Modern Completely Insane Anteaters...
I have absolutely no idea where to start. It has been one of the most life changing organizations I've experienced. I never understood why people say MCIA is different than any dance team; why MCIA is 'special'. I never fully grasped the uniqueness of MCIA. Well, at least not until the past couple of weeks.
I believe there are 2 things that separate MCIA from other dance teams (not to say all other dance teams are the same, this is just what makes MCIA so wonderfully beautiful).
1. Passion for dance.
2. All love
Passion for dance. Anyone can argue that in almost every dance team, there is a passion to dance or else why would the dance team exist? I wholeheartedly agree but what I refer to is a bit different. First off, we are an exhibition team; which means that we don't compete. We do shows here and there and open shows up for the main events. For example, we do this little performance at the Staples Center for the Clippers game. We perform at UCI's Vibe which brings the best of the best dance teams into one arena (And MCIA is one of 'em). We don't compete, we perform. We don't do it for the glory, we do it for the love of it. There is no chance of a trophy at the end of the day. There is no chance of prize moneys at the end of the day.There is just the satisfaction of knowing that there are 35+ people around me that loves the idea of using music for expression but even more important, 35+ people who love each other and is willing to spend all night dancing to make the piece perfect or to sit and talk positively about each other. There is a satisfaction of knowing that at the end of the day what you have around you is not glory or fame; its the brothers and sisters you sweat blood with, the brothers and sisters who you fight with, who you laugh with, who you cry with. These brothers and sisters have your back, regardless if you continue to perform on the team because MCIA is more about dancing, or performing. MCIA is about family, about All love.
Another part of why MCIA is different is because of who's in MCIA. My big pal, Rommel said something that makes me so damn proud of being on MCIA. He told me the reason why he loves it so much and the reason why he thinks its different is because of the characters on MCIA. We took in about 20 + newbies this year in which more than half never danced. We (MCIA: I was a newbie myself) molded them, broke them, shaped them, trained them, and taught them . Each year we take a group of people and transformed them into dancers. We take people who have never grooved a step in their lives (until, of course workshops and auditions) and give them a chance to do something they are passionate about. We don't take the best of the best. We make the best. We produce the best. No question about it. Skeptical? Look at where MCIA alumni has danced afterwards. Why do we do it? Why do we start lower than all dance teams each year only to climb to their level and fall again in the beginning of each year? Because its not about the competition or comparison. Its about All love.
Which brings me to the second point. All love. It's not just a phrase, oh boy it is much more than that. All love is an expression. All love is a live and die motto. All love is a lifestyle. All love, simply put, is all love. We have the love of dance. We have the love of the dance community. We have the love of each other. The limitless amounts of love we give and receive is unparalleled. I've always been skeptical about this: I mean, why does MCIA have so much more love for each other than other dance teams? We spend (about) the same amount of time practicing so we should all have the same amount of love right? Wrong. We are 5 years old; going to 6 years. We have our annual retreat at Palm Desert (Which is 120 miles away). Who would in their right minds drive there? No, I'm not talking about the current members, I'm talkin' about Alumni. About a dozen Alumni From Alpha to Delta drove 2 and a half hours to get to our retreat only to surprise us with a performance of their own. Who honestly does that? I had no idea. To be honest, I don't know a lot of the alumni, but when they surprised us I felt the presence. I felt the power. I felt the love. The alumni stayed for a couple of hours, cooked dinner for us (Thanks guys) and then left. I'll repeat the question again; who in their right mind does that? MCIA alumni. I've only gotten a gist of how much these MCIA Roots dancers deserve. You have my utmost respect MCIA Alum. You truly set the motto "All Love" into me.
I have absolutely no idea where to start. It has been one of the most life changing organizations I've experienced. I never understood why people say MCIA is different than any dance team; why MCIA is 'special'. I never fully grasped the uniqueness of MCIA. Well, at least not until the past couple of weeks.
I believe there are 2 things that separate MCIA from other dance teams (not to say all other dance teams are the same, this is just what makes MCIA so wonderfully beautiful).
