Whoops

[clevermanka]

I love Kpop dance practice videos. This one is particularly notable for 1) having a mixed-group of back-up dancers and 2) switching their parts for this practice video. I don't often enjoy watching girl band MVs because I hate how ~feminized~ the dance moves are for them. This video highlights (intentionally or not) what gets choreographed for women versus what gets choreographed for men and how ridiculous the differences are.

Since I was stuck yesterday on I Have No Idea What Happens Next in Ghost Story, I decided to practice carving 值得.

Welp:

I always carve around a transferred template ("freehand" is not a term in my vocabulary) but  because 得 was the last part I got to, the graphite was just smudged enough and...well, that happened. Wasn't even a slip of the tool. Just plain old inattention. *laugh-cry-emoji* Good thing I was already in the mentality of "it's been so long since I carved a stamp, this is just practice" and that I noticed before I spent the time tidying it up.

But then I figured out what I wanted to do for the next couple scenes and managed to crank out another 1k. We're at Thanksgiving break!

Comments

[naye]

I love the style of that stamp, even if it's not perfect! What gorgeous work - I'm in awe of how many talents you have! Good luck with words. <3

[clevermanka]

Aw, thanks, bb! Stamp-carving is very meditative for me and super cheap since I always buy my erasers on clearance or in the $1 bins at craft stores. Of course that means they don't last as long as a regular rubber stamp, but ah well--yet another lesson in impermanence!

Maybe once I'm back in practice, people would want to buy them? There's not a lot of what I consider supplemental merch for this fandom, like tee shirts or buttons or things that aren't printed art and/or stickers. Well, at least not where I'm seeing it, anyway.

I need to ask a local person I know if she would make GOOD VIBES ONLY patches and how much they'd cost.

[naye]

I would 100% pay good money for both a Weilan 巍澜 and a Guardian 镇魂 stamp. And then maybe see if my ink pads are all dry or if I can use them in random places like my work notebook... :D

[clevermanka]

Those look super challenging, which...can be a good thing! I'll look for some larger erasers next time I'm on the craft store side of town--no way I can hand carve all that onto a 1x2 inch eraser! Once I make one for myself to get a time estimate, I'll send you a price if you're really interested.

[jo_lasalle]

Woop! My god I'm just only realising the scale due to the pen. AMAZING!

[clevermanka]

One inch by two inch! I'm pretty good with tiny, fiddly work. =)

[saffronhare]

I've appreciated the way, in kiddo's choreography classes, they very seldom assign "parts" to the dancers. The choreographer will say, "do it this way if you want to interpret the move more masculine" or whatever. Sometimes they'll be very specific for a performance but otherwise they talk about different ways to emphasize the style and musicality. But most of the time they're like "for the girls, or people who feel like dancing like girls." A lot of commercial work requires young men to dance very femme and young women to stand in as men, I guess, so being able to switch back and forth can be an advantage.

[clevermanka]

NICE. I wonder how/if that's different in the western industry or what.

[saffronhare]

I honestly don't know. I think the dominant narratives might be similar, but the particular audience may dictate the roles to be reinforced or subverted.

Teachers will say, "this is a love story," and then let the dancers interact within that context however they like. The classroom environment isn't always the client environment, either.

[kazoogrrl]

Sunmi and her dancers also did a part change for her song "Gashina", and when I saw her they did it as an encore song. She's my favorite female kpop artist.

https://youtu.be/dOsK3FQPhw0

ETA: This is something I love about Taemin, sometimes he uses a mixed group of dancers and they all do the same choreo. When it's just female dancers, they are doing pretty much the same thing as him.

The stamp is so cool! I also do not freehand anything, my visual art skills are not great.

[clevermanka]

I love love LOVE Taemin's backup dancers.

[islenskr]

Ooooh, so cool. I looove carving stamps.
What did you use? Linoleum? That rubber stuff?

Characters: meh, they're complicated. Also, now you get to carve *another* one, which has got to be super fun, no?

[clevermanka]

Nothing so fancy--just a cheap eraser. =D

Also, yes, practice is never a bad thing!