Carnival

Last night I went to Carnival at the Key Club with Tsuto, Hiroto and Hiroka. Thank you, Akiko, for getting us in! These days I've been so stressed out at work. It's good to have this other active part of my life, the world of dance, to balance my sanity and stress. I'm always so humbled and astonished at where this path is taking me and feel so fortunate to be meeting so many great and passionate dancers on this journey.

One reason why I wanted to go to Carnival last night was because I wanted to get a feel of what to expect next month. Emiko and Kumari both have their dance performances next month so I wanted to get a taste of what the experience would be like. I thought this was my first time at Carnival, but something tells me that I had been there before over 5 years ago.

The cool part of the experience was the bonding for me that took place last night. I'm glad and fortunate to be building my friendship with both Tsuto and Hiroto and even more fortunate that they are willing to help me improve my locking and popping basics in exchange for me helping them with their English. It was also the first time that I talked with Hiroka, who is also from Tokyo and had been dancing in LA for quite some time now. I enjoyed the conversation that we had in the car and look forward to getting to know her even more. And with Akiko, more time passes and I realize how Junko was right, we really are similar in so many ways.

This Carnival was dedicated to Black History Month and so my favorite piece of the night was about the current situation in Darfur. It was a collaborative choreography piece and it was truly inspiring and amazing. The dancers and stage presence were strong and the crumping as it was integrated into the piece was amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing Kumari and Emiko's pieces next month. I'm so excited. I can't wait!