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!
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.
