Lately, I’ve been noticing a certain pattern with other dancers. They always seem to lecture each other about not forgetting their roots or where their dance skills came from. It’s funny though because I can never do that to anyone else regardless of how big headed they are or have become. Because truth be told that the ones who are preaching about acknowledging your background are the ones who usually don’t give credit to their own teachers/choreographers. I know who taught me how to dance and I owe them so much which is exactly why when I dance, I still picture me and my coaches in the studio drilling every piece or set I have learned. In the past, however, I’ve only had 1 teacher who I regret to say I have learned her ways, Trudy Larson. She taught me everything I have to know about every style including Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Ballet, Ballroom, etc. Don’t get me wrong she has taught me so well but without the concept of being humble about it. I was her star pupil back in my high school days and I was even named the 1st male to join dance team. Growing up from freshmen year and taking classes with her she knew I was always bound to be the best. It’s like Glee. I was her Quinn(lead cheerleader of the Cherrios) and she was like my Sue Selvester(coach of the Cherrios). To her I was a natural born dance leader because every time she would give me tasks they were more difficult among the rest of her other students. It wasn’t really fair, but I guess you can say it made me feel special. Unfortunately, once I was let go of the dance team for bad grades she started treating me differently, more specifically horribly. She chose her dance team over her “star pupil” or at least what I thought I was. For our dance elective class I was ignored, put in the back, wasn’t allowed to talk, and I wasn’t allowed to lead stretches or across the floors which in the end result ended with that awkward phase. I was treated like an equal. Which is why the only part of this experience I’m thankful for is the fact after being treated with both opposites of perspective I learned to be both appreciative & modest to never be consumed with the image I had to have but chose not to be because of dance team. So in all offense, YES, please remember who you are when it comes to dance especially to your teachers because you wouldn’t be where you are without them. If you refuse to accept the education at least respect a deeper lesson from what they failed to teach you like how I learned this lesson for myself. This is not a lecture it’s more for inspirational purposes…
P.S. Thank you Michael Bailey, Jamin Love, Valerie Albania, Joanna Santos, Kym Bisnar, and Marvels Dance Company for having me a part of your family! :)
FAMILY DANCE ROOTS > Famous(Egotistic) Dance Roots
The Fairytale Beginning
Jamin Love contacted myself and some of his close dancer friends and asked us to meet up at Dellos dance studio one night. Upon arrival many of us had different questions running through our minds, but the main one was “What are we doing exactly?” That’s when Jamin told us that him and Val were going to be together forever. They’ve been dating for almost 6 years and he felt that it was his time to propose to the love of his life: Valerie Albania. He told us how, when and what he wanted to do; it was a brilliant idea. Many secretive Monday, Friday and Saturday night practices took place in a little over a month. Some of the practices were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances but we made up for it in quick practices at the studio.
For a Second We Didn’t Think It Was Going To Happen
The day of the proposal many of us showed up early around 3:30pm to go over the choreo and just map out where were going to be. However, Downtown Disney security had a different story. The whole project was almost going to be put at a standstill because we didn’t have a permit and we weren’t able to do anything without one. I seriously thought this wasn’t going to happen. Fortunately Jamin came out from Disneyland and talked to the security and production staff and with his charm and their understanding we were able to do it but at a different location. Instead of being in front of La Brea Bakery we were told to head over by the stage by ESPN and AMC. We were all so nervous and stressed out but in the end we all pulled through.
It’s a Beautiful Night…
It wasn’t about the angles, our lines or how many times we messed up…we were just living in the moment…in the happiness and joyfulness…which I am so blessed to have been apart of. From the moment I found out that this was for a proposal for two of our wonderful directors/good friends and that I would be dancing with people who inspired me, I couldn’t help but feel so privileged, blessed and honored for such an opportunity.
The reason why we requested the other video to be taken down was because we feel as if that video doesn’t do this amazing moment any justice. We wanted to capture the pureness of every angle, every smile, every wiped tear, just…everything. With this video, that’s what we did. Or at least tried to. We hope you enjoy this moment just as much as we do.
Congratulations Jamin and Val, I love you both. I pray that you two continue to seek God and fall in love with one another daily, for the rest of your lives. -With love, Jamie D.
DANCERS:
Jamin Love
Sean Albania
KR Banaag
Bonnie Humphreys
Melissa Humphreys
Austin Fernandez
Glen Dalida
Kathleen Tung
Vivian Cheong
Jamie Deriada
Grace Sim
Trevor Barata
Tristan EdpaoRecorded by:
Michael Hari
Jonathan Martin
Jazlynn PastorEdited By:
Michael Hari (@harithefup)
Jonathan Martin (@anajonda)
Jamie Deriada (@jamiederiada)Additional footage from:
Patrick Penalosa
Congratulations to my old Marvels directors, Jamin Love and Valerie Albania. You guys are FINALLY getting married! I wish I was apart of this proposal. Very cute! :]
