Animating

Well, I'm home sick right now with the hope that I can clip any cold that might be trying to "get all up ons" with me before the weekend comes here. Given that, I'm not really up for dancing physically right now, but it is still on my mind. I've been thinking a little bit more about the technique known as animating lately, so why not write about that? Haha! Super duper, let's giv'er.

Animating

For a while now, I've felt drawn to the funk style technique known as "Animating". When I first started dancing, I was uneducated and underexposed to the great variety of dance styles that exist under the "funk styles" moniker. Certain style names, even though I couldn't recognize them visually, stuck with me, likely just because of the intrigue their names would have: Bopping, Animating, etc.

Some styles have names which make it relatively easy to distinguish the style from others as soon as you see it. Tutting for example, was one of the first styles that I learned to see within any given dancer's styles of choice. The name immediately conjures up images of the old stereotypical King Tut's that existed in Bug's Bunny cartoons, and the song "Walk like an Egyptian" (Hey, look at that, I'm making myself sound old). Arms and wrists at right angles just seemed to fit with this style’s name.

Other styles have names, and matching styles, that to me feel a little more subtle, or perhaps just broader in scope. The name "Animating" is one of those styles. What exactly would someone "Animating" be doing? It's hard to choose just any one particular type of movement or activity that would cover such a broad name. Think of how many different types of animations have been created (or even just how many different types of cartoons have existed), and you get an idea of how broad this style truly is.

The subtlety of Animating is what draws me to the style. That subtlety is a very difficult thing to capture, mentally and physical, and make tangible in your dancing, and that, in my opinion (humble or otherwise), is a challenge that makes it well worth the effort. A good animator, like a master in any particular type of funk style dance, can make these animations very explicit (adopt a stance and mannerisms identical to a well-known cartoon character, and, moving and making facial expressions like them), or very subtle (if I can get away with getting technical here, they can *overlay* their animating techniques on top any other style they are doing).

This, to me, is awesome! I love dancers that have a depth to the way they move. I will always appreciate good movers, no matter how deep or shallow their dancing is, and no matter what style they do (funk styles or otherwise), because dancing, at its core, is moving in an aesthetically pleasing manner - it looks nice to watch (as an aside, that is the reason why I will never understand people hating on any given particular style of dancing - they are all dope, in their own way). However, dancers that are deep are able to portray multiple levels within their movement. Overlaying different styles on top of each other is how you achieve this (quick example -> Do some waving, but imagine that you're a robot doing the waves. Keep the same isolations you use for your waves, but move through them more jerky and mechanically).

So, I've probably spent enough time explaining why I like Animation, and how it appeals to me, I should get on to what I've learned. I'll preface this with the fact that I am still very new to animating. Like I said, it's taken me a long time to learn exactly *what* animating is, so it has been very difficult to put practice time into learning it.

• Characters

Make up your own character. Think of a cartoon that you remember as a kid. Pick something visual about that cartoon, and envision yourself moving that way. Try walking around like you imagine this character would. No matter what, keep things simple, and don't overcomplicate things. Make the visual queue that you choose from the character a very small, simple one.

I can't stress this enough. Keep things simple.

So often (and believe me, I speak from the experience of doing this myself), aspiring funkstylers start out trying to do way too much. In fact, I suspect this actually transcends across to other more traditional styles of dance, like ballet. Sometimes analogies help people, so here's how I think of it: If you're building a house, you're not putting the windows and the more delicate stuff on the bottom. Think of a foundation as the very simple, most basic things that will support everything else you do on the dance floor. I used the word basic, but it's important to realize that basic does not mean boring. There is a delicate beauty in something that is simple and elegant, and this is what you should strive for in your foundation. Practice it a lot, and use it as a form of meditation. If you are having a bad day, find a spot and go into your foundation. You want it to feel comfortable and like something you can slip into and out of without thought. Learning how to do this when you're having a bad day will both relax you and prepare you for the same kind of transition you'll need to make when you're competing or out dancing.

