International dance exchanges are at the core of my work. I have been a dance backpacker for about 13 years. I have been training, performing, teaching and choreographing in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and the US. Some trips were short and some lasted 6 months. Every dance trip unfolded sparkle and huge amounts of creativity. I wish that every artist could travel to the other side of the globe for weeks in a row, and get involved in cross-cultural collaborations that never end. I wish every dancer could get the opportunity to perform on other continents and be able to do research in far away countries. The artistic value of traveling is immense and absolutely life changing. It is sometimes difficult to describe in words what the emotional impact really is on the one who travelled. It affects our perception of the world and influences our artistry on so many levels. It is an intense and incredibly transformative experience.

In this article I won’t talk about the new landscapes you might see or the beautiful memories you might create along the way. Instead, I will look at artistic traveling as a magical journey of self-discovery.

When you go on a dance trip, I encourage you to write down specific goals. Outlining what you really want to get out of your trip (network with specific people, achieve a certain level of technical prowess, etc) will make the journey even more worthwhile. However, be sure to listen to your gut feelings, too, be flexible once you arrive, and go with the flow.

Once you land on new dance territory, the countdown starts! Time will be your best friend and your worst enemy. You will be dreading the day you have to pack up again and fly back to the UK. But you also know you only have a limited amount of time to achieve your precious goals. All of a sudden insecurities disappear and procrastination dies out. You came for a purpose and you are determined to make it happen...NOW! Your deadline is written clearly on your return ticket. You are ok to be vulnerable, put in the position of a novice and you are ready to absorb like a sponge every bit of information made available to you. You never feel tired, and if you do, your body and mind won’t validate that feeling anyway. All obstacles are perceived as opportunities. Mountains to climb transform into giant trampolines. You fly and you fly high! You are on a mission, ready to take risks and go beyond your fears. The sky is the limit and the countdown is on!

Spring 2010. The neighborhood is silent, it’s dark outside and the stars are glittering in the middle of the night. It’s late, very late, but I am glued to the screen of my laptop. Locked up in my room in London, I am watching YouTube videos in a loop. I add unknown people on Facebook. Weird? No. It’s called networking. I am too excited and I can’t sleep. I am preparing my first trip to Jamaica! After 12 years of whining on the European continent and listening to dancehall tracks, my dream finally came true! I will be living in Kingston for approximately 2 months! It has been labelled a mythical place of murder and gun crime. It is also a city which inspires the media to create shock documentaries about gang life; needless to say not many people encouraged me to travel by myself. But I am a dancehall addict. I am also a white caucasian female dancer who grew up in Belgium and who loves to travel alone. Many told me my complexion, my accent, my gender would cause me trouble. Despite the worry and lack of enthusiasm of others, I knew my purpose was calling me...

A message pops up on Facebook: “Hi Cindy, I have accepted your friend request. I don’t accept many people as I receive about 500 friend requests a day. Call me when you land in Jamaica. Took a look at your link, I’m very excited to show you a slice of our culture! Love n respect.” A huge smile and big dimples appear on my face. That sounds exciting! I already feel welcomed!

I found Orville Hall on Facebook. He is the choreographer and artistic director of Dance Xpressionz in Jamaica. Their YouTube videos really inspired me and Facebook seemed to be the easiest way to get in touch. But then all of a sudden I wonder... why does he receive 500 requests a day? Little did I know then that he was actually the most well known dancehall choreographer on the island. Judging for TV dance competitions, choreographing for major corporate events, acting and touring for various productions, Orville is a spokesman for the dancehall community and still very present on the underground scene.

Summer 2010. It’s my first day in Kingston! As an experienced dance backpacker I know the first thing to sort out is a SIM card, get a local number and start networking. After speaking to Orville, he picks me up and brings me along to a TV shoot. He is choreographing for a new commercial using about 80 -100 dancers. Here I am, within less than 24 hours after my arrival, standing in the middle of 100 dancehall dancers all grooving in the most intricate and authentic way. I loved dancehall, but that day, I literally melted. An art so rich, creative and so beautiful to watch. We are running on Jamaican time and the film crew has 7 hours delay. Not sure what we are waiting for, but guess what street dancers do when they have to hang around? We play music, we jam, we freestyle. The cypher is on! And as a true hip-hop head, I jump in too! This is how we network in our world: we talk with our feet, we make sentences with our arms, and we give meaning with hips, chest and faces. I made friends in an instance, meeting even krumpers and hip-hop lovers amongst the dancehall crowd.

