karaoke.

I have a not-so-secret confession to make: I have become a karaoke addict.

It all happened a few months ago after a dance show. On a chilly Thursday night, a couple friends and I were wandering down Queen West, when one of them said, "Hey, I know a great karaoke place around here."

Why not? I thought.

Since then, if I have a Thursday night off, I'm at karaoke.

I'll preface this - I can't sing for the life of me. In fact, I've been cast a "bad singer" for gigs. Sure, I can carry a tune along with a group of people (fake it until you make it), but I'm pretty gnarly solo.

However, I don't know if it's the atmosphere, the people or just the acceptance of the audience for getting up there and trying, but karaoke has been one of my favourite pastimes over the last few months. At this particular joint, there's a steady crew every week, and whether you're the next Mariah Carey or me, everyone cheers for you when you're singing.

This isn't one of those stories about "finding yourself" and being accepted by strangers. Most of my peers that I go with and I are performers, emcees and writers, and are used to putting our necks out. We're constantly judged, and have no shame anymore.

In fact, I think karaoke has been a form of performance education.

As a dancer, I obviously understand the power and communication of body movement. You can convey so much through the pace, timing and sharpness when you dance.

When you're on the microphone, you can't move like a dancer.

The first time standing up in front of the crowd, I realized that if I flipped into "dancer mode" I would be moving too far away from the microphone, or breathing too heavy to sing.

Karaoke and singing has taught me how to perform using the subtle nuances of my face and upper body. Yes, I can still move, but it's a different interpretation. Instead of kicking and jumping, I've learned  to correspond my movements to the music I'm singing. I've realized it's a true talent to entertain your audience, keep pace with your breath and also follow lyrics on a screen.

To some, karaoke is just a fun way to let out some stress, and I highly recommend it for that. For me, it's become a bit of a performance exercise class.

The best part of it? Homework includes finding the best song for each week to hopefully make the audience sing along with you.

What am I performing this week? Well, you'll just have to join me at karaoke to find out.

Shameless Karaoke, 10PM at The Savoy (Queen West and Beaconsfield).