Stay on beat: Confidence in every step

As the big crowd cheers offstage, junior Keila Urban places her right leg in front of her and leans on her heel. She leans on the ball of her foot to create one of her favorite prep moves: a heel-toe footwork. Stepping onstage, Urban smiles at the crowd, ready to dance with passion and confidence in her moves. 

Urban dances for the YG Dance studio, a dance school located in San Gabriel and has participated in several dancing performances specializing in hip-hop and K-pop choreography for two years. K-pop style dancing follows bigger moves, more facial expressions and more energy. On the other hand, hip-hop prioritizes energy but smaller movements.

On Nov. 17, Urban and her dance team named YG Dance Crew performed in a recital where they showed off everything they worked on for the past few months through choreography to songs like “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar and “Million Cash” by Connor Price. 

“I felt excited to be [at the recital] and I felt like it was really hyped. I was proud that the months of work had finally paid off,” Urban said. 

On Sept. 15, the team performed to entertain people as they settled in at a K-pop concert in the Long Beach Arena. Although Urban enjoyed performing, she does face several challenges. Since there are no numbers on the floor to show where different dancers are in a choreo or mirrored walls like in a dance studio, Urban has to figure out where she’s supposed to be on stage by looking around to her teammates if she loses track of the choreo. Even with these difficulties, Urban is always prepared beforehand for any competition. 

“I try to get myself in the mindset that [the competition isn’t] just practice and we’re also performing in front of friends. I know that if I mess up, [my family and friends] are [still there to support me],’’ Urban said. 

Besides being mentally prepared, she also prepares by practicing her moves at the dance studio every Sunday. There, she receives advice about any of her dance moves from her instructor, Raymond Tran.  

“As [Keila] trained with me, I would give her critiques such as improving on her cleanliness of movement and energy of expression,” Tran said. “[As an instructor] I can [offer] advice, critiques or even train with them, all of which I have done for Keila.” 

Urban uses dance as an escape to relieve any stress of balancing school and practice for her other sport,  volleyball. She focuses on giving it her all when onstage. 

“When I dance I go all out and try my best to dance the hardest, knowing people are here to see us and my family is there for me. Being able to dance is a distraction [that] allows me to have fun,” Urban said. 

Dance has given Urban another benefit. Through kindness and inclusiveness shown within the team, Urban has made a tight-knit family with the rest of the dancers. 

“I feel like [Keila] not only gains more friends but also gains stress relief. Dance helps her express herself, and she’s able to put in her energy and release her frustration [while dancing],” Keila’s friend junior Henna Wu said. 

Since dance has given her another family and a stress relief environment, Urban hopes to continue with this hobby and continue to seek out inspiration in the field. 

“People who have fun [dancing] without thinking it’s a sport or chore [are my inspiration]. [An example of  this  is] my instructor, who encourages us to follow our dreams,” Urban said.

Overall, Urban’s curiosity and interest in dance has helped her to become more natural in dancing. With a smile on her face in every performance, Urban dances with enthusiasm while also having fun. 

“I love Keila’s personality. Her positive attitude really stands out,” Tran said. “All in all if you’re going to do something, might as well go all in right? That’s Keila right there!”