Event Diaries: Process Over Perfection- Dance Workshop with Judy Tran
The moment the music hit the speakers, the room filled with energy, bright, lively, and full of anticipation! At EVQ Dance Studio, a local woman-owned Denver dance studio rooted in diversity and body-positivity, Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) girls and gender-expansive youth in grades 9-12 gathered for a creative movement workshop rooted in one guiding intention: process over perfection. The playlist, filled with K-pop and hip hop songs the students already love, created a sense of familiarity and joy before the dancing even began.
During the opening circle, the group set their own community norms: no judgment zone, bring kindness to themselves and each other, and create space for every dancer to move at their own pace. What might have begun as nerves softened into curiosity to show up as their fully, authentic selves.
Storyteller Spotlight: Judy Tran
About Judy
Judy Tran (she/her) is a Vietnamese American clinical psychologist in training and longtime K-pop dance instructor with over 14 years of experience teaching original choreographies and cultural movement workshops across Colorado. She is deeply committed to building belonging and resilience through creativity, with dance as both a personal cultural practice and a tool for community connection.
Judy’s Story: Vulnerability Through Movement
Judy opened by sharing why dance has always been part of her healing and cultural connection. As a Vietnamese American who started with traditional fan dancing before expanding into contemporary genres, she described movement as a bridge between creativity, identity, and community. She also spoke about perfectionism as something many young Asian American youth can internalize early such as the pressure to be polished. Instead, she invited students to consider dance as an act of release, a place where you become in-tune with your body, listening to how it responds to music and emotions.
The Dance Workshop
Warmups and drills helped students flow into the present moment with rhythm, spontaneity, and body awareness before shifting into choreography set to Tate McRae’s Just Keep Watching. Judy structured the routine around teamwork and shared visibility, each dancer had their own moment while still building a cohesive dance together. As they practiced, hesitancy gave way to laughter, collaboration, and cheering! Formations became pathways for support, students helped each other reposition, celebrated breakthroughs, and embraced mistakes as part of the process.
By the time groups split off to refine the routine, a noticeable shift had taken place where confidence shined in their presence naturally. Students experimented with expression, adapted to formation changes, collaborated on timing, and supported each other through the more challenging sequences. What began as choreography became a story through their movements.
At the end of the workshop, students performed both as a full ensemble and in a small unit of three, connected through rhythm and letting go of the idea of performing perfectly.
Alex, Jade, Naiya, and Jane perform choreography created by Judy Tran to Tate McRae’s Just Keep Watching.
Alex, Jade, and Naiya perform to choreography by Judy Tran to Tate McRae’s Just Keep Watching
Letting Go of Perfection
During closing circle, students reflected on what courage looked like in practice. They shared that it was challenging not to compare themselves to others, but grounding to remember that every dancer is learning at a different moment in their journey. Judy reminded them that movement is a form of self-advocacy, listening to the body, honoring limits, and choosing expression over silence. One student shared that in dance, “you can play off mistakes and keep going, but in life, you have to own them and grow from them,” capturing the core of the workshop’s message; where process does not have to equate to perfection, but their expression!
Movement as a Mirror
What unfolded that afternoon was more than a dance lesson, it was a lived experience of confidence built from within. Through movement, students learned that belonging is not about perfection, but connection to self, to culture, and to community. A huge thank you to Judy for creating a powerful choreography and sharing her story to empower and inspire our students to be present, empowered, and kind to themselves.
Big shoutout to EVQ Dance Studio for opening their doors (and dance floor!) to our students! Keep the energy going, join Judy’s K-pop workshops on Saturdays or find your next groove, beat, or burst of joy on EVQ’s schedule here!
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About Asian Girls Ignite
Founded in October 2020, Asian Girls Ignite is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for AANHPI girls and gender-expansive youth to celebrate their individual and collective power. We use storytelling to empower the next generation to write their futures in their own voice. Our programs and events nurture social-emotional learning to help our students grow in resilience, empathy, and self-awareness.