Sunday, April 24, 2011
Meaningful Flow
What makes a song great, past simply having a nice tune and catchy lyrics?
You tell me.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Master the Art
So... despite having finals coming up, somehow I've managed to fill my schedule with various things to keep my creative drive occupied.
[PHOTOGRAPHY]
Wednesday I had a photoshoot with Alice.. who is selling clothes to raise money to donate towards the Japan relief effort. (Photos are available on her blog) If you're a female living in the St. Louis area, definitely check out the details on her site, and support Japan by purchasing!
Today I shot some pictures for the former Suite 4090--made up of friends and housemates Felicia, Diane, Harita, and Katie--all of whom are about to graduate from college. Despite the crappy weather and some tricky lighting situations both outdoors and indoors, I still think we had a decent shoot. Although I'm fairly new to the realm of model subject photography--since I have typically stuck with candids--and especially new to shooting models in groups, I still had a great time shooting for these girls; they have so much energy and personality it is impossible not to have fun watching them interact as they pose for pictures.
[DANCE]
I am very proud to have actively taken part in the reemergence of the StL Funk/Popping scene. While I started popping two years ago, it was only about a year ago that I actually started meeting and practicing with the bulk of the local poppers. At first our dance sessions would occur once every couple of weeks at random locations on my college campus, with as much as about four people present on any given day. Since then, we've become more organized in finding more members and reserving actual studio space in various areas around St. Louis; today we had a total of around twelve people dancing in the studio--which is very surprising considering how sparse the funk scene has been in St. Louis, previously--ranging from veterans to newbies.
In any case, it was amazing to see so many of the dancers that I look up to gathered in one room and getting down to the music. Interestingly, while these very people have continually provided me with guidance and inspiration, they have also kept me rooted with the realization of how low in skill I am as a dancer. Every time I meet and talk with these dancers, who I consider my mentors, I get a wake-up call--one that, although frustrating, I am very grateful to them for; I would rather live knowing that I am at ground zero working steadily towards improvement than live baselessly believing that I am at any level that can be considered "good". Today's lesson has been to refine my technique, specifically in the styles of waving as well as various funk styles (boogaloo, toyman, scarecrow, etc). I need to bring my tech and my musical ear to an equilibrium before I can truly begin to progress my musical interpretation.
A few years ago I could never have imagined being part of such a family, such a culture.. now I cannot imagine living without all of it. There is no real way for me to express how lucky I feel to have met these people--my interactions with them have molded my identity as a dancer, if not as an individual at large.
~~~
A huge thank you and shout out to those who were there today:
Tony (Boogie IQ), Chris (Samsara), Jeremy (JS1), Christine (Spiral / PixieNyx), Martin (Bibi), Derrick, Becky, Mike, Steve, Josh, Andrew
And, as always, a huge thanks to the people who essentially got me started doing this dance:
Chip (Chippa) & Arthur
...although I doubt any of you will ever read this, lol.
[PHOTOGRAPHY]
Wednesday I had a photoshoot with Alice.. who is selling clothes to raise money to donate towards the Japan relief effort. (Photos are available on her blog) If you're a female living in the St. Louis area, definitely check out the details on her site, and support Japan by purchasing!
Alice by Housing Complex
Today I shot some pictures for the former Suite 4090--made up of friends and housemates Felicia, Diane, Harita, and Katie--all of whom are about to graduate from college. Despite the crappy weather and some tricky lighting situations both outdoors and indoors, I still think we had a decent shoot. Although I'm fairly new to the realm of model subject photography--since I have typically stuck with candids--and especially new to shooting models in groups, I still had a great time shooting for these girls; they have so much energy and personality it is impossible not to have fun watching them interact as they pose for pictures.
