{"id":480,"date":"2020-02-29T20:17:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T02:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=480"},"modified":"2020-04-18T22:47:41","modified_gmt":"2020-04-19T03:47:41","slug":"a-decade-of-dancing-with-ian-navasca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2020\/02\/29\/a-decade-of-dancing-with-ian-navasca\/","title":{"rendered":"A Decade of Dancing with Ian Navasca"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Jim Bea Sampaga<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
@iannavasca on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n


Every week, Ian Navasca teaches at least seven dance classes between Waipahu Intermediate School and his non-profit Waipahu dance studio, Treasure Box Studios. A former Jabbawockeez Show performer in Las Vegas, the 25-year-old Navasca has been dancing for more than a decade now.


\u201cI was inspired by watching the Jabbawockeez on TV in 2008,\u201d Navasca said. \u201cThat encounter led me to emulate and practice all their moves at home.\u201d


The Jabbawockeez are a hip-hop dance crew from San Diego, California who won the first season of America\u2019s Best Dance Crew in 2008. Known for their mesmerizing hip-hop dance performances and staple outfit of white masks and gloves, Jabbawockeez mainly consists of Filipino-American members.


\u201cThey inspired me because they were excellent in their craft and when they took off their masks,\u201d Navasca said. \u201cI discovered that the majority of them were Filipino which made me happy and also surprised.\u201d


In 2010, he started his YouTube channel where he would constantly post his dance training sessions during the first year of his dancing. \u201cYouTube was my accountability partner at the beginning of my dance journey,\u201d Navasca said. \u201cI used YouTube as a way to critique myself through the footage I would record.\u201d


Navasca\u2019s primary dance style is hip-hop but his dance style changed over the years
through the different dance teachers that he worked with during his career. Recently, he started creating more storytelling dance choreography videos which can be viewed through his YouTube channel.


His passion for dancing led him to multiple amazing opportunities such as performing alongside hip-hop dance crew Jabbawockeez for their Las Vegas headline shows in 2011 and 2015.


\u201cWorking with Jabbawockeez was truly a dream come true. They were the very ones who inspired me to start dancing which made the experience much more meaningful,\u201d Navasca shared.


One of Navasca\u2019s biggest hardships in his career that he still struggles with to this day is self-doubt. And getting the position as a performer in the Las Vegas show was not an easy task.


\u201cI felt that I was failing so much in terms of the quality of dance that I was performing,\u201d he shared. \u201cAt that time I needed to push past my capabilities and believe [in myself] in order to secure my position on the show.\u201d


Navasca said it\u2019s all about breaking past the mindset of \u201cI can\u2019t do it.\u201d


\u201cI remember the feeling I felt that I was scheduled to perform the live show and it was the greatest feeling in the world. I wouldn\u2019t have gotten there if I didn\u2019t put in the work to become greater at the craft,\u201d he said.


In 2012 and 2013, Navasca and his dance group Black Canvas competed in the Hawaii edition of the popular dance competition World of Dance. They won 2nd and 3rd place respectively.


\u201cThe process of preparing for those competitions took hard-work, patience, and a lot of failures,\u201d Navasca reminisced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWe needed to work hard: physically, mentally, spiritually and creatively. All in all, what pushed the team forward through the hard times was our commitment and focus to the vision of our crew.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


When Navasca moved back to Hawaii from Las Vegas in 2015, his next goal was to become a full-time dance teacher. Formerly known as \u201cThe Playground,\u201d Navasca established Treasure Box Studios in Waipahu, a faith-based non-profit organization that offers free dance classes to the public. He also teaches dance classes at Waipahu Intermediate School.


\u201cI could recall that the first couple of weeks teaching dance again really opened my eyes to see that educating and developing people in the art of dance is what truly makes me happy,\u201d Navasca said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


As an artist, there will always be times that the passion for the craft and artistry starts to fade away. But every time Navasca starts to feel this way, he looks back and reflects on his purpose, identity and future. He calls this the \u201cthree waves of reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe first wave is to really dig deep and rediscover your purpose in why you started that craft,\u201d Navasca shared. \u201cThe second wave is to identify anything in your life now that could be a passion drainer. The third wave is to set your trajectory upward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


For the next decade, Navasca hopes to create more dance shows, raise future dance teachers and performers, and contribute to making a positive impact in communities worldwide.


For aspiring dancers who want to follow their dreams of being a performer and choreographer, Navasca said: \u201cIf you love what you do, create a structure for you to accomplish your goals. You\u2019ll find that your dreams are more tangible than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Ian Navasca is a performer, dance instructor and choreographer. He teaches free Beginner Urban Choreography at Treasure Box Studios, Waipahu every Wednesday at 6:30 PM. Visit mytreasureboxstudios.com<\/a> for more details. Follow him on instagram: @iannavasca. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Every week, Ian Navasca teaches at least seven dance classes between Waipahu Intermediate School and his non-profit Waipahu dance studio, Treasure Box Studios. A former Jabbawockeez Show performer in Las Vegas, the 25-year-old Navasca has been dancing for more than a decade now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4,11],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=1188%2C951",1188,951,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=300%2C240",300,240,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=640%2C513",640,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=640%2C513",640,513,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=1188%2C951",1188,951,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=1188%2C951",1188,951,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=1188%2C800",1188,800,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=870%2C570",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=600%2C900",600,900,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=600%2C600",600,600,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=1115%2C715",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=800%2C500",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=1024%2C820",1024,820,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=540%2C340",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?resize=400%2C250",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Features<\/a> Hawaii - Filipino<\/a>","tag_info":"Hawaii - Filipino","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Screen-Shot-2020-03-31-at-3.14.49-PM.png?fit=1188%2C951","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":801,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions\/801"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}