Moving Centre-stage

Hiatus after hiatus

2011-02-23T20:04:00.001+08:00

I know that I have not been updating this blog. Understatement. Suffice to say that I had a wonderful dance year, including Night Festival (where I did Paths of Time under a pair of great mentors). And I managed to pass 2 flamenco grades with flying colours AND do 2 intense December shows with a sprained back. Brava to me.

And I want to say I'm really happy to get into the Mayday Rally 2011 performance, and I was, until recent circumstances threw a shadow across this event. That, however, is not something for this blog. I intend to start another blog, which will chronicle this event and its subsequent ongoings, so if you are curious, watch out for a new link I will soon put in place. But expect this space to be empty for a long while more.

Re-entering the Scene.

2010-06-07T02:39:00.002+08:00

I didn't publish any entries for the whole of May. I know. If you have been following my blog, you'd notice that May would have been a little busy for me. And it was. Big time.

But that's done now! Yay! I've got a short break before rehearsals for Night Festival loom.

Did I not mention that I'm in the Night Festival? Yep, I got through auditions.

But right now, lets talk about a really great social night.

Since I finished my last show on Saturday, I agreed to follow a friend to the newly revamped Union Square yesterday night. Anyway, I hadn't gone for social dancing in months, so I wanted to get back my groove. Apparently, it didn't take very long. Yay for me.

Had a really really good dance fix. Several of the leads were loads and oodles of fun, and most of the girls were good sports.

There were several highlights of the evening, one of which was 2 heart-pumping numbers with one guy; unfortunately for me, both times were to fast music, and when you dance with a strong lead who has fanciful moves and a penchant for making girls do work, it's easy to get a heart attack.

Of course I enjoyed that.

Then there were two bachatas with a familiar face. And 2 really really fun numbers where the guy and I were busy playing throughout the dances (yes, we were dancing).

And the last salsa I did, some guy made me do 5 spins in a row. Wah lau. Last time I was made to do multiple spins stationery, it was 2 years ago. 8 spins.

All in all, a fruitful night.

Wo-Man.

2010-04-14T23:51:00.007+08:00

Barely a month since my last post, but it feels longer. Must be all the projects and exams and stuff at school. And I'm still dancing through my exams because my two dance showcases are coming up soon after. I hope I graduate. I'd better.

Alrighty, here we go:

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Drama
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Am severely miffed about not being able to commit to helping out with the front-of-house for W!ld Rice production of Animal Farm. Other commitments include the directing stint at school and my two dance showcases. Am still trying to decide if I should send in an application anyway.

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Dance
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Like the pictures above? They came from the flamenco photoshoot. I was the only girl to be dressed in pants and and a vest (one other performer wore pants, but it was the flowy kind and she had a scarf)... why am I not surprised...

A pity I don't have the zebra costume shot though. That was really nice (I know "zebra costume" sounds weird, but it really was very nice).

It's starting to look like I won't be doing the Follow for salsa in May. Which is kind of sad. But oh well.

My pirouettes for turns technique today was kind of bad... think I was tired and my ankles were weak. Guess that's homework for me.

So many things, so little time

2010-03-17T01:21:00.004+08:00

Updates from a very tired wannabe artiste who is still trying to graduate.

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Auditions

I have been trotting around, getting auditions in various places... mostly for acting... unfortunately, all of them seem to require me to sing, which (due to complete lack of practice and negligence for my health) I don't do so well.

Did an audition recently for TheatreWorks... Hoping to get a favourable reply. This audition required me to act, dance and sing. The first two I was okay with. The last one I prepared for anyway, praying for my life I wouldn't have to use it (but eventually, I did).

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Drama

Am currently in a directors' workshop based in school; hoping that will amount to something. Honestly, I much prefer acting, but it would be good to see the view from the other side of the mirror. Should be fun. I know I don't sound very excited right now (it's because I'm tired, nearing the end of school term with projects due and I haven't been sleeping well), but I really am looking forward to the process.

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Dance

Am currently posted to be a substitute teacher for 2 weeks of latin jazz. Learnt 6 weeks worth of content in 1.5 hours. Talk about crash course. But hey, I'm not complaining. It's pretty cool stuff.