1. Passion for dance.
2. All love
Passion for dance. Anyone can argue that in almost every dance team, there is a passion to dance or else why would the dance team exist? I wholeheartedly agree but what I refer to is a bit different. First off, we are an exhibition team; which means that we don't compete. We do shows here and there and open shows up for the main events. For example, we do this little performance at the Staples Center for the Clippers game. We perform at UCI's Vibe which brings the best of the best dance teams into one arena (And MCIA is one of 'em). We don't compete, we perform. We don't do it for the glory, we do it for the love of it. There is no chance of a trophy at the end of the day. There is no chance of prize moneys at the end of the day.There is just the satisfaction of knowing that there are 35+ people around me that loves the idea of using music for expression but even more important, 35+ people who love each other and is willing to spend all night dancing to make the piece perfect or to sit and talk positively about each other. There is a satisfaction of knowing that at the end of the day what you have around you is not glory or fame; its the brothers and sisters you sweat blood with, the brothers and sisters who you fight with, who you laugh with, who you cry with. These brothers and sisters have your back, regardless if you continue to perform on the team because MCIA is more about dancing, or performing. MCIA is about family, about All love.
Another part of why MCIA is different is because of who's in MCIA. My big pal, Rommel said something that makes me so damn proud of being on MCIA. He told me the reason why he loves it so much and the reason why he thinks its different is because of the characters on MCIA. We took in about 20 + newbies this year in which more than half never danced. We (MCIA: I was a newbie myself) molded them, broke them, shaped them, trained them, and taught them . Each year we take a group of people and transformed them into dancers. We take people who have never grooved a step in their lives (until, of course workshops and auditions) and give them a chance to do something they are passionate about. We don't take the best of the best. We make the best. We produce the best. No question about it. Skeptical? Look at where MCIA alumni has danced afterwards. Why do we do it? Why do we start lower than all dance teams each year only to climb to their level and fall again in the beginning of each year? Because its not about the competition or comparison. Its about All love.
Which brings me to the second point. All love. It's not just a phrase, oh boy it is much more than that. All love is an expression. All love is a live and die motto. All love is a lifestyle. All love, simply put, is all love. We have the love of dance. We have the love of the dance community. We have the love of each other. The limitless amounts of love we give and receive is unparalleled. I've always been skeptical about this: I mean, why does MCIA have so much more love for each other than other dance teams? We spend (about) the same amount of time practicing so we should all have the same amount of love right? Wrong. We are 5 years old; going to 6 years. We have our annual retreat at Palm Desert (Which is 120 miles away). Who would in their right minds drive there? No, I'm not talking about the current members, I'm talkin' about Alumni. About a dozen Alumni From Alpha to Delta drove 2 and a half hours to get to our retreat only to surprise us with a performance of their own. Who honestly does that? I had no idea. To be honest, I don't know a lot of the alumni, but when they surprised us I felt the presence. I felt the power. I felt the love. The alumni stayed for a couple of hours, cooked dinner for us (Thanks guys) and then left. I'll repeat the question again; who in their right mind does that? MCIA alumni. I've only gotten a gist of how much these MCIA Roots dancers deserve. You have my utmost respect MCIA Alum. You truly set the motto "All Love" into me.
MCIA
Pal lines. Need I say more? Really? Okay I will. I love it when people look weirdly at me and my pals when i say "okay bye pal" only to be responded by "bye pal!" They don't understand the meaning of pals. I love my pals to death. Every other pal line loves their pals to death. It is a family within the family. My pal line (shoutout to the dinosaurs!) are some of the most amazing people I've met. We don't see each other everyday, but when we do see each other its like we pick off where we left off. I've learned so much from my pal lines and I'm sure they've learned a thing or two from me. We'd do anything for each other, from paying for food to giving rides to listening to each other. We would keep the craziest secrets and have the craziest times when we party. We would look out for each other if things get too scandalous (SUMMER! =] ). And in the end of the day, we would still give the utmost love and respect for one another. The most beautiful part about pal lines are that it is so open and so accepting. Usually you'd get a group of people who are really close (which is awesome) but they would then just close themselves off and dread it when a new member comes in. In my pal line? Not like that at all. We would talk for hours about the new pal we are going to have and how much we are going to love them and make them comfortable, not only in pal lines, but in MCIA.
I love you, Pals
Retreat really showed me that this team despite its individual differences really do accept and love everybody. We played the touch game which turned into cryfest 4000. We revealed our hidden secrets, we reveal our situations, we reveal ourselves. More importantly, we reveal these things free from hate, doubt, judgments. The reactions to all these secrets and situations were all love. We cheered for them, we cried with them, we talked with them. It one of the most beautiful sights ever.
Cabinet!
**Roxy is missing but is a cabinet!**
**Roxy is missing but is a cabinet!**
I am so sad this year has come to a close and so excited for the following year. As the future Captain of MCIA, know that I will try my absolute hardest not to fail. But then again, I can't fail knowing how much love this team gives and knowing the cabinet for next year, it is simply impossible. Thank you for the opportunity and for the open arms MCIA. I love you.
All Love,
Kduh
