Old Skool House Block

1. Ride On Time - Black Box
2. Show Me Love (Club Mix) - Steve Angello & Laidback Luke (feat. Robin S)
3. I Luv U Baby (Dabruck and Klein Vocal Mix) - Out of Office (feat . The Original)

Bring it to the old skool stylez!

Well, I'm not sure if the moves are really old skool, but the songs definitely are! They are all based on songs from the last millennium. I choreographed this block based on BodyJam 44 and BodyJam 49's House blocks - simple moves, high cardio.

Musically, the energy actually drops from the first song to the last. But I love the buildup in the final track and that's how it earned a spot as the Breakout song. The first song is easily the most energetic, coz as Gandalf says, everyone loves a screaming diva! (BJ48 choreo notes)

This is the choreography I have in mind right now, subject to changes:

1. Kick ball change
2. Kick & triple ball change
3. Side tap, bounce forward
4. 4-ct arm combo with heel slap and toe-heel-toe
5. Spring tap & backwards kick ball change
6. House knees (single, single, double)
7. Step touch

My main concern in terms of choreography is the 4-ct arm combo and the house knees. For the arm combo, I'll need to consult another dancer for ideas coz I'm really running out of cool ones. Or should I say, I don't have them from the start. As for the house knees, I'm worried the members don't get it. When it was used in BodyJam 45 Global Electro, many members couldn't get their knees up on the beat. Heck, even I had the same problem in my BJ Module Training.

So for this particular block, it's about finding good moves to fit into the music.

Dancehall: Pon de Replay

Pon de Replay (feat. Elephant Man) - Rihanna
Dancehall Soca - Elephant Man

Dancehall is a genre that hasn't appeared in BodyJam for a long time. I think, choreographed properly, it can be a fun genre to feature in Cardio Fit. For one, dancehall reggae songs are naturally upbeat. For me, it's a question of finding the right moves to go along.

There are plenty of dancehall videos online, but many movements are too complex to be brought into Cardio Fit. And I wouldn't be able to pull of the booty pump and triple isolation work anyway!

Music-wise, I have identified the 2 songs above to be serious contenders. But I'm always left wanting more when I listen to Dancehall Soca. It is 4 minutes of monotonous beats with barely a rise and fall. So I've been thinking of finding another song to slot in between the two. Dancehall Soca will just be the breakout song.

This Dancehall routine was supposed to be featured in my next Cardio Fit release, but I am still unhappy with the choreography progress so I'm temporarily replacing this with the Club Latin track.

Latin: Mas Que Nada

Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes
Mas Que Nada - Sergio Mendes featuring The Black Eyed Peas

Like most people, I first discovered this song via the BEP version. But I found the original version and it's pretty cool too!

Anyway, the entire feel of the song is ripe for choreographing. I just need to find another song to tack on at the end. The rhythm and melody is good but it doesn't exactly inspire Breakout, so I have to find a good club banger to push this track through the roof!

Club Latin: Tumba La Casa (Tearing Down the House) (Tribal Extended Mix)

Tumba La Casa (Tearing Down the House) (Tribal Extended Mix) - Norty Cotto presents Sancocho

I download lots of music regularly but I am less fastidious about listening through them individually. So it was a joy to discover this track in my playlist when iTunes shuffled to it.

I recently created a simple, cool-looking move. It's basically 2 shuffles, a quick turn, and a jump freeze, all the while moving forward. I think it will go quite well with this song. The main problem with this track is that there isn't much musical contrast until near the end. But I still think it's possible to do one long Latin track with this. I'm now putting this track on repeat in order to let it sink in. I find this helps me extract out all those musical layers (lyrics, beats, synths, loops) when doing my choreography.

Here's the final routine I'm thinking of now:

1. Quick, quick, slow Brazilian samba
2. Shuffle, turn, freeze combo
3. Something that has shimmy in it!
4. 2 side mambos, chasse diagonally to the back
5. Maybe a final move or a turn or a jump

All of it might change by the time it's ready for release though. But the more I listen the more interesting it is!

(Update 24 Sept 2009) The inspiration for the moves slammed me face-on one day and I've refined it till it feels pretty good. I'm gonna trial it out in a class next Monday and see the response.

1. Brazilian samba
2. Shuffle, turn, freeze combo
3. Shimmy backwards and jungle bounce
4. Side tribal mambo (It's just a nama glamer for a slow mambo on the toes)

Groovedown: Drivin' Down Brazil

Drivin' Down Brazil is a recent song by former disco queen Donna Summers. It's a really chill track, and I bookmarked it as a possible groovedown track about a year ago. But I couldn't really find the right choreography to make it special. I now have.

I have written previously how I attended a Brazilian Samba class in Beijing. While the main class itself was kinda boring, her cool down moves were pretty interesting. She claimed it to be an ancient ritual performed by Samba dancers before (or was it after?) dancing.

It's hard to describe in words, but the concept is to bring together energy from heaven and earth and spread it all around. The second part consists of an arm sweep going to the four directions in a symbolism of pushing the bad energy away, so that the fresh energy can come in. It's all very simple but the idea is great.

Not long after that class iTunes played me 'Drivin' Down Brazil', and I put two and two together. The result is a positive, inspiring, chill groovedown track with some authentic Brazilian Samba feel (though there isn't any actual Samba in it). While it's nothing impressive by itself, I at least managed to bring some authenticity to the class, which is the entire reason I'm branching out into different dances.

Groovedown: Knock You Down

I keep listening to Knock You Down by Keri Hilson, Ne-Yo, and Kanye West (party-pooper!) and I always walk away feeling refreshed. Hopeful. Knowing that love is out there, ready to knock me down.

Anyway, it's such an uplifting song that I will include it as a groove down in a future release. I'm not sure if it's a bit too relaxed to be a recovery track. But then, BodyJam 45 successfully used Livin' A Lie as a recovery. I'll have to brainstorm some choreography for it first.