Hey everyone, this is a little something I wrote for Celeste a long time ago, early last year if memory does not fail me.I wrote it really fast, I think, in under 1.5 hours, because I had a jazz exam later ( probably Groove..I distinctly remember thinking about a denim skirt as I was writing this ).
I unearthed it a minute ago while I was searching for some old essays. Rereading it makes me feel..so nostalgic...and GLAD THAT I"VE COMPLETED her jazz syllabus up to Jazz 4. At least now, I'm in Jazz 5, it's not too hard and here's where the fun starts. Part of me wants to go back to Introductory and learn the style properly, input it into every fibre of my muscles to serve me subconsiously later. But part of me is so glad I've finished and am done with it. I hated rushing and doing the Intensive course. It did make me improve very very quickly but...at what expense? I would have rather done it gradually like Tilla, so the style grows on you and there's the time factor to help you improve and give you space to practise/perfect/reflect.
I realised last year I was too busy dancing and thinking about exams and rushing and being exhausted and applying/worrying about scholarships, hardly had time to reflect properly on my dancing.
Well, one thing hasn't changed. My respect ( and subsequently fear, like duh, that's never gonna change I think..) for this particular teacher.
I started learning Ballet at the young age of six and was only introduced to Hip Hop in Celeste’s introductory Jazz Dance syllabus in 2005. At first, it was quite hard adapting to Jazz, given my limited dance background. It was not the steps that puzzled me; it was the style, the main element that Celeste stresses on. However, I found that in time, with enough practice, determination, and of course, personal coaching from Celeste, I did very well for my Hip Hop assessment, garnering an A. Not only did I obtain the confidence to pick up another type of dance so totally different from Ballet, but I also improved in my ballet, becoming less rigid and less narrow minded in my view of dance.
Celeste’s Jazz Dance syllabus is different in a sense, because it is structured and developed for a dancer by a dancer. Passion has its place in the syllabus. Also, it stresses on style, personal satisfaction, and enjoyment above technique and precision. I personally find that the technique, while different for every style, is still emphasized, leaving little room for me to get injured and plenty to improve and make the movement my own. Each of the seven styles in Celeste’s Jazz Dance syllabus is distinct and extremely useful knowledge to every aspiring dancer, because one must be versatile, a fact that Celeste has drummed in me and for that, I am extremely grateful. I would say, her syllabus has helped me most in diversifying; becoming a more versatile and stronger dancer with a wider outlook on dance and life.
On an even more personal note, having Celeste as a teacher has been frankly frustrating and yet rewarding, At times, it is really hard to live up to her standards, especially since I was not even properly trained as a ballet dancer. But, at the end of the day, I have learnt that just listening and doing what she says, my body can produce results. I took her advice to learn Jazz in order to improve my Ballet, and now I can see how cross training in dance really has helped me to build stamina, reshape my body, sharpen my mind, and add to my faith that dance can be a rewarding career for me. But, without her, I would not have reached this level of positivism and probably would have attempted to quench my dreams of becoming a dancer. Outside of class, she is fun, kind, and even motherly at times, giving me a lot of advice about how to apply for a ballet dance programme, using the right muscles and proper technique, and enquiring about my progress in Ballet.
Celeste is strict, Celeste is unflinchingly demanding, Celeste is undoubtedly a perfectionist, and Celeste certainly has sky high standards, only because she herself is a beautiful, amazing and inspirational dancer, besides her charisma, practicality, and sensibility. Indeed, Celeste does produce results and her students believe what she says because they have done what she tells them to do and it shows when they do it. She is definitely an unapologetic diamond in the rough; priceless and one of a kind. I am very glad and thankful for her ‘torture’; I know she does it only because she cares for her students and demands only the very best from them. Her labor of love, the Celestar Jazz Dance syllabus basically models her own ambitions for her students; to become the best professional Jazz dancer they can be and more.
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