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Not Your Average Dancer is a blog series written by our General Manager, Amy Zhang, that features some of our friends of the Groove. The series profiles incredible Industry dancers who have broken the stereotype image of being a ‘dancer’ and carved a career for themselves. If you take our beginner classes, here are some goals to aspire to.

Meet Clarence Kent. You guys already know this dude as the curator of all the Groove Lab playlists that we know you’ve been bumping in your cars, but there’s another reason why we love this dude so much.

For such a talented dude, Clarence’s come up was humble. Whilst we sit here in awe every time Clarence moves, what gives us all hope that we too can be this incredible, is how honest he is about how dance never came naturally to him. “Fuck no. I definitely had to work for it. Whenever I went and danced, there was Ben (GT Therapist), Jack and Alex Morris next to me doing all the crazy shit. I knew I wasn’t nearly as good as my peers.” Clarence laughs, then adds “I was also pretty big. I was pretty chubby.” However, not being naturally talented or ‘fit’ for breaking never seemed to phase him. “In my eyes it’s a good thing because I learnt how to discipline myself when I’m training,” Clarence reflects.

Clarence began entering battles in Brisbane and quickly out grew the Brisbane scene. Wanting a greater challenge, he then began travelling interstate where he struggled to gain the appreciation of his peers. “I was different to all of them. They would all smoke me but I always knew I had a different mentality.” Despite constantly being knocked back, Clarence saw a greater sense of investment that came from travelling and started flying himself overseas to battle. Even then,“whenever I would jam people would be nice and kind enough to give me props but I knew myself I wasn’t on par with the battle scene over there.” Fast forward to present day Clarence and things have definitely changed for this dude. Since returning from LA, Clarence has now danced for the Jabbawockeez winning against the best in the industry and gaining muchos respect for it in the dance world. When I asked Clarence about what changed his response was simple, “Nothing’s changed. I’m just practising. I’m just getting better.”

It’s not all about self-improvement with this dude. Clarence is constantly pushing to build his community alongside his crew, Golden Coastline. Together they’re fostering within this baby freestyle community a sense of staying true to the ‘hip-hop’ culture, yet still being unapologetically Australian instead of falling into the trendy trap of cultural appropriation. Moving forward, Clarence feels pretty confident in the growth of this community, “It’s pretty obvious it is growing and still is. There’s definitely so many more freestylers which is sick. I remember battles and there would only be eight of us. Now, when they put ‘Test Your Might’ on they had over 100 people for all styles which is crazy!” Clarence says proudly. So when asked about what advice he gives to his growing community his only gripe was the lack of connection. “Honestly I reckon, that’s the culture of hip hop you know. We all meet up and dance and say we’re into hip hop culture but none of us smoke up or drink together and get down when we’re drunk or fucken faded. Honestly that’s my answer”.

We love the honesty, Clarence.

If you’re loving this dude’s style, follow his dance journey here on instagram: @clarencekunta

Main image photographed by Sean Carbs

If you’re in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane or Byron come put Clarence’s advice into practise and come party with us. No cash on the door so book your tix here!

With March being the month of International Women’s Day, the International Day of Happiness and Zero Discrimination Day, we thought we’d pick the theme ‘One Love’ this month.

Meet a new person
If you’ve moved to a new city or you’ve perhaps fallen into a cycle of seeing the same (wonderful) familiar faces, maybe it’s time to meet someone new this March? If you’re already a regular, we urge you to rock up 10 mins early (you already do of course because you’re legit keen) and walk up to someone you don’t know and strike up a chat. If you’ve never taken a Groove Therapy class, then expect someone to walk up to you 10 mins before class and say hi.
Book me in for class so I can make friends please.

Screens Off
A big focus for us is the idea of internet trolls and all that triggering that our tiny palm -screens give us. We’re pushing for more effective phone time usage, which is not a detox or a cleanse from phones, but is instead the idea of balance. We don’t eat 4 x blocks of chocolate and feel good about it but a little choccie cake every now and then is a plain good time. The same sort of thinking goes for screen time. It’s not bad for you if it’s not in excess.
Less screens, more dancing for me. Book me in.

Cross Cultural Understanding
With knowledge comes the death of ignorance. did you know that one of Groove Therapy’s core values is to do our little bit to lessen ignorance in this world by teaching dance moves, origins and historical contexts of it all in class? When you understand the ‘why’ behind something, you’re far less likely to feel prejudice to those people.
OK I want to learn some street dance moves ASAP.

Sorry for the hiatus, but ‘Not Your Average Dancer’ is back and I promise this one’s a banger. Meet Sela Vai. A woman who is leading by example and creating the scaffold for other dancer’s to just be themselves. We’re lucky to have Sela Vai teach a one-off class on Monday Feb 19 in Sydney which you can book here.