For two months, I was on a schedule which included little or no sleep. Studying at Edna Manley College during the day, I was off to the dance hall at night, and by that I literally mean ALL night! I knew most of the dancers, and they knew me. I truly believe this amazing first encounter shaped my whole experience in the dance hall. Later on, I also had the privilege to train and perform with Orville Hall in Kingston, Montego Bay and on national television.

“Tuesday evening? That’s in 6 days. How many people will attend?”. Roger looks at me with surprise but he also smiles. He is a wise man, but he also knows rules are made to be broken.
“Well, your theatre is small, about 50 seats, and our event is an hour long. We want to do the show twice on the same evening. We truly believe something magic happened over the last two weeks. Sir, you have seen us rehearsing in the studio as well as in the parking lot. Nothing stopped us. We made it happen. We are now ready to perform a one hour Krumping Theatre event and showcase beautiful work in progress. Our show will inspire young and old in the local community. We are aiming to have a full house for both performances. We would do the first show at 6.30pm and the second one would be at 8pm.” My heart is beating but I speak with confidence. My purpose called me to go to South Angeles, and so I did. I followed my gut feeling. We had no funding. But we knew we were somehow making a print in history. I came to lead Krumping Theatre workshops in Compton and Long Beach. I worked in collaboration with Fudd and 2Realz, the founders of Demolition Crew. They are also my ‘krump family’. The three of us were determined to empower other artists. After two weeks of intensive rehearsals on the gravel and in the dance studios we used for free, we were now looking for a theatre to publicly showcase what we achieved.

“Hmm... You would have to be out by 10pm. My staff members need to lock up the space by 10pm.”
“Yes Sir, the last show will finish by 9pm. I can guarantee the space will be cleared by 10pm.”
“You said the event is free to attend... What about security?”
“We have sorted out security Sir. XXXX’s cousins, whom you know and who are respected in the community will be in charge of maintaining order. To manage numbers, people will have to confirm their attendance and put their names down on our list. If there are still seats available people will be let in on a first come first served basis.”
“OK. So, this Tuesday there might be a Krumping Theatre event, but... it actually never happened. Am I being clear?”
“Does this mean we can use the theatre Sir?”
“I don’t know nothing about it. I never heard about it. After Tuesday, Tuesday never happened.” Roger looks at me straight in the eyes. I nod slowly, still not sure if he is being sarcastic, weird or just trying to speak some coded language.
“Can we also use the theatre in the afternoon to do a tech and dress rehearsal Sir?”
“My staff is in from 10am. But, I don’t know about any Krumping Theatre event and this never happened.” Roger sits quietly behind his desk. He opens his bag looking for something.
“Thank you so much for supporting our project Sir.” Me and 2Realz want to scream of joy, but the silence in the room still leaves us unsure of his actual approval.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to call my wife. We have an event to attend on Tuesday evening, it’s a surprise for my son.” Roger grabs his phone and walks away. He suddenly turns around “ 6.30pm you said?”

This is how I curated my first event. It happened 'in the hoods' of L.A. I had never perceived myself as a hungry producer before. I would have never walked up in a theatre in London (where I am now based) and make such requests. I won’t mention the name of the venue or the real name of the manager, because our performance never officially took place. As Roger said: “It never happened”. The space was newly build but had not been officially inaugurated yet. Not only did we request to use the theatre for free, we were using it under cover!

The event was a huge success. Audiences cried and some people stayed because they wanted to see it twice. The line up included a krump stand up comedian, emotional dance pieces, various works in progress, dancers of all ages (from 9 to 32 years old) and a question and answer discussion. Mums came to thank me, proud to be able to bring their sons to such an inspiring event. Men told me they were crying or found it hard to hold in their tears. All wanted more. After organizing this, our Krumping Theatre piece Dark Energies got selected to be performed in Hollywood at the Fourth Annual J.U.i.C.E. hip-hop festival. We were proud to present our work in September 2011 at the Ford Amphitheater, a prestigious venue with 1250 seats.

The moral of the story: traveling will make you take actions beyond your fears. Start thinking: what if you were that UNSTOPPABLE artist here at home? Not scared to email people, never afraid to network, always ready to request support in kind. What if you always took actions now and never procrastinated? What would your artistic journeys be like if you brought this same energy you experienced abroad into your daily life?

Dance trips and artistic traveling allows you to experience living in a world with no limits and no excuses. You discover your crazy unstoppable self and you tap into that resourceful fountain of energy which resides inside you. You experience living without fears and you allow your daring self to truly shine. That’s why going abroad to dance is a magical journey.

I wish you loads of sparkling dance trips, exciting international artistic exchanges and an huge amount of cross-cultural experiences!