How lucky am I?! I got to do a two-day hip hop workshop with Shaadow Sefiroth at Mad Dance House, one of the hardest but best dance experiences I’ve had so far.

The workshop was six hours each day — two hours in the morning and four in the afternoon, with only a 30-minute break. I don’t usually train with that much intensity, so it definitely pushed me to my limits, but in a really good way. I thought the class was excellent even though it was challenging. Read on to learn what we did each day.

Day One — Foundations, rhythm and groove

We started day one with ability and agility, which already got my body working. Shaadow then talked about rhythm and how it’s different from musicality. Rhythm is about staying on beat, but musicality is about how you feel and interpret the music, not just counting it.

After that, he spoke a lot about foundations. He said there are 11 foundations, and on the first day we worked on things like groove, bounce, waves, and rolls. It helped me understand that even advanced dancers like him always go back to the basics.

One thing I really liked was how structured the class was. Shaadow had a good plan for the lesson, which made it easier to remember what we did later and reflect on it after class. It didn’t feel random — everything connected.

Sometimes he made us dance facing the wall instead of the mirror. That was actually really helpful because I wasn’t looking at other people or comparing myself. I could just focus on my own movement and how my body felt.

Shaadow kept reminding us that we’re not looking for perfection. That took a lot of pressure off and made me want to try harder instead of being scared of getting things wrong.

It was also really cool to see familiar faces from Brisbane’s dance scene, all training together and supporting each other.

Day Two — Speed and footwork

On day two, the main focus was speed and footwork. It was fast, intense, and very physical. I had to stay really sharp, quick, and controlled. It made me realise how important fitness and coordination are in hip hop. We had to take our shoes off to do floor work which was pretty fun and hard, to we did floor work drills too!

The workshop was hosted by Mad Dance House, and you could tell it was well organised. The workshop felt like a big opportunity for Brisbane dancers to learn from someone who teaches and performs all around the world.

Overall, the two days were tiring, challenging, and inspiring. I learned a lot about foundations, ability, agility, musicality, and mindset. Shaadow’s teaching made me think differently about how I train and how I listen to music when I dance.

I left the workshop feeling exhausted but motivated, and I’m really grateful I got to be part of it.