her perform this routine onstage!

Assisting in Michigan!

Over the summer, I had the opportunity to assist my teachers Bill and Brian in Canton, Michigan from July 23-25 with another dancer, Brooke. I helped teach the dancers' solos and group dances, which was really fun! I also was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the state and the great food there with my dance family. All in all, it was a wonderful experience and it was so cool traveling across the country to dance!

KAR Nationals 2015 Recap

This year, our studio went to KAR dance competition in Las Vegas for our nationals.We competed our dances from July 5-10. My groups did very well and my solo Find Me placed 6th overall! In addition to KAR, my sister and I also attended Hall of Fame Nationals in Las Vegas. My solo My All placed 9th overall, and our duet Spirit Guidance placed 2nd and was able to re-compete in the duet showdown! Unfortunately, we couldn't re-compete our duet because we had conflicting dance schedules at the KAR competition, but the whole experience was really fun and exciting! I can't wait for next year's nationals!

In10sity Dance Competition 2015

The week after Rainbow Dance Competition, my sister and I attended an optional dance competition called In10sity on May 2nd. We first performed our duet, which ended up placing 1st and was also the highest scoring non-solo from our studio! That being said, our duet, plus the other top four non-solo dances, won a $750 check for our studio! I only performed one solo (Find Me) at this competition and placed 6th overall.

Rainbow Dance Competition 2015

On May 1-3, I attended Rainbow Dance Competition. It was a huge success! My studio won many overalls and awards. My new solo, Find Me, won 4th overall in the senior category against many 18-19 year olds! I was also a runner up for Dancer of the Year. My duet won 1st overall, the duet I choreographed for my sister and her friend got 2nd. Two of my students, Kylie and Tabitha, placed 2nd and 4th! I was so excited! It was a great weekend.

2015 Rainbow Dance Competition Videos

Click on these links to be directed to the videos on YouTube!
Find Me Solo
My All Solo
Should've Known Better
Spirit Guidance Duet

I love teaching little kids!

New Solo!

On Monday Night (4/13/15), my dance teacher taught us a short lyrical combination during Lyrical Tech. The song was to Find Me by Christina Grimmie, and I just felt myself fully immersing in the routine. Although it was just a combination, I danced the hardest I have ever danced in Lyrical Tech and really portrayed my emotions. Two days later, my dance teacher surprised me by saying he wanted to make that combination into an actual routine for me to compete as another solo! At first I was hesitant, because I already have two solos, but he reassured me that this solo would be more focused on bringing out my emotions instead of focusing solely on the technique. For this solo, I wouldn't have to be worried about perfecting the choreography; I could dance however I wanted to without worrying about my placement in overalls. He also told me I would be competing my new solo in two weeks! I'm both excited and nervous about this new solo, but it will be an interesting experience!

Hall of Fame Dance Competition 2015

Last weekend (3/28-3/29), my studio attended Hall of Fame Dance Competition. We did really well and placed in many overalls. One of my students, Kylie, placed 4th with her solo, which is the highest she has ever placed! I was so proud of her; she did a wonderful job. As for me, I placed 6th overall in the senior category, which meant that I was competing against 16-18 year olds! I did really well, considering I was up against some really amazing dancers. Also, my duet with my sister, Spirit Guidance, placed 1st overall! It was a great competition!

You can watch our duet here: http://www.halloffamedance.com/halloffame/jukebox.aspx?id=7859&searchurl=%2fhalloffame%2fsearch.aspx%3fid%3d523%237859

Student Recognition Awards!

This year, I submitted projects for the Student Recognition Award in my school district. I participated in two categories: Dance and Early Childhood Development. I had to audition a dance piece (my solo) and create a lesson plan book for children. I won for both of my categories, and I was one of 80 winners out of over 1,000 entries! I attended an awards breakfast today (4/3/15) and got recognized for my awards. I'm so excited and humble to have received these awards and hope to further my education in those fields!

CHS Dance Daze in Mercury News and in Danville San Ramon!

Here are two more newspaper articles written about my dance club!

Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ci_27777024/around-san-ramon-cal-high-students-teach-dance
Danville San Ramon: http://danvillesanramon.com/news/2015/01/29/cal-high-dancers-offer-free-youth-classes

5 Leg Turns!!!

On March 10th, I did five leg turns for the first time in my life! My dance teacher, Bill, had never seen anyone do five leg turns before, so he was extremely surprised. I was so excited and felt so accomplished for achieving something that no one in my studio has ever done before. I posted the video on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXtivpyw7kc

CHS Dance Daze in the Contra Costa Times

The Contra Costa Times recently wrote about CHS Dance Daze! The link to the article is here: http://www.contracostatimes.com/san-ramon/ci_27777025/around-san-ramon-cal-high-students-teach-dance.

First Time Cleaning a Dance Group

Last Friday (3/13/15), I was asked by Brian, my dance teacher, to clean his group "Fix You" while he was away in Florida. It was my first time subbing in for the dance teacher and teaching a whole class at the studio. I cleaned the dance for about 2 hours, since it had to be competition-ready in two weeks. It was a lot of work, but I had fun. Taking on such a big teaching role wasn't a big deal for me, but it proved my capability to handle the responsibility that came along with it.

KAR Dance Competition 2015 Results

Last weekend, 2/14-2/15, I competed in the first dance competition of the season! My studio went to KAR (Kids Artistic Revue) in San Jose and received many high scores and overall placements at the competition. I got 2nd overall with my solo, and my duet with my sister received 1st overall! I was really excited that we were awarded such high placements, especially because the competition was pretty tough and had lots of competitors. Also, one of the girls that I teach at my studio, Tabitha, got 4th overall. I was very proud of her, because she has improved so much over the past year!

Dance Daze Fundraiser

This upcoming Saturday, we are having our first Dance Daze fundraiser! We will be hosting a garage sale, as well as selling homemade cookies, cupcakes, lemonade, and bags. I'm excited to see how everything turns out!

Dance Daze Pictures!

We've had 2 weeks of classes for Dance Daze as of now, and it is so much fun! The kids are all very excited to be there and love learning how to dance. Since it is February, we are teaching ballet. The club members and I are teaching the kids warm up exercises, across the floor combinations, and ballet choreography.

Finalizing My New Club and Its Difficulties

CHS Dance Daze had its first meeting with the kids and parents last Tuesday (2/3/15), but unfortunately, we were unable to teach dance to the kids due to problems with the adviser and facility.

Although we had scheduled the first teaching date about a month ago, our adviser for the club told us last-minute that she couldn't make it on our teaching days. Therefore, the week before the first class was set to start, I was frantically looking for a teacher who could supervise us, especially since a news reporter was coming to cover the class. I asked my counselor to send out an all-staff email, but no teachers responded.

On February 3rd, 9 out of 11 students came, but since we were unable to teach, the other club members and I could only take them into the library for 30 minutes and explain the agenda for the next few Dance Daze classes. We handed out the kids' dancewear, gave them snacks, talked to their parents, and talked to the news reporter. However, the library was loud and crowded due to it being Gamers' Day, so it wasn't the ideal first meeting for the club.

This week, I told the club members to ask their teachers if they would consider being our new adviser. Most of the teachers could not commit to Tuesdays after school, but today (2/6/15), I was notified of a possible candidate. Ms. Espinosa was kind enough to agree to be our supervisor for the dance class next Tuesday, so we can finally start to teach!! Now that we found an adviser, I was able to submit the facility form and secure the room in which we will teach in. Hopefully, Ms. Espinosa can confirm her availability to supervise the rest of our classes as well!

CHS Dance Daze

These past few weeks, I have been promoting our new dance program at California High, San Ramon, which offers free dance classes to kids in grades K-8 who are financially unable to take classes. Classes will start February 3rd and will end May 26, with a special performance by the kids and teachers on May 29. The San Ramon Valley Times will be covering our first class!

Also, the Danville Patch wrote about our club in their article: http://patch.com/california/danville/youth-invited-take-part-free-dance-classes-taught-cal-high-dance-students-0