Also preparing myself to have to become a Lead again, for the latest choreography in Dragones. If I can learn the tricks though, I might be able to be the Follow in a more advanced choreography. Guess that means I have to get my strength up. Time to plan my personal bootcamp for the next 2 weeks.

My turns are improving though. I like turns technique classes.

This Thursday and Friday could have been social nights for me; Una Noche Solamente (salsa) and Nocturne II (standard ballroom) respectively, both in school. Just my luck, I have to attend Flamenco class and training on Thursday, and my next directors' workshop session is on Friday.

Sad.

Clinging to The Twilight

2010-03-03T14:07:00.002+08:00

Long time since the last update. Why?

Because. I. Am. Exhausted.

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Dance
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The physical training for Dragones has recently started up again (after almost a one-year hiatus; this does not include choreography and rehearsals). And, unsurprisingly, I am the weakest in fitness.

Sigh.

On a lighter note, I look forward to Tuesdays every week. Currently assisting my dance instructor with the salsa courses in school, and that's probably the only place I'll get my fill of social dancing at the moment (Union Square has increased fares and I'm told the space is smaller).

Speaking of which, Salsa Beginners on wednesday nights (7:30pm to 8:30pm) is still waiting for sign-ups! And my salsa intermediate class on Saturday nights (8pm to 9pm).

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Drama
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I think I flunked the auditions for Toy Factory. Haven't heard from them in any case. And a lot of the auditions currently available require me to be a songstress. Which, as we all know, I don't fare too well on during auditions.

Sigh.

Decisions, decisions.

2010-02-18T01:25:00.004+08:00

Announcements:

Right people, listen up! You're hearing this even before it's up officially on the website!

My next salsa beginners' class is starting 3rd March, Wednesdays, 7:30pm to 8:30pm, at JazzCats studios! That's at Valley Point. Sign up! With LADC!

Classes at JazzCats are $96 per head, but if you bring a friend along, we'll charge $144 for the both of you. How's that for a deal?

My intermediate class at Dance Arts is still waiting for students, so if you're up for it, sign up!

The only thing sad about my new salsa beginners' class is that it's about the same time as Turns Technique... which means I'll be missing out on the latter. Pity; I really wanted to work on those turns. Especially since I only got in the last 3 classes of Turns Tech 1...

And to all salseros out there: looking for a few salsa dancers (of any level) to participate in focus group discussions. If you 're interested, drop me a message.

Miscellaneous:

Trying to figure out what to do with the voucher I have from Bailamos Sin Limites. Don't feel much like using it on salsa; other latin forms or standard ballroom stuff would be nice. Shame, there are so many schools I can use it for, but I can only use it once.

Also, I'm sorely tempted to go for Gl'amore, organised by Ballare, which is SMU's standard ballroom club. Problem is the the entry costs $48. That's understandable. But I'm very, very poor. Surely that's understandable, too.

What we do for kicks.

2010-02-04T14:20:00.002+08:00

Bailamos Sin Limites. What can I say? Fantasmic. Though I do wish I could have done a bit more social.

As it is, I have a gig tomorrow morning (non-paying, but oh well) that kind of came last minute.

Here is a conversation that occured in Turns Technique class yesterday:

Classmate: What are you doing here?
Me: What?
Classmate: You professional already! What are you doing here?
Me: What, what? Cannot meh?
Classmate: Cannot, cannot!
Me: I cannot do doubles you know!
Classmate: Huh! I cannot do singles!
Me: You think only you can be amatuer is it? I cannot be amatuer, huh?
Classmate: Cannot! You, what amatuer? I amatuer, you not amatuer!

Yes. We artsy people are a bunch of sanity-challenged people.

Bailamos Sin Limites

2010-01-28T14:01:00.005+08:00

Drama:

Not a lot of hype here. Rather, many complaints.

I didn't pass the auditions for Just So, so I figured I'd go backstage. Not that I didn't enjoy it (anything to be close to the stage is good, and I did pick up some really interesting stuff), but it's not something I want to do again. It's a high-stress job for highly skilled people. Which, of course, I'm not.

