popn' cherries

And, in a blink of an eye, I played at The Playground LA.

Reflecting on this past week and realizing the power of decision. Those who know me, know that I am free-spirited, go-with-the-flow, come whenever, let’s do whatever, personality.

After going through some challenging times recently, the free-spirited persona everyone knows, loves, and possibly even despises about me, became a trait that I no longer am so fond of anymore. Sure, I’m still down for spontaneity and a good adventure, but in matters of happiness, heart, passion, and the ambitious goals I’ve set, the “whatever” attitude just won’t fly anymore.

Sometimes that carefree spirit led me to moments of opportunity and I left it up to chance, wish, hope, and fate. When really, I could have done more to change the course of my life. Often I left things up in the air because I preferred the freedom; and the idea of decision and committing to something without certainty felt far too overwhelming. But you know what? I was in limbo. Running in circles without climbing mountains. Strides were happening but it wasn’t enough. Frustrating as hell and I got fed up with the pace.

And so, I decided. To change this habitual nonchalant behavior. Letting my choices be an incredible opportunity for decision and action. An architect ready to level up and design the life of my dreams.

A C T

What’s a vision without action? A dream.

Everyday, I make hard decisions at “work”. But when it involves a major impact to personal life and goals, it’s all of sudden challenging. I’m sure some of you can relate.

These past few weeks have been awakening. Who knew making decisions, big or small, would be so thrilling?

Visiting The Playground LA has been a long desire for some time now. I always said I’d go, but to be honest, I didn’t really believe it. These folks on the ‘gram are straight bad ass dancers who must have danced since they were in the womb! Who wouldn’t feel some sort of intimidation surrounded by a sea of talent?

And there I was, staring at their class schedule, contemplating if I should hit “book”. I thought of my values. I thought about what popn’ dance cherries represents – to boldly pursue your dreams, dare to be 100% authentically YOU, and courageous to push beyond limits. Fearless? No. FAR more courageous? Absolutely.

Clicked “book”, bought my flight, and followed through.

THE PLAYGROUND LA EXPERIENCE

My goodness, it was incredible. TALENT is apparent. ENERGY is insane. ANYONE who’s even dreamt of trying it out, should give it go and try!

Go to their site, research the classes and instructors, and book it. Head out there early so you can beat the crowd. There’s no indoor seating or waiting area, which means when class is in session, the next class waits outside. 15 minutes prior to the class starting, doors open to sign in but they may still ask you to wait outside once you’ve signed in.

I popped my Playground LA dance cherry by taking Shane Bruce’s hip-hop class. It was jam packed! And, you better believe I was there early to reserve my spot. I got the opportunity to meet a lot of people, many of them traveling out of state and visiting the studio. One girl was so determined to check out the studio that she came with her luggage straight from the airport. My kind of girl! I found it interesting, yet awesome, at the vast amount of diversity in the room. Women and men. Youngins’ 7-8 years old, seniors 60 and up, teenagers, and adults. A soup of different ethnicities. Swag dripping from one side to the opposite side of the room.

Vibes I picked up on were certainly distinctive from what I normally experienced. First, people are not shy. Or maybe the vibes were so hard in the class that everyone felt empowered to just live their life and dance. Second, the cherry on top was the live drummer. Talented guy who really knew how to telepathically communicate with the instructor and keep the energy of the class going. Ob-sesssed. Third, I didn’t see a single personal phone/camera filming during class. Only towards the end of class I saw a few, but most didn’t bother or waited until the fancy professional videographer to come out. In a way, it felt refreshing surrounded around dancers who were there to learn and just dance… and maybe show off later. 😉

Like many dance classes, you learn a set of 8-counts and towards the end you perform the choreo as a group. It’s not surprising that you’re also broken up into groups to perform for your dance peers. After, Shane selected a few folks to dance. I have to say, I felt honored that I was part of the select group of girls to perform. My insides were smiling. Catch a glimpse here on the popndancecherries ‘gram.

Supportive and energetic – the class was phenomenal. I can’t wait to visit again in the next couple of weeks. Don’t forget to check out their swag, too. I ended up buying about $200 worth of merch. Whoops.

M I N D S E T

I am so very proud of the decisions made the past few weeks. Some little, some big. Again, what I’ve realized is that decision is important but it’s pointless without action. It’s only been a few weeks but with my mindset focused and continuing to apply these practices to my daily life, I see aspects of my life moving. I am growing. I still believe in faith, fate, hopes, and dreams. But, there’s more that you can do than just leave it up to chance. All you have to do is decide what you want, try, make mistakes, try again, learn, and keep moving.

Love you all for playing such a supportive part of my life. Who’s down to pop another dance cherry with me? Leggo.