Journey in New Zealand: Part 3
Royal Family Polyswagg Intensive (January 2023)
As mentioned in my last post, RF’s Polyswagg intensive started the morning after I-Develop ended. The camp ended very late and I wanted to stay right after to connect with some of the dancers. I love chatting with people after class/training because we can all relax and have a good conversation about what we experienced. I got home at about 1 am and had to wake up around 8 am to get ready for the intensives. Six hours of sleep may look okay on paper, but not if I’m already sleep deprived and exhausted from three full days of dancing. I mention all this because, for me, I know how mental and physical exhaustion can affect my performance during training.
The intensive was a span of three days, 10 am to 2:15 pm, with three classes each day. It was a mental push for me to try and keep up with each class. The fatigue that came with the previous camp was kicking in even harder. I pushed through as best I could. I remember feeling really upset with myself because I wasn’t even retaining the combo the way I knew I could. When I try and do Royal Family’s technique (execute their movement) it’s very different; so for me, there’s an extra push needed to even come close to somewhat getting it—on top of picking up the choreography.
After the first two days of the intensive, I would go home and almost lecture myself on how I should’ve known better to be prepared—I should’ve known their technique after being here a few times in the past. With that being said, as a way of giving grace to myself, I chose to make peace with the fact that my life and relationship with dance have gone through fields and valleys since being here.
I also had to make peace with the fact that what I’m doing is indeed super hard and that it’s okay if I'm not ‘killing it’ the way I wish I could. I understand very well that this experience is a part of my growth. Doing the IDCO camp and then the RF intensives back to back was intense. Based on my observation, as well as connecting with the NZ dancers; many of them are used to this kind of intense, long hours, and high-pressure training (And I believe this is evident just by looking at their track record—their dominance at international competitions for example). My goal is to get to that level. And at the end of this experience, having done the camp and intensives, I am left even more inspired and ready to finally rest and reflect.