The morning after the last show of Just So, I had an audition for iTheatre, which I believe I failed miserably (not surprising since I came across it at the last minute). And from here I confirmed one thing that has been bugging me since I lost out on the auditions for Just So: my musicality stinks. Guess lack of voice training really shows.

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Now, on to the better news.

Dance:

Bailamos is TONIGHT!! WHOOP! I hope my social skills haven't degraded; it's been a while since I did some serious social-ing.

Speaking of which, my salsa classes are slated to begin this Saturday (7pm for beginners, 8pm for intermediate), so sign up quick! Go to the LADC website!

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Me being clumsy.

2010-01-08T23:26:00.003+08:00

My swing dance with my cousin: (can also be found directly by clicking here)

And the salsa routine from last year:

... Personally, I think I danced like an elephant for the swing dance... but my cousin was a good lead.

As for my solo? Well, doesn't seem like anybody has a video yet (and I obviously forgot to arrange for one), so... oh well.

Orangements

2010-01-04T16:21:00.004+08:00

Well, I should have done this two days ago, but I was a bit busy preparing for... well, that's something for later.

First, the Countdown to 2010 at the Asian Civilisation Museum. I only did the Sevillianas this time, but I loved doing it with the manton (scarf).

Pallileos messy as usual; glad there were other dancers to do the pallileos properly.

Had a little problem with choosing make-up (I was wearing a bright orange costume, as you can see above... a bit difficult to find the suitable colours...).

Anyways, I have recently performed my very own 4-minute salsa shines choreography at my cousin's wedding reception. Plus, I learnt swing dance (or rather, my other cousin lead me through 1 minute plus of music for a dance I had never even touched before, all in the name of performing for his older brother and new sister-in-law). I survived. And yes. It was fun. Very.

Prior to all of that, we did a song for the couple, titled, "Some Enchanted Evening". My mother and I had gone through it a few times before arriving in Malaysia yesterday, only to realise that my aunt had arranged it in parts, so we were supposed to be singing something slightly different. Plus my mum was to go solo for the first verse. Well, we managed somehow, and it felt so good to sing.

Eye Candy

2009-12-25T19:07:00.007+08:00

Announcement:

The official website for Bailamos Sin Limites is up! Check out my links or just click here.

Also, to see a video of my performance with Dragones Latinos during the Fatal Skillz showcase, click here.

Meanwhile, some pictures from my flamenco stint:

The pretty Guajiras girls

Sevillianas

In all our glamour.

Preparations...

... And play.

The whole yet unglamourised lot with our choreographer, Angel Gomez.

Over The Moon

2009-12-14T00:32:00.004+08:00

Hell week is over! Fatal Skillz (jazz and salsa) was done on Thursday, and Andalucia Viva (flamenco) was done a few hours ago. It all came together in the end, thank goodness.

Special thanks to my instructors from L.A. Dance Connection, not only for coming to watch Andalucia Viva, but also for presenting me with my first ever bouquet of flowers! (See above)

I'm still over the moon about how the performances turned out. Well, actually, there's another reason I'm over the moon.

I've just gotten my evaluation slip for the Flamenca Tercer Curso (Flamenco Grade Three)... I've gotten my first 'Honours' for flamenco.

Last time I got a similar qualification was way back when I was learning ballet in primary school. The official certificate for my Flamenca Tercer Curso will be given out next year.

What makes it more amazing is that my examiner this year is the very founder of the Instituto de la Danza Espanola. Stakes were really high.

I don't intend to regurgitate the entire report here, so I'll just summarise what I can understand of it:

My main strengths appear to be (1) style... examiner was pretty big on this in my evaluation; and (2) framework, meaning the way I hold my body.

Main weakness would be footwork... not surprising since this is what gives me the most trouble for flamenco (which is bad, given that it is the identifying feature of flamenco). I am surprised that my pallilos didn't get picked on, though. I've always had problems.

Compared with my Secundo Curso (would you believe it? The same examiner... I took a year off in between), the evaluation for Tercer Curso is top-notch. My Secundo Curso comprised of mainly perfunctory remarks, with a few exceptions, notably the final Baile (dance), which apparently saved my grade.