Sela started dancing in primary school, but only started to take it seriously once she found the hip-hop crew life as a teenager. “Even at that age, I still didn’t quite grasp what it would take to get there,” Sela says, speaking on the idea of dance careers. When Sela started working she faced the realities of being a female dancer in the industry. Sela found herself in gigs where she had to fit into one of two moulds. “Being female…but also being a hip-hop dancer… I mean I train so hard in hip hop to do certain styles but then [I’m] asked to ‘pop-lock’ and [I’m] like ‘I’m sorry what? Can you look that up in the dictionary and tell me what that is?’…You’re the token hip-hop dancer, the hip-hop chick” Sela says. The other option is to be the hyper-sexualised “token female dancer” Sela says with disappointment. “[I have done] so many gigs where I felt like I didn’t even utilise any of the skill that I worked for. With all those little gigs that had no thought put into them, [I thought] is this what it’s gonna be as a dancer?”

Although disheartened, Sela knew there was potential for more. “It clicked for me when I felt validation as a dancer and choreographer.” Sela explains, “I wrote down a goal: I want to choreograph live shows for an Australian artist. By the end of the year I was on stage with Ngaiire performing my own choreography and in that moment I was like ‘this is crazy this actually happened! I wrote it down and it actually happened.’” It was a moment of realisation for Sela. She had booked a job where she could own the stage and showcase her own choreography to music she liked, whilst wearing costumes she felt comfortable in. “[I felt] so valued as an artist. I just loved everything about it” Sela says beaming. “That gig with Ngaiire…I was treated with so much respect. I wasn’t just a dancer they understood how imperative we were to their show.” From then on, Sela knew she would always work from this place of “Mutual respect. Not compensating or negotiating on who I am or what I have to do in order to just get the job.”

Furthermore Sela often found herself being identified as a Pacific Islander woman. Inspired by a specific encounter with two Tongan sisters who didn’t see Sela as ‘too Pacific Islander’, she decided it was time to visit Tonga for the first time in 2017. The trip came out of “want[ing] to understand where I come from and why that makes me who I am.” Since that experience, Sela adopted her current name. “Sela just means Sarah in Tongan. My name sake actually. My dad named me after his sister and it’s a no-brainer [because] ’r’ doesn’t exist in their alphabet.” Sela beams with pride and continues to explain “I think going to Tonga and being called Sela by everyone there made me want to wear my name with pride and make sure that people know my heritage.”

We aren’t the only ones who have noticed the path Sela has been carving. Aside from teaching nationally, Sela has been on the lineup for camps and intensives all around the world and her classes have sold out time and time again. Irrespective of her accolades she remains humbled and slightly overwhelmed by the platform she has been given. “Last year I felt like I was just holding on. [I’d think], ‘why am I on this panel, I think they just needed a female to make it look balanced’ but I use it. Even if I feel out of my depth, I use it.” When asked specifically about the things she wants people to take away, it’s clear Sela is all about empowering other artists, especially fellow Pacific Islanders. “Being a person with a platform is not about just existing [there]. It’s about a responsibility to strengthen and widen that platform…making space for more Pacific Islander artists [so] they can strive for more and take my place…[so they can] hopefully surpass me.”

To us here at Groove Therapy, Sela is such a beacon of light for young dancers. It’s hard to stay true to your gut and make decisions based on what feels right when it goes against the status quo. So we asked Sela to give us one last piece of advice, “Instead of writing down goals I just write down about the person I want to become, the morals I want to uphold and the type of people I want to inspire. That motivates me more than anything. Like, that literally makes me wanna do push ups. I see the path ahead and it’s not clear. It’s hazy and it’s foggy but I trust it because I know it’s my path. People can cross it and walk with me on it but no one else can own that path. It’s me, it’s mine.”

We could not have said it better ourselves.

Big love to you, Sela.

Sela is covering our Sydney class this Monday.  Book your tix and catch your chance to learn from this legend. 

Written by Amy Zhang

When the Groove Therapy team sat down to think about February our calendar jumped out with Valentines Day emojis and we groaned at the foreseeable spam of love, relationships and undermining of self-confidence that so many brands were gearing up to cash in on. In defiance we decided to flip the script on love this Feb and ask you to channel another mindset for the month: loving your OWN self. It applies to all of us, irrespective of relationship status and it’s a question that we’d like to get y’all thinking about via some of the following ways

Social Media
People love to bitch about it but it can be good for your headspace if you use it well. A mantra we’re trying this month is not checking our phones for the first hour of our day, following interesting, thought-provoking and genuinely ethical accounts and checking ourselves when we get into click-bait holes (even if it’s a bomb dance video). Want to know a really good phone-free activity? Groove Therapy. Whoa mind-blown.

