the vibe

TwoFourSeven Company is one of the most influential dance companies in Vancouver, known for their extreme amount of dedication, passion, and entertainment. I am lucky enough to be a part of this team.

Vibe Dance Competition is a world renowned competition taking place in the heart of the Westside of  Los Angeles.

Now, you would think that someone like me (LOL) has been to L.A, right? Well, you are incorrect. I have never been. Not even once.

Let’s step back to:

November of 2017:

Carlo Atienza and Roberta Bierman, our wonderful directors, announced that we had been accepted to compete at Vibe. I really didn’t know much of what was in store for us, as it was my first year with this company, and my first year dancing in Vancouver.

It turned out that Vibe is a huge big crazy deal, so there was a lot of work ahead of us. Looking back now to that first day of company rehearsal and seeing the amount of progress we have made as a team is actually incredible.

You feel so much closer to someone when you see them more than four times a week; from the car rides, to the food hangs, to the constant complaints about being sore. It bonds you.

Rehearsals upon rehearsals; choreography set, drafts one two and three, warm ups, workouts, and all the driving and transiting from literally “North Dakota” (AKA Coquitlam), as Carlo would say. This adventure is most definitely one for the books. A creative venture that has touched my heart in so many ways.

You’d assume that rehearsing four days a week for an average of 5 hours would be draining, right? Quite the contrary; it was energizing. My soul was uplifted after each and every rehearsal, leaving me inspired and ready for the next. It was such a positive and welcoming environment; the hugs, the sweating, the tears, the sympathy and understanding that everyone had when someone was so tired that they were going to fall to the floor. Yet, we didn’t feel like it was a chore. It was something that we were all prioritizing and focusing our every spare moment on.

The sacrifice that each and every one of us made, whether it be less sleep to get to work the next morning, or spending less time with our loved ones (shouts out to Lukas), not to mention the energy put out by the directors and captains who get no financial compensations for doing this, is all purely based out of the love for TwoFour.

Fast forward to:

Jan 19th, 2018:

Showcase.

TwoFourSeven has a tradition of inviting a specific set of people (essentially our friends) to preview our work and see if they have any feedback for us. This is obviously nerve racking, as it is ten times more pressure. I mean, we actually KNOW these people, and they know how TwoFour dances. So, the bar was set high.

So we get to rehearsal; all fun and feeling good, the usual. I had some hot chocolate with me, so my soul was thriving (my body wasn’t, because dairy. lol).

Everyone is ready to go, but you can feel a tinge of tension in the air. I was particularly nervous because this was my first performance with a company in two years. I went through a bit of a mental and physical health journey this past year, so it was extra super special; and to be performing with my dream company meant all that much more.

PERFORMANCE TIME!

Hearts beating, everyone smiling, we give our cheer, and off we go!

Our friends and family went crazy! Everything we were worried about evaporated on stage, and was replaced by the adrenaline rush of the performance. Our fear fueled our fire. A huge relief for our directors.

WHEW WE DID IT, but that doesn’t mean that we were done rehearsing.

ONE FINAL WEEK UNTIL WE HIT THE BIG CITY.

January 26th 2018:

The final rehearsal. The last day before we head out to Los Angeles, and man are we tired. Reflecting; I believe I have slept a total of 40 hours since January 1st, but HEY, what can ya do, right? When you commit to something you put your heart and soul into it, and in this case arms and legs. DAMN was it ever hard work. That night we ended rehearsal at 11:30; the earliest we have in such a long time, and it felt so very nice.

The next morning the alarm goes off at 5:30, and I am so lucky to have Lukas drive myself and two others to the airport. Definitely feeling the stress right about now. We have a long weekend ahead of us, and this is my first official competition as a member of TwoFourSeven.

The plane lands, and my heart begins to sing as the glorious sun rays shine onto my cheekbones. We made it to the beautiful sunny state of California, where the term ‘chillin’ was probably invented. We all anxiously get off the plane and head straight for the Uber. As we check into the hotel we are greeted by remarkably ugly zebra print benches plopped outside in the heat of the sun. Check in, done. Our hotel room is glorious. It is a little funny having five people in a room where there are only two beds. So, yup you guessed it, one of us slept on the floor. It was great.

Despite the back pain from the floor, the next morning I feel pumped and ready to hit the stage with the family. Nerves are definitely present. If you ever want to bother a dancer that is stressed? Don’t. We are completely different people when we get into The Zone. It’s a state that is beautiful in itself, because you get to see the human side in everyone. Being positive and happy all the time is not possible, especially when you have thirty three different personalities all in one company.

The Venue is gorgeous; I estimate 1,500 beautiful red seats row upon row. It’s incredible, and if you guessed that I peed myself a little bit there, you are not wrong. The stage itself is not entirely big, but for a company our size, it fit just well enough.

Our technical run goes well, aside from the fact that my umbrella was lost and in a panic I stole someone else’s, which I have NEVER done before. OOPS, hehe. We are all given a couple of hours to prepare for the competition, which gives me the opportunity to bask in the sunshine for a bit. It feels so nice.

HERE WE GO. Hearts beating, hugs given, ‘I love you’s’ murmured. I finally feel like a part of the company.

Lights hitting, music playing, and BAM it happened fast.

Rushing off stage I want to go again. Everyone’s adrenal glands are definitely working in overdrive right now.

The beautiful part is when we all sit in a circle and share our stories and thank yous with the director.

If you’re curious, we got THIRD PLACE.

SO EXCITING! Everyone was so so happy. It was amazing.

I never had the opportunity to share this, but not dancing was very difficult for me last year. My car accident injury did not allow me to forge forward in my passion of dance.

Since being a part of Twofourseven, I have never been happier.

The isolation of my own head at times made it hard to feel like an actual member of the company. It was difficult to find the motivation to get to rehearsal sometimes because I would feel a lot less a part of the troupe than the others, but those short 6 minutes on stage made me feel like our hearts were all beating at the same time.

I want to thank you for reading this story, and for seeing the perspective of just one person in this family of thirty plus. We all have different stories, but this was mine. A short little tidbit of the months of work, tears (yes, I cried getting up the next day so DAMN EARLY lol), and excitement.

If anyone in TwoFour is reading this, thank you. Thank you to the directors, to the captains, and to the members that made each rehearsal all that much better.

Now, onto the next competition. What theme will it be this time? 

written by mohammed