Interestingly:
- For Secundo Curso, the evaluation contained a few notes telling me not to exaggerate too much. For Tercer Curso, the evaluation (by the same examiner) praised my attractive, understated style.
- Both reports talk about good coordination between my limbs and my pallilos for the Sevillianas dance.

Still basking in my 'Honours' grade...

Still in the running...

2009-12-11T16:43:00.003+08:00

Left: One of my fellow jazz dancers with me... Right: Salsa dancer (girl) with me (guy)

Yesterday could have been disaster, would have been disaster...

It was fantastic.

While we were running through the numbers, I blanked out during the salsa routine and lost my balance for the jazz number. But when the show started, I was good as new. Nearly messed up the neck drop, but I hope nobody noticed. Big thanks to Gene Sha Rudyn for supporting! And congratulations to the Junior Performance Company! Man, I want to pop like that.

Those of you who didn't catch the show, you missed a fantastic hiphop routine by the Phunk Patrol-ers.

Now I've got to prep myself for the show on Sunday. Anybody want a ticket?

Need to work on those pallileos.

Well, despite all that dancing, I'm not quite fighing fit, and I've been feeling a bit of bloat lately, plus it was hot and I was bothered, so I went for an afternoon run just now.

Yes. Me. 3pm in the afternoon. That's 1500 h. In the searing afternoon sun of sunny Singapore.

About 15 minutes ago my face resembled a lobster.

Life of a dancer with a habit of overeating and no intention to cut back on food. Believe it or not, I'm statistically overweight.

Tomorrow, I have to do a dress rehearsal at ACJC CPA before rushing back to Dance Arts studios for my classes. Stress.

Tonight, though, should be fun. Going to chill out at Cuba Libre with some of the salsa performers.

The Final Stretch

2009-12-01T23:53:00.006+08:00

On the set of the photoshoot for spanish dance

First,
Announcements:

FATAL SKILLZ

A showcase by LADC Junior Performance Company by 14 talented young dancers aged 12 - 15.
This showcase will also feature performances by LADC Jazz, Dragones Latinos and Phunk Patrol.

Date: 10 December, Thursday
Time: 8pm (door opens at 7:30pm)
Venue: Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel
Price: $10 (free seating)

Contact me for tickets! Or get it straight from LADC!

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Meanwhile

Like the picture above? It was taken by one of the performer's spouse on the day of our photoshoot. The costumes are really... something else...

I had a personal portfolio picture taken. Wonder how it will turn out...

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Training

Preparations for both flamenco and salsa/jazz recitals are going swimmingly.

In short, I'm exhausted; so exhausted I don't realise I'm pissing people off until they are pissed. Good luck to me...

Oh, and Angel (flamenco teacher and choreographer) wants us to use the pallileos for the sevillianas... I dread pallileos.

Sigh...

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Finances

I'm finally earning profit! It's a small margin, but it's a profit! I can do this! I can support myself for the arts and the farts!

Little Choices That Make The Difference

2009-11-20T10:38:00.003+08:00

First, some announcements:

There's a flamenco recital by Rose Borromeo's Spanish Dance Company (yes, moi's performing with the troupe) on 13 December, Sunday, 7:30pm at Anglo-Chinese Junior College. Details are sketchy, but I think it's at the Centre of Performing Arts. Tickets are priced at $15 for balcony seats and $20 for orchestra seats. Contact me for reservations!

There's also a LADC dance recital on 10 December, Wednesday, but I don't have the details yet. Will keep updated.
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Now on to more everyday stuff.

Well, on Wednesday night I had planned to go to Xenbar for social dancing (I didn't want to go Union Square because I was freaking embarrassed about Monday night), but apparently Wednesdays aren't good nights for Xenbar, so I still ended up going to Union Square with much apprehension.

It turned out to be a pretty good night. One male acquaintance gave me a tip (shan't tell you what it is... but it wasn't about dancing) before going in, and this lady remembered me from eons ago (which makes me feel bad, because I don't remember her name; only her face) and kept me company...

(Yes, I know... I'm not good with names... moving on...)

... and I hit no one! Yes!!!

And I avoided a potentially bad experience! YES!!! So proud of myself for noticing a certain shady figure and staying sharp enough to refuse to dance with him.