Internal Monologues
We’re going to check ourselves on what our inner voice is saying as we scan magazines, beach babes, social media and most of all ourselves. Vanessa, Groove Therapy founder, says she needs to probably get more humble as she has been loving herself sick in the mirror these days but that’s entirely because she’s learnt a few new dance moves and she’s feeling proud. We think you’re allowed in those instances.

Enjoy Yuhself
Once we took a dancehall class and the teacher said to us in that thick epic Jamaican accent ‘ENJOY YUHSELF’ which literally meant ‘use yuh hands and enjoy your own body’. It sounds stupid but you should see how much class freaks out when we ask you to touch your own body and hair. There is such shame culture around this and we honestly think y’all are doomed if you can’t touch your own body in appreciation. Get around it.

Take Class With Us
I mean we preach enough why this is important right? But you know why it’s important to loving yourself? It shows initiative, that you’ve proactively taken the time out to create a habit, try something new, get out of the house and do something you love.

Also who doesn’t want to pocket a few new dance moves for their cousin’s wedding dance floor next week?
Defs take class with us.

Did your resolutions all go to plan? Have you made new habits, kicked goals and closed toxic chapters…or is that all still a work in progress? Let’s not beat ourselves up for all this. February’s theme is ‘Luv Yuhself’ and it’s about learning to chill out and accept that life isn’t perfect and that maybe there’s some cool stuff to appreciate. Grab a friend or stroll in through our doors for some solo ‘me time’ and try your hand at one of our beginner street dance classes. 

MELBOURNE CANCELLED JAN 17 (We’re back after that)

Nothing to stress about bebes but due to the influx of panic and enquiries re: Melbourne being cancelled for next week we thought we’d address it formally here.

Class is cancelled Weds Jan 17 due to the venue booking out already for another gig. Aside from that we have classes back on for the following week on Jan 24 and onwards.

You can book a Melbourne beginners adult hip hop class for Jan 24  here.

Another common request we get is for more Melbourne classes! We’re keen to launch some, but where do y’all suggest? If you know of any good venues let us know. We need a venue that has its own sound system and is easy to access via transport and parking. We also prefer a grounded community vibe. If ya know a place then holla at hello@groovetherapy101.com

See ya at our next Groove session lovers.

RESTART YOUR YEAR WITH DANCE

Dance class at Groove Therapy starts on the week of Jan 8 2018 (which you can book here). Amongst the hype of new year reinvention, bucket lists, goals and resolutions the Groove Therapy fam over here has a few words for you.

1. You’ve always said you’ll come to class…one day.
   We meet hundreds of you every week. People who recognise us as teachers from Instagram and stop us to tell us how much they have been meaning to come to class but…you know.
   Nah fam, we’re going to call you out on your procrastination here. Since dance classes foster community, boosted mental health, fitness and self-expression we think that it should become a priority in 2018. Once you get over the mental hurdle of being intimidated to try a class we promise you’ll wish you had signed up sooner.
   
   
2. You’ve been busy, stressed and overworked
   Here’s the deal, when you dance you release endorphins and your overactive brain tends to go into a meditative state of concentration and ‘in-the-moment’ focus and enjoyment. It’s incredible catharsis for people who need to shake off a crap day/week/life chapter/year.
3. You’ve wanted a new way of catching up with peeps
   Take a dance class together. If you’re serious about getting good, then you can hype each other up to stay regular and not fall off the bandwagon. If you want something new for date night then challenge your babe to a living room dance-off post class. A lot of peeps also bring their fam along, and one of our favourite moments is seeing someone bring in their rad parent to class and watching them get low to Kendrick Lamar.
4. You’ve fallen off the exercise bandwagon
   Groove Therapy classes leave you sweating head to toe with your heart hammering and the best bit is you often don’t even realise that you’ve exercised for an hour. We’re not sure why so many people have this idea that exercise has to be an ordeal. If you’re keen on exercising but not quite ready for that gym junkie life, then a dance class is a good start. Also know that being fit is about what your body can do, not what your body looks like. So leave the body bashing internal monologue at the door.
5. You’re intimidated
   It’s incredible the stories our minds can weave. It’s a nego spiral but it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t mean to be harsh when we say this but dance class isn’t about you. We’re not all looking at you and we don’t care what threads you’re wearing. We’re just having a dance here, calm down and take yourself a little less seriously.

Groove Therapy classes start again on the week of Jan 8. You can view our schedule and book a class across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Byron Bay by clicking here.