I would like to write about my experience in Marlupi at the IBDI Summer Intensive. First off, my experience there was wonderful. I got to have class with teachers in Indonesia, I even got to meet my idols and new friends!! I really enjoyed myself during this one week.
When I received the scholarship to attend this summer intensive, I was super happy because, I never thought that something like this would happen to me since I am not exactly good. I know that this might not be much to others but for me this meant a lot and I hope that I can get more scholarships like this in the future.
During the intensive, a normal day meant we would stretch first, then we would start our classes. Personally, my favorite class was modern dance. Me and my friends would be really excited for this class. I think it was many people’s favorite class. We had many different classes during the intensive and every teacher had their own way of teaching us. Some of the classes were things I never really did before, so at first I was a bit confused but I tried my best to follow. I really liked getting corrections from the teachers because even though sometimes I didn't understand it immediately, I knew it was something I can improve on. Sometimes the classes were tiring but it was still really fun.
Although I loved the intensive, the most obvious challenges for me was body conditioning because I am not strong or that flexible, so every day I dreaded this class the most. Especially because the exercises were mostly focused on making the core stronger. During class I received a correction that I will always remember because every ballet teacher that has taught me has said this words “Pull up your stomach Serena!”. There was a lot to learn there because some things I have never learned before and I tried to do it well even if it might be bad but hey, first time for everything right? Like you can’t just play it safe all the time.
To me a week is a short time so I really want to cherish all the moments I had with my friends who are currently or probably in Indonesia and I will miss them forever. Maybe I’ll see them again one day. They are the main reason I got through the one week there because I thought I wouldn’t have any friends but the moments after class talking about how much our core hurts, our legs, arms or anything meant a lot. Also having a pirouette “competition” before class, eating food while talking during break time, and joking around after class with my friends, these are the moments that I will remember the most. This experience not only gave me a new experience but also taught me that in your life one of the important things in dance are friends.
I also like to eat so every day I would wake up at around 9 o’clock to have hotel breakfast which is good although I wasn’t used to it, then we would go to the mall next to the hotel we were staying in because we would still be hungry, there I normally ate Wingstop which was always my sister’s idea then I would go drink Chatime because I found out about their frosty drink which is so incredibly good. Then after classes we would come back to eat at the same mall.
I will forever be grateful for this and I thank all the teachers that taught me in Indonesia, and Malaysia Global Ballet Scholarship and Sri Wilayah Ballet Centre. Love you all!!!