So, yeah... turned out to be a pretty good night.

On another note, my finances are running pretty low. This means that between LADC classes and the flamenco workshops at DanceCircle, I might have to give up something. I don't know how I'm going to make my choices next week, but it's got to be done. Either that, or I get some serious cashflow superfast (read: not going to happen).

Pride is a terrible thing.

2009-11-18T01:20:00.002+08:00

Salsa social at Union Square on Monday night: Atrocious. I can't believe how horrible I was. I really feel like burying my head in the sand (I call myself a salsa instructor... hoo boy).

Think I'll be going to Xenbar for a while...

Sunday Dance Marathon

2009-11-16T02:22:00.003+08:00

Again, resigned to writing entries at ungodly hours.

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Drama
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Did a really angsty monologue for my class, and regreted it. Too many angsty monologues in Drama & Scriptwriting class that day. Oh well.

Have booked tickets to watch Victor/Victoria at Victoria Theatre on 20th November at 8 on the hour. Try saying that 3 times fast.

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Dance
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So, I just finished my flamenco exam just now (or yesterday afternoon, if you prefer), with less than desirable finesse, then had to go home to get my jazz/salsa stuff and rush to DanceArts straightaway. Didn't even wipe my makeup (had to put some on for the exam) off until I got home around midnight. Sheesh. I'm really doing myself in.

I'm up for 2 workshops: a jazz workshop next Sunday before jazz/salsa training (argh, here we go again) and a series of classes by a Manuel Betanzos from Spain.

Oh yeah, I need to sign up for Salsa Casino.

You know what? My head just went blank. I need rest.

Tough Road Ahead.

2009-11-11T19:51:00.003+08:00

For people who are wondering: No, I will not be at the Singapore International Salsa Festival (even though I really really want to... Super-Mario will be teaching!! *sniff*)... This weekend, I need to worry about my classes and my flamenco exam.

I just read my sister's (yes, I have a sister) blog (yes, she has a blog... no, I don't intend to divulge the address of that blog) entry that mentions that she envies me for daring to pursue all my artistic whims.

It feels like my first breath after a long time underwater. Where I'm at, approval doesn't come hand in hand with the arts.

The better things look, the scarier they are.

2009-11-09T01:31:00.003+08:00

Drama and Scriptwriting class:

Have completed the group presentation. Think we succeeded.

But now I have a 2-minute monologue to prepare. I know what I'm going to do, even though I kinda wanted to do something else (but that was way past 2 minutes). Wish me luck.

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Dance:
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Flamenco:
Due for a scolding and a possible fail. Missed 2 weeks of lessons and dance exams are looming up in less than a week.

LADC Jazz Company:
Lookin' good, lookin' fun, lookin' funky. Gotta work on those left pirouettes.

Dragones Latinos:
Lookin' good, lookin' fun, lookin' scary. Dips, drops and flips.

Hey, I'm doing the lead okay? I have license to be concerned. People's safety are in my hands.

That aside, a new couple have joined the performance team, and I'm charged with bringing them up to speed. Which makes things scarier, since I'm not exactly a senior in the team...

General salsa:
Started the intermediate course (with some help from a fellow Dragones and schoolmate... a lot of help, actually) and basically screwed up my left turns while reviewing the shines. Oh, and got my pay. Beginners due to start soon, methinks.
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Hmmm... that's all now, I think. Will keep posted on stuff.

Learning never ends.

2009-10-31T01:32:00.003+08:00

Una Noche Solamente (night of salsa social in school) was good, although I proved to myself that I have lost some social dancing skills...

Nocturne (night of ballroom social in school) was great. I learnt disco rock! And I nearly learnt Vienna Waltz...

Have begun teaching salsa to the teachers at the Etonhouse International School, and it seems my salsa intermediate class is to begin next week! Yay!

Any more takers on salsa beginners?

Alright, I have trouble deciding on a monologue for my Drama & Scriptwriting individual exam. I have a few options in stock (yes, I've been writing), but I need to pick one.

Salsa on Halloween?

