Celebrating International Dance Day this year is as simple as hanging out with Kinjaz dancer and choreographer Mike Song. Mike will be hosting a virtual dance class as part of Reb Bull Dance’s celebration of the holiday which includes a reoccurring series on Instagram and YouTube featuring top choreographers teaching live classes every week as well as a marathon of highlights from Red Bull Dance events streaming on their website.
“International Dance Day is particularly special this year,” Mike said. While virtual dance studios and online classes might be an everyday reality right now, Mike wants people to celebrate what this holiday means during uncertain times. “It’s just, to be honest, an excuse for everyone to connect and really just utilize the power of dance to forget about everything else in the world for a moment and really just speak the same language of music and movement.”
The class that Mike will be teaching from home with his wife playing DJ is an intermediate to advanced level combination. The skill level shouldn’t stop anyone from joining his class, though. “A strength that has arisen during this quarantine is that it’s also allowing a lot of people who might have been too afraid to show up to a dance studio or a dance event or too self-conscious to dance around other people and try…it’s giving those people an opportunity to try it and be connected and not feel that judgment.” So, even if you’re not an advanced level dancer, Mike hopes to see you in his class. To all of his students worldwide, he says, “Just go for it and try it. No one will be watching you.”
“I would just say it’s pretty well-rounded,” Mike said about the routine he’s teaching during his class. “There’s a groove to it, but there’s also a hard-hitting nature to it. There’s also a cuddliness. I think its a well balanced little combo.” He will be dancing to “The Grind Neva Stops” by Tryezz. With all those emotions packed into this piece, Mike says, “It should feel raw.”
Mike’s choreography class will be live on the Red Bull Dance Instagram (@redbulldance) and YouTube channel at 4 PM ET/1 PM PT and will be followed by a Q&A. And if you want more opportunities to dance with Mike, he and the rest of the Kinjaz have been having virtual classes on their Instagram page (@kinjaz), and they’re working on a Kinjaz app where they plan to host dance tutorials in the future.