laurennly

It’s every dancer’s dream to set foot in one of the most prominent dance studios in a city like Los Angeles. In a city where creativity and the arts are celebrated, dance looks to be one of the main avenues where people get to express themselves and for some, fulfill the American dream. I, however, despite dancing all my life, have put that dream on the side / on hold to make way for other goals I’m reaching towards. In all honesty though, I like to call it an adjusted direction, where profession is an enabler of the passion or where a careful calculation of steps taken can pitch you to a life you wanted. Though I still dance from time to time, the word ‘balance’ factors in to this particular equation. So at a recent trip to the US, it caught me by surprise that I not only got to dance, but also got to breathe and inculcate myself into the culture of the LA dance scene.

It started on our first night in LA and my sister was wondering about the possibility of us taking a dance class in the iconic Hollywood. Jetlagged as I was, I didn’t entertain the possibility that much because the chances of fitting in a dance class into our travel itinerary were slim due to our hectic schedule. But.. my sister punched in Millennium Dance Complex’s IG page, and saw this:

It was Oct. 27 at that time and the class was the next day! Students as young as 13 years old are encouraged to take because that practically is the normal age of skilled dancers in the US, they’re all soo good at such a young age. So before we knew it, we were downloading the MDC app on our phones and securing slots for Matt Steffanina’s dance class a day after we arrived! Talk about spontaneity. Trust me though, the jitters hadn’t set in yet until later on, when we actually already set foot in the studio.

If you’re not familiar with Matt Steffanina, here’s his latest / most popular dance video on Youtube with another popular dancer / choreographer Philip Chbeeb. Matt ranges from 2M to 15M views on Youtube and is a winner of The Amazing Race with his ex, Dana Alexa who is also a dancer.

Here’s the reel on Millennium Dance Complex where JLo, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson all rehearsed for their shows and music videos.

So, we took an Uber from Anaheim to get to the studio. We went straight to North Hollywood and it took us about an hour or more on the freeway. A few minutes later, we finally arrive and my 15 year-old sister was practically freaking out when we saw this sign on the street. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

Here’s a closer look inside, you can hear my sister murmuring “I can’t believe..” and almost about to pass out hahaha!

Wee, while waiting for the class ❤

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A few minutes later, Matt Steffanina, the MATT STEFFANINA (insert gasps, deep breaths, shaky legs all together!!) arrived to the studio and we were called inside. The studio was packed and I have to admit, the energy was a bit intimidating. We found our places and Matt started with stretching and warming up. It was a bit nerve-wracking since the pace of the class was quick and you had to keep up and not lose focus. The choreography wasn’t slow either but thankfully, I got to keep up and aced the steps. My sister was marking at the side before her turn.

Here’s my sister’s turn and she killed it!! I’m super proud of her for getting it!

We took pictures afterwards and my sister was all speechless walking up to these popular dancer kids especially Kenneth San Jose who was her ultimate dance crush ❤

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But I was most happy that I got to take a picture with Matt Steffanina himself ❤

Definitely another milestone / one-for-the-books experience with my sisters!

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To cap it all off, here’s a funny post-MDC video featuring my sister all red and swollen from crying and taking everything that happened all in:

It took me a long while before I deleted the MDC app on my phone, still probably me happily dreaming about the next chance we take an impulsive but life-changing experience like this.

To more experiences that make your knees weak and your heart happy,

Laur ❤

Tomorrow in Toronto

Tomorrow in Toronto. Yes, tomorrow. Cause it was as if it was just a day after we visited Vancouver that we decided to fly out to Toronto. I guess, we couldn’t get enough of Canada. First few things though, there are distinct differences between Vancouver and Toronto that I noticed. Vancouver would be your suburb spot, while Toronto would be your city type of place. They each have different personalities and it would take someone with probably a similar personality to appreciate either of the two or actually could be the opposite (who am I to generalize haha). Though for my personal taste, I think I enjoyed Toronto more. Probably because I’m more of a city girl than I reckon and I like the feeling that everyone’s active and busy – it gives me the idea that I’m not alone in the world (chos).

Anyways, since it’s Toronto, here are some of the things that remind me about the trip. (Get it)

Tasteful. Thrilling. Tremendous. Timeless. Transcendent.

Tasteful.

First connecting flights were already filled with so much food. From Appetizer, Main Course to Dessert. It makes you want to sleep right afterwards. My fave part was the dessert since wine was served with cheese. Mmm.

We tried Poutine – the very well known french fries in Toronto and we just had to grab a bite of this famous snack. Knowing that Potato Corner is so hyped in the Philippines, imagine if we bring Poutine. Potato Corner, NYFD and Taters might have a run for its money.

We also tried the Chocolate joint in a delightful place called Distillery District. Had some coffee and saw how chocolate was made. Mej nakakagutom.

We got to try Five Guys also! I liked Five Guys more than In n’ Out actually, probably because they gave out free peanuts at the counter and I like peanuts (yung Sung-Song). Hahaha! But seriously, their burger was tastier for me.

Thrilling.

Toronto was all sorts of thrill. Was super excited to hop on the plane.

Seeing these two rainbows hopping amongst the clouds outside the airplane window made me have giddy feelings. ❤

Next was when I woke up from our connecting flight from Vancouver and saw all these lights below me. The 6th!!! City lights!! *Cue in Drake (my sweetheart)

This is Toronto.

On the highway headed somewhere, you could see that there was a fork with another lane headed to USA. We almost took that lane if not for our GPS telling us to stay right. Little did we know, a few months after, we made our trip to the US as well (to be written in next post). Must have been a premonition, haha!

We finally got to see the famous CN Tower as well. It was pretty cool.

Look at my mom breaking her back trying to take our photo hahaha!

Dropped by Toronto Zoo also and found some furry friends that are rather rare in the Philippines. Snow leopards and white wolves (GoT? Hahaha!)

Bearssss playing tag! Suuuper cute! Watch! Hahaha!

Ipads everywhere at the Toronto Pearson Airport was a cool thrill! Hehe

Tremendous.

Niagara Falls.

Needless to say, it’s pretty explanatory how tremendous it feels coming into a few meters from Niagara Falls. When I first saw this, I instantly became quiet while the words “there is a God” came into my mind. True story.

With my little sister 🙂

Watch and see how amazing it feels upclose:

And from afar:

Timeless.

Timeless experiences. Timeless photos. Toronto was timeless in every sense of the word.

As such that Toronto is timeless, also is family.

Thankful to my parents.

#sistersquad #yapsisters

Transcendent.

I could go on and on about how travel persists to be a transcendent experience. But because it’s true. You may find yourself already coming to grips with yourself but you never really know unless you’re placed in a situation where you have no choice but to adjust.. to move.. to transcend. There are a lot of situations in my life where I neither chose nor expected to go through challenging struggles, but I did. And it made me a better person. And in the end, I knew exactly what I wanted. It rings like chimes when they say that we have to stay true to our hearts. Because we have to. There’s no other way.

We owe it to travel to bring us to a different place with ourselves. But in the end, it’s up to us to let it permeate.