2009-10-24T02:32:00.003+08:00

The last class of Salsa Beginners has ended! For the next round, I'll be teaching both and beginnersintermediate on Saturdays, 7pm to 8pm and then 8pm to 9pm. It was supposed to start 31 October at DanceArts (Funan Digilife Mall), but it might be pushed back because people haven't given confirmation. So people, if you want to take up classes, email info@ladanceconnection.com.

Meanwhile, I'm doing more knee work with salsa performance training, as well as some dips and neck drops (I'm the lead... yep).

Come thursday, 29 October, I plan to skip a lesson of flamenco to attend Una Noche Solamente at SMU, a free-entry salsa social event, where there are plans to launch Bailamos Sin Limites 2010. Which I fully intend to join. Come see!

Also, on the next night, 30 October, friday, there's another ballroom social event, Nocturne, at SMU as well. This is standard ballroom, meaning waltz, tango and the whole shimsham, which will be something really different.

A Step Back

2009-10-15T00:21:00.003+08:00

Technically, my audition was yesterday night. And it stank big time.

Don't get me wrong. The panel was nice. The director was nice. Very nice. That kind of made it worse for me, because they asked everything they could to squeeze a sound that they needed out of me. One I couldn't deliver.

See, I walked into that audition knowing that my voice wasn't the type they wanted, or needed. But I went in anyway, hoping that somehow I'd still make it.

It's just one of those things. I had to do it. Even though I knew my chances were super slim, to say the least. The results aren't out yet, but I can safely say that I'm probably not in.

It's been more than 4 hours since the audition. My heart is still breaking as I write this.

Why are those things you admire most in others the hardest to find in yourself? Only one thing seems sure:

I'll have to wait a bit more.

No Rest For The Wicked

2009-10-13T00:56:00.001+08:00

Animal Farm is over! Saturday didn’t go so well, but Sunday was good. Sunday was tops. For those of you who missed it… TOO BAD!!

Rediscovered so much that I used to know and feel and experience but had lost along the way. Thanks to my director and mentor, Gene Sha Rudyn, for bringing it out again, and to the production crew for their support and encouragement.

But there is no rest for the wicked (you mean you didn’t know I was wicked? Now you do). As of now, I have 1.5 days to prepare for my next audition: Two song numbers, one given (out of two provided for Just So) and one of my own choosing. I listened to the song samples. Why do people always search for rock and jazz voices? I’ll just do my operatic cantabile style and hope for the best.

Of two given songs, I chose the sad and weepy one (please remember I have a tendency to exaggerate). So I’m hoping to choose a more energetic piece for the free-choice. Unfortunately, I’m more familiar with weepies from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stuff. Then again, maybe I should prepare 3 songs in case I’m asked. Happened for the Animal Farm audition. Whatever. I should choose within the day so I can familiarize myself with the pieces.

Josh (my co-actor in Animal Farm and my frenemy) is using a music number from his previous musical, Honk! (where he was the main actor). I said he was cheating, after which he decided to rub it in my ego by wondering (out loud, of course) why he needed to audition since the director was already familiar with his capabilities. So mean. It was all in good fun though (please don't go around with stories about a catfight).

Meanwhile, Drama & Scriptwriting class has kicked-off the group scripts project. My group’s got a really neat idea and angle, and we hope we can fit in a good script dialogue. On the individual side, however, I still think my monologue is a bit too “me” for me to act. But I’m at a loss at what else I can write.

I is needing sleep.

That's not the result of a bad dye job

2009-10-01T00:30:00.006+08:00

On Sunday, I resumed jazz training and salsa training. That picture above shows my knees on Monday.

Yeps, boys and girls... that's why people invented kneepads. Unfortunately, I can't move in kneepads, so I'll have to settle for those beautiful purple patterns you see up there.

I've just sent in my application for the school Arts Fest 2010. Hope I get in. Joshua (my co-actor in the upcoming Animal Farm; some of you familiar with Honk! The Musical staged early this year might recognise him as the darling lead) said my application looked like I was preparing for a corporate interview.

Well, excuse me for panicking over the competition... which also includes Josh... who is obviously very talented, even if he won't admit it...

Oh yes... don't forget to purchase your tickets for Animal Farm! It's next week! 10 and 11 October, 8pm at Victoria Theatre. Buy them from SISTIC!

