GKC Blog / Vol. 1 Issue 5

Celebrating Women's History Month

This month's blog post is all about Miss Val.
She is one of the most influential figures in the history of NCAA Women's Gymnastics.

I met Valorie when I was 19. The impact she has had on me has left a huge imprint. My former teammate and I had dinner with her during her beginnings as the Assistant Coach of UCLA's Women's Gymnastics team. I had watched her work and was in awe of her. After I sheepishly expressed that I was interested in choreographing floor routines (after gushing about my admiration of her work, my passion for music, dance, theatre and, of course, gymnastics) she looked at me with her big piercing eyes and said "You should do it. There aren't that many people like you." She says and does everything with such unflinching conviction that you know she is telling you the truth. Here I am, decades later, a freelance artist and choreographer, featuring her in our one on one interview that completes a full circle in my life. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have always been inspired by Valorie and felt she was a kindred spirit. You can imagine my excitement when she agreed to be interviewed! Not only is she a highly decorated and accomplished 7 time NCAA Champion coach (1991-2019 UCLA Bruins), cancer survivor and PAC12 Coach of the Century, she is also a game changing floor choreographer, motivational speaker, mentor, creator/producer and philanthropist. My burning curiosity about her creative process is shared in our audio interview, among many other insightful life lessons. After spending time talking to and listening to her it's impossible not to be inspired to be a better athlete, performer and human. I recommend that you listen to the full interview before watching the UCLA Floor Routine overview video directly below. It doesn't surprise me that she is still just as compelling to me now as she was when I was 19. And by the way, at the end of our interview you can't see it, but I'm jumping out of my skin with excitement!

-Soomi Kim

The Art of Floor Choreography

As we watch footage of gymnasts Kim Hamilton, Brittani McCullough, Ariana Berlin, Angie Cipra, Paulina Tratz, Gracie Kramer and Katelyn Ohashi compete their floor routines, Miss Val deconstructs the art of floor choreography and the importance of using the entire body including the eyes, face, voice and character intention. As an artist, she understands the value in collaborating with the athlete and explains the phenomenon behind viral floor routines.

A note from Soomi…

I'm feeling deeply grateful to all who donated to the GKC Blog and Theatre Project. Our fund raiser is closed, but more news soon to come about a work in progress for Body Through Which the Dream Flows theatre project. Also wanted to thank our incredible Guest Choreographers (Laura Peterson, Stephanie Lacy and Yasmine Lee) who worked with our Creative Dance Workshop For Gymnasts class! It was so fun and a special opportunity for them to be exposed to different modes of creating movement. Here is a little overview:

Check out our other exciting features this month!

Meet Day Meal Plan

Health Coach Shay Grogan provides a plan to prepare your gymnast for meet day with meals that could fuel a champion!

Covid Gym Bag
Essentials Checklist

The pandemic has redefined the word "essential" on many levels. This requires some next-level preparing from you, the gymnast, when packing your bag for meet day and GKC is here to help!
Click here for the full checklist.