Summary example: Let's say you like the way Scooby Doo walks. Start out simple, and just practice bending your legs while you're standing the same way that Scoob does. Get that down first. Then, work on maintaining that bed throughout the motion of walking. It will feel awkward at first, because this is a new way of walking for your body to adapt to. Don't give up hope though, this awkwardness should be seen as a challenge, and a goal that you will be able to overcome (seriously, you will overcome it, and it will renew and invigorate your love for dancing when you do).

• * Facial movement

Remember me talking about subtlety? Well, here's a great way to introduce that subtlety. Facial expressions and movement are great element to take from the character in your head and make real on the dance floor (note that I say in your head - don't just think of a character on TV and mimick him. Your own imagination can produce a much more vivid character - use cartoons as a way of inspiring that character).

What's the rule? Keep it simple. You don't need to make it look like you're ripped on meth.

Example: I like to crack my face in to a giant, car-salesman-like smile from time to time. I usually use some kind of transition, and just keep my face in this pose (and for more details on that, spacecapital, over on westcoastpoppin.com, has written an excellent article on transitions - big props to spacecapital). I find it looks all the more bizarre to have a giant contrived smile on my face, but without any movement. I carry on dancing as I was before breaking the smile, and then use another transition to relax my face and stop using it to dance with.

Here's another problem I suspect is common - when people start becoming aware of their face as a tool to dance with, they can start to overthink it, and animate with it without stopping. Always think of being subtle - techniques will look all the more potent if you do them briefly, and then move on - sticking with a particular motion for too long will allow the viewer to adapt and get used to it, and funk styles are generally styles designed to throw off the viewer's sense of normalcy (think gliding).

• Deadpan

This was some advice I read on the WCP forums just the other day. I can't remember who made the post, but the original quote was from Wiggles I believe, along with a bunch of other advice he'd provided. He stressed the importance of learning dead pan if you were animating. I've only just begun to start practicing this, but as soon as I read this, I understand how important it was.

The human face, by and large, is constantly showing some kind of emotion. As a social species, the importance of emotion is obvious just by looking at how many muscles we have that in our face that are devoted to showing it. One thing that I've already covered is the technique of showing a burst of one steady emotion - unchanging facial features are unusual, and throw off the viewer's visual. But think of a face with no emotion in it. It is equally unsettling, and to some people, probably even more so. It is so rare to see a face that is showing no emotion whatsoever that it draws the eyes.

For my own practice routines, I'm doing things like looking in the mirror and completely relaxing my face, then transitioning from a relaxed phase to an emotional one, and back again. Lastly, I'll work on keeping my face emotionless while I'm dancing. This is the tricky part, because it is a matter of combining your fundamentals. You know that you've got a fundamental down right when you can perform the technique without thinking about it. Once you've achieved this, you will suddenly realize that you got a base from which you can draw on, as you will no longer need to think about how you're moving, solely about the music.

• Good animators

My favorite animators have to be Mr. Animation and Salah. Mr. Animation’s name has always been one that I’ve associated with the technique, but when my first exposure of him was in the Run DMC video “It’s like that”, I saw gliding and botting more than anything. It took me a while to understand what he was doing outside of that video that consisted of animating.

Salah was a dancer that I used to think relied too much on his flexibility for his dancing, but it would be absolutely impossible for me to maintain that opinion now. That flexibility is definitely something remarkable, but he doesn’t use it as a prop or a crutch for his dancing. He wields it like it’s a morning star of justice (imagine trumpets blaring as you read that last part). Seriously though, Salah is an excellent example of someone using facial expressions well (he animates using all of his body, but his facial expressions always draw my eyes).

If you haven’t seen both of these dancers, go search on youtube for videos of them both. I’ve seen videos of Salah before, but it’s tough to find Mr. Animation.

I think that’s all I’ve got in me right now - Zz'z time.