Okay... how many times must I tell myself to stop making midnight posts?

Listening to the body.

2009-09-24T18:30:00.003+08:00

I'm sitting in Settler's cafe at my school after salsa intermediate class (learning the lead), waiting for dinner to be served, instead of rushing off to Flamenco class, like I should. Reason? I need physical rest, and time to do my homework.

Regarding the part about physical rest... Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm very tired. Yes, I did go to salsa class even though I was tired, because I'm essentially learning the moves for the first time. For flamenco, however, the syllabus is done, and what's left is only recapping and saludo (the bow). Of course, there's training session, but I'll deal with it another time. The only thing I'm really worried about is my pallilleos. My fingers might get stiff.

So why am I tired? Because for Animal Farm, we've been: (1) doing lifts, and (2) doing short exerpts in front of the lunch-time crowd at school.

Also, I'm trying very hard not be recognised as the idiot in a certain Stomp reader submission. Yes, ladies and gentlemen.... That was me, in my full Snowball glory. I'm not sure, but I think we broke a few rules doing that...

Let's not dwell on that, shall we?

Now I've finished my meal and have moved out of Settlers'.

Learnt the 360 for salsa intermediate today. So super cool.

You know what? I wanted to write more, but I think I shall go home instead. I'm just really really tired.

Tickets to Animal Farm: Come and get them

2009-09-15T03:25:00.005+08:00

Yo people...

I'm posting in the wee hours of the morning because I figure I'll forget this if I don't.

Drama

First up:

Animal Farm!

It's on 10 and 11 October, (Saturday and Sunday respectively) at 8pm, at Victoria Theatre

Tickets are now available on SISTIC; there's an early bird discount before 1 October. For adults, it's $26 and for NSF/students it's $19 (I know the poster says $18, but the ticket prints $19). After that it's $28 and $20 respectively. I know, I know... not a big discount, but hey, every dollar counts right?

Alternatively, I have 10 each of Saturday and Sunday night student tickets, so just email if you want some. Of course, you'll need to produce your student ID when I pass you the tickets.

Emily of Emerald Hill

Stella Kon came into the Drama and Speechwriting class today, and managed to persuade the professor, Margaret Chan, to do some segments for the class.

I was tempted before. Now I'm determined. One day I want to play Emily. It would be so worthwhile.

Dance

Finally:

Salsa Beginners!

Not a bad first class, despite the lack of guys... What happened to them? They signed up, but didn't appear...

Long time coming.

2009-09-11T02:33:00.003+08:00

Hi all! I'm BACK!

Sorry, been busy.

Anyway, for those not in the know... My salsa beginners class is finally beginning (checks time) tonight! 8:30pm at Dance Arts, Funan Digilife Mall. So exciting.

Meanwhile, I'm beginning lessons as the lead in intermediate class. Gave Yenny a slight surprise when I turned up for class, only to confuse her later with lots of random questions... oops. I the not very the bright.

On the Animal Farm side, Gene has enforced a script down by this Saturday. Well, I was worried of course, since a lot of my major commitments only ended on Wednesday. But on the way home from flamenco just now, I realised I memorised quite a bit of the script already.

Flamenco: Painful as usual. What to do? Anything to move.

1 minute you spend hesitating = 60 seconds you could have been dancing.

2009-08-29T00:09:00.005+08:00

Well, for those of you who went to Dance Arts and were disappointed... well, what happened was that not enough students signed up, so the Salsa Beginners course was postponed. So next time, sign up earlier, ok? Don't wait to sign up on at the last minute. Bad Singaporean habit, and always a bad idea.

For those who are confused, I'm slated to teach LADC's Salsa Beginners at Dance Arts on Friday nights. It's a 6-session course that has been postponed to 4 September. If you're interested, HURRY AND SIGN UP!!

For salsa veterans, slots are still available for Dragones Latinos!! Includes a 1-hour salsa technique open class. Registration at Dance Arts this Sunday, 30 August, 1pm. Can email in for early reservation as well.

Drama & Scriptwriting

2009-08-17T19:35:00.004+08:00

Monday marked the first day of school term, and my first lesson was Drama & Scriptwriting, a general elective. How freakin' cool is that!

