Just turns workshop with Ikolo Griffin

I am NOT a natural turner, and my turns simply suck.
I saw this "just turns" workshop poster at my studio, and decided to give a call to Ikolo Griffin.

He said he didn't have any workshops scheduled, so I asked him if he would do private with me. He said yes.

Ikolo is amazing. Here's why..

1. Professionalism
- He lives about an hour away from my studio, and he agreed to meet me at my studio on Sunday mornings. He is never late, and comes to the lesson prepared. One day, I was about 2 minutes late, and Ikolo was there waiting for me with the barre already set up. I was really impressed!
He also has a special app that can help you (=dancer) analyze what you are doing wrong by looking at slow mo video.

2. Inspiring
- A lot of teachers just "mark" the moves or tell you what to do by throwing lots of French terms. Which is encouraging for dancers so that you can create your own version. But, it's also good to see what it should look like.
Ikolo demonstrates (and it's not just marking, it's almost like watching a performance!), and his turns are just amazing! It's so nice to see someone dancing so well so close to you.

3. Caring
- I make so many mistakes during class and some of them are just plain stupid. Sometimes, I can't do things very well. But Ikolo always tells me encouraging things and he is very kind. Even if I ask him the same question over and over again, he is very patient with me and explains stuff. He is also very caring and wants you to succeed.

4. Smart!
- Knowing something and explaining the knowledge to someone are two very different things. Ikolo is an amazing dancer, but he is also very good at breaking things down and explain them clearly. I've learned some very useful tricks, and some of them were extremely helpful. He also knows what YOU need, not a cookie cutter recipe that works for majority of people. He examines you and gives you what you need. He calls himself a coach, not a teacher, and I think I know why.

If you are interested, here's Ikolo's info.

http://www.justturns.com/Just_Turns.html

(Yay for living in NorCal!!!)

It's not a magic lesson that you can just turn well. You need to practice a lot to make this yours. With very busy schedule, I am not taking 100% benefits of taking his lessons. I need more time to process all the precious info.

Well, I am going to the gym tonight after ballet, and will practice few moves :)