Suite 4090 Inside the Danforth University Center
[DANCE]
I am very proud to have actively taken part in the reemergence of the StL Funk/Popping scene. While I started popping two years ago, it was only about a year ago that I actually started meeting and practicing with the bulk of the local poppers. At first our dance sessions would occur once every couple of weeks at random locations on my college campus, with as much as about four people present on any given day. Since then, we've become more organized in finding more members and reserving actual studio space in various areas around St. Louis; today we had a total of around twelve people dancing in the studio--which is very surprising considering how sparse the funk scene has been in St. Louis, previously--ranging from veterans to newbies.
In any case, it was amazing to see so many of the dancers that I look up to gathered in one room and getting down to the music. Interestingly, while these very people have continually provided me with guidance and inspiration, they have also kept me rooted with the realization of how low in skill I am as a dancer. Every time I meet and talk with these dancers, who I consider my mentors, I get a wake-up call--one that, although frustrating, I am very grateful to them for; I would rather live knowing that I am at ground zero working steadily towards improvement than live baselessly believing that I am at any level that can be considered "good". Today's lesson has been to refine my technique, specifically in the styles of waving as well as various funk styles (boogaloo, toyman, scarecrow, etc). I need to bring my tech and my musical ear to an equilibrium before I can truly begin to progress my musical interpretation.
A few years ago I could never have imagined being part of such a family, such a culture.. now I cannot imagine living without all of it. There is no real way for me to express how lucky I feel to have met these people--my interactions with them have molded my identity as a dancer, if not as an individual at large.
~~~
A huge thank you and shout out to those who were there today:
Tony (Boogie IQ), Chris (Samsara), Jeremy (JS1), Christine (Spiral / PixieNyx), Martin (Bibi), Derrick, Becky, Mike, Steve, Josh, Andrew
And, as always, a huge thanks to the people who essentially got me started doing this dance:
Chip (Chippa) & Arthur
...although I doubt any of you will ever read this, lol.
Wonderfully Mysterious
It's truly strange... how fulfilling one's nostalgic yearnings for a particular type of food--especially when completely unexpectedly--can bring one so much joy.
Man, I really haven't had dippin dots in forever... it really brings me back.
Also went out to dinner: Vietnamese food *drool*
Good food, good friends, good times.
Oh yes.. and the reason for the title of this post?
Haha yeah, fortune cookies always crack me up :P
Thursday, April 21, 2011
It is but a fledgling..
My dearest [currently nonexistent] followers,
I suppose I have very much wanted to do something like this for some time--find a space to bring together all the elements of what I do and what I enjoy. This blog is essentially going to be a melting pot of all of my interests--a collective if you will, hence the title (yes; "Bicente Collective"... call me uncreative)--as well as a place to gather and publish life's daily musings. I plan to post small updates of what I'm up to in dance, video, photography, etc... with the occasional blog post that functions as simply... a generic blog post.
Alas, A TOAST.. to another one of these random-possibly-quite-pointless-blog-like-websites.
Many thanks and a promise of the utmost sincerity, that I will absolutely prepare to think about trying my best to motivate myself to actually, possibly utilize this blog with some sort of regularity.. and not abandon it (as I did xanga, myspace, and various websites I have created throughout the years).
With love,
Ever so sincerely,
Yours truly,
Bicente Jones.
I suppose I have very much wanted to do something like this for some time--find a space to bring together all the elements of what I do and what I enjoy. This blog is essentially going to be a melting pot of all of my interests--a collective if you will, hence the title (yes; "Bicente Collective"... call me uncreative)--as well as a place to gather and publish life's daily musings. I plan to post small updates of what I'm up to in dance, video, photography, etc... with the occasional blog post that functions as simply... a generic blog post.
Alas, A TOAST.. to another one of these random-possibly-quite-pointless-blog-like-websites.
Many thanks and a promise of the utmost sincerity, that I will absolutely prepare to think about trying my best to motivate myself to actually, possibly utilize this blog with some sort of regularity.. and not abandon it (as I did xanga, myspace, and various websites I have created throughout the years).
With love,
Ever so sincerely,
Yours truly,
Bicente Jones.
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