Mood Mondays - Episode 2

Mondays usually go by in a flash. Do you remember how you were feeling on any particular Monday? 

I definitely do, as demonstrated by last week's episode (Episode 2) of my new passion project, "Mood Mondays": 

Episode 2: "All Day" by Kanye West

Mood: Powering through exhaustion

Location: Silverlake, CA 

Videographer: Selina Ruthe 

Here's a little refresher on what "Mood Mondays" is:

"Every week, I choose a different song that demonstrates my mood in that particular moment and freestyle to it. As mentioned in my last post: "The purpose of these videos isn't to help me show off big fancy tricks (because let's be real, I don't have any). Instead, these videos provide a way for me to practice purposeful freestyling."

I've always been attracted to songs with heavy beats and that have more aggressive undertones. So when I first heard this track I was really interested in knowing how I could move to it in my own way. 

Yeezy's raps exudes angst and struggle, and it matched really well with how I was feeling in that moment. There were specific moments that really caught my attention, like the way he says: 

I don't let them play with me,

I don't let them talk to me no kind of way

They better watch what they say to me

That was definitely a moment that I found to be particularly fun to make movement to. 

Another big part of this video is the man of the house and ruler of the apartment, Charlie the dog: 

Charlie doing what he does best

Charlie always seems to be struggling through a little exhaustion, so it only seemed appropriate that he be a part of last Monday's video. 

Stay tuned for this week's Mood Mondays on my Youtube Channel!

Mood Mondays

Freestyle.

When I hear that word I immediately think of the dancing that goes on in those human-made circles at various dance and/or social functions. Usually freestyle circles are dominated by urban dancers whose strengths include hip hop, break dancing, popping, locking, etc. More often than not they look like this:

Freestyle circles are a lot of fun, but my involvement in them is usually limited to that of a very enthusiastic observer. This is mainly because my free style doesn't look anything like that demonstrated in the above video. I'm not sure how well my natural movement inclinations fit with a song like, "Partition".  I don't think I "go off" in the conventional way when "B*!@# 'Betta Have My Money" comes on, I don't practice freestyle dancing very often, and I don't feel comfortable doing it in front of large audiences.

A still of what I look like freestyling

But in all honesty, I love free style dancing.

Recently, a talented friend, Mason Cutler, started posting #freedancefriday clips on Instagram. I was blown away (please do yourself a favor and watch some of his work); his style has elements of hip hop intertwined with his own quirky way of moving. After seeing his videos I was super motivated to practice and develop my own freestyle vocabulary.

So that's when my friend Selina and I conceptualized a new series called, "Mood Mondays". The premise is this: Every week I'll choose a different song that embodies my mood and then freestyle dance to it.

The purpose of these videos isn't to help me show off big fancy tricks (because let's be real, I don't have any). Instead, these videos provide a way for me to practice purposeful freestyling.

So without further ado, I am pleased to share with you Episode 1 of our Mood Mondays series:

Episode 1: "Leave Off / The Cave" by Jose Gonzalez
Mood: Sunny and free

Location: Elysian Park, Echo Park

Videographer: Selina Ruthe