February 20 2022



My Dance Story

History

In the mid 1980s lots of people were Breakdancing. We were inspired by the movie Breakin', old school rap, & Michael Jackson. That was just a short phase that faded after a couple years in my area.

Later I would dance with no style, just grooving at night clubs & other gatherings. At that time I still had no formal dance instruction.

Decades later my interest in Breakin' resurfaced. While determining how to proceed I figured out that the illusionary dance that I wanted to learn was Popping (also spelled Poppin) not Breakin'.

Dance Instruction

Sometime around 2000/2001 (I don't remember exactly) I started to take Popping classes & had some private instruction.

That was only a brief span. For years after that I didn't seek dance instruction & would only practice intermittently.

Around 2011 I started focused practice, including online classes, video tutorials, & private instruction.

It's now 2022. For the last decade I've been practicing intermittently. I've made it a priority sometimes; other times not much because I gave my attention to other things.

The Long & Difficult Road

Most of my training occurred under extremely harsh conditions. For details please visit this page.

Here is a summary of factors that interfered with my dance progress:

  • sustained homelessness precluded many conditions that are optimal for this kind of learning
  • denial of instruction; some instructors would not teach me
  • unceasing onslaught of various types of pain induced with directed-energy
  • frequent erasure of short-term memory
  • exhaustion, to the point where merely standing is difficult
  • recurrent auditory mocking
  • detrimental subliminal bombardment
  • ceaseless noise
  • cognitive disruption that disconnected me from the music, resulting in no rhythm
  • rain & cold (depending on the day/season)
  • dance floor composed of bumps, leaves, grass, rocks, roots, snow, & mud
    •

    Goal Achieved

    I had a goal in mind — a level of talent that I wanted to reach.

    In October 2021 I stated that I attained that level.

    On September 15, 2020 I noted in my dance log:

    "Did all animation drills. Combined grooves with animation. Did a few recordings that might be quality to post. Devoted about 5 hours to study. Not only am I consistently on-beat with an abundance of moves, I'm now connected to the music & the moves are effortless. I don't need to think. The moves just flow. The music is dancing through me. This is what I was seeking. Now I have all those moves from all those styles I've been studying. I knew that I'd find a workaround for the attacks that kept me disconnected from the music. I'm there. I've reached the level of proficiency that I knew I could. Of course I never stop learning. I'll always be improving. Yet, i made it."

    Writing this I'm 49 years old. It took me a long time.

    This achievement was not just about learning a dance — it was an important part of my journey. Attaining these abilities is interwoven with my personal growth & life plans.

    Although lots of "learning" has taken place, it was more of a "remembering" process.

    I reached this level of proficiency (at what some say is the most challenging dance to learn) under incredibly difficult conditions.

    Despite every attempt to stop me, they couldn't.

    Absent permanent imprisonment, crippling injury, & death, they hit me with all they had — relentlessly, without letup, for years.

    Under these conditions I achieved the level of dance artistry that I had envisioned.

    While doing so I kept my freedom.