wanderlust: Journey 2 Origin

Last week I was able to partake in a wonderful experience. And when I say partake, I mean I totally snuck into the van of some people I had just met and went along for the ride acting as if I had been there the entire time. Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do when you're travelling solo.

Seriously though, I had been fortunate enough to cross paths with some really cool cats from the Bay area out here in Manila. Super cool in fact. Members from DS Players, Funkanometry SF, and Beatz N Pieces and another fellow lone traveller, a chef from SF checking out street food across Asia! It all started with All The Way Live and I just kept tagging along since then. I think maybe they felt sorry for the little Canadian girl always travelling alone in a taxi. Hahaha.

We spent a couple of nights going out to Temple and Fiama clubs in Makati and I danced and watched everyone around me get drunk as all the "it" local celebrities rolled in at the wee hours of the morning.

But besides partying, they actually had a purpose out here in the Philippines. They were all part of an outreach program called Journey 2 Origin that went around to different elementary and high schools to teach dance. For free. So when I was asked to come along, I was on it!

They had already gone to a few schools by the time I met them but I had a chance to attend their workshops at Makati High School (kids between 12-16 years old). We met the principal and some other teachers and then it was on to the kids. They greeted us warmly, in fact we entered their main auditorium to screams and giggles. RJ was leading the pack so most people recognized him from TV but they were treating the rest of us like we were rock stars. All the dancers performed their routines to resounding applause. I was surprised most of all since I really didn't do anything yet somehow all these kids kept coming up to me asking to take pictures with them. I literally stood on the side and took behind-the-scenes photos yet that seemed significant to them. They were funny. Hey, it got some free advertising for SVS.

So all the kids (a couple hundred of them at least) are put into groups and all the dancers start to teach them. Everyone splits up and tries to find any space that they can. There's like a hundred kids in the auditorium and another hundred more spread out in the hallways. AND IT IS HOT!!! There is no air conditioning and almost all the kids are in their complete uniforms (button shirt with skirt or pants). I was boling just standing around all of these hot bodies that I could only imagine dancing in it!

But the kids loooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeed it! They were screaming, laughing, and cheering each other on. They were all so eager and grateful just having someone take the time to teach them something new. At the end of the hour sessions, everyone came back into the auditorium and performed what they had just learned in front of eveyrone. They were all so supportive of each other and having such a great time. There was one group in particular that I videotaped that I've been trying to post but the internet has been too slow. Jay-R was teaching a house routine to a group that included 4 proudly gay boys that were shaking their hips better than some women I've seen!

I would really love to organize something like this again soon, with Canadian dancers coming in to teach. Or maybe we'll all just blend in with the Americas like I did!

For more information check out Journey 2 Origin .

All the kids waiting anxiously in the auditorium