My group's doing Medea for our class activity. But I'm Jason. This will be fun...

Just in case you need a refresher:

Classes by L.A. Dance Connection

Salsa Beginners - 28 August, Friday, 8:30pm. Taught by me!

Salsa Technique - 30 August, Sunday, 1pm.

Got brand new flamenco shoes on Thursday. Also did the photoshoot which, as expected, made me late for flamenco class. Still stewing about it... but oh well, life goes on.

2009-08-16T00:08:00.004+08:00

To all ye people who want to learn salsa but still haven't started: Guess what?

I'm teaching salsa beginners at DanceArts (Funan Digilife! Mall), beginning 28 August (Friday), 8.30pm to 9.30pm! So come come come come come; the more the merrier. It's $80 for 6 sessions, plus $10 one-time registration fee for the studio. SMU students get a waiver on the registration fee.

Plus, LADC is holding performance company recruitments; registration is open!

Dragones Latinos
Last day of registration: 30 August (Sunday)
Training slot: Sundays... 1pm to 2pm open class (salsa technique), 2pm to 3pm repetoire (performers only)

LADC Jazz
Last day of registration: 23 August (Sunday)
Training slot: Sundays... 10.30am to 12pm open class, 12pm to 1pm repetoire (performers only)

If you're wondering why Phunk Patrol isn't on the list, it's because the registration quota was reached long ago, so I'm told.

On another note, the people over at the Animal Farm side say they want to do another photoshoot on Thursday. But I have flamenco on Thursday. I said very early on that my Thursdays need to be kept untouched. Whatever; let me see how to go about it.

Just look up and smile.

2009-08-11T02:08:00.002+08:00

And again, no pictures because even though I remembered to change the camera batteries, I forgot to bring the camera. Anyway, it was a total disaster on my end.

How things worked out on Sunday was as follows:

1. Found out around 2am that jazz class had been cancelled.
2. Got up early because I had no idea when the DL meeting was occuring.
3. Went to Junction 8 expecting no meeting and preparing to go give chinese tuition.
4. Got a heads up around 1.30pm that the meeting was to be on ASAP (ie: right now)
5. Called to cancel tuition.
6. Had a meeting that stalled because of a lot of stuff on the agenda.
7. Got home late to do my make-up and hair.
8. Got to Ang Mo Kio too late to do the tech run, which of course resulted in disaster during the actual performance.

Rose and Angel were very nice about it, but I still feel horrible. This is usually the point of time when all the "if only"s start surfacing.

On a more cheerful note, Gene invited me to go see the technical set-up for H is For Hantu. It really was quite amazing. I loved the two humongous puppets I saw... They were quite spectacular and lifelike. Saw quite a few familiar faces.

National Day performance

2009-08-07T01:59:00.003+08:00

Well, good morning yet again. *Sigh*

I've finally stopped my procrastinating and am currently doing the physical conditioning (for drama) every morning as instructed by Gene. Which, of course, means I have to get up earlier. As in, in the morning. Waargh.

Mostly I keep to the stationary ones because my room is rather small; I'm still trying to figure out when and where I can fit in the points-walk exercise.

Just in case you want to know, these exercises are (mind, they're not described in full detail):

Rotational - Nose in a figure of eight
Rotational - Chin to elbow, circling vertically from back to front. Also repeated with the hand of the resting arm at the base of the spine.
Rotational - Tracing the outline of the foot, progressively allowing the knee, hip, back and shoulders to respond accordingly.
Sun Salutation
Walking on various parts of the sole
Points-walk (yeah, the one I haven't fit in yet) - moving with a certain number of bodily contact with the ground

The text and song exercises can virtually be done anytime, anywhere, so that's what I do when I'm walking home or waiting for a bus by myself or something. Though I've mostly kept to the songs; haven't included the enunciation exercises yet.

I've got another flamenco performance this coming Sunday. It's a National Day celebration thing; and no, I won't be at the stadium, I'll be at Ang Mo Kio. This time I have 2 costumes: green and red. The red's alright I guess, but I'm not so hot on the green. I liked my purple outfit from the last performance better, but hey, a performance is a performance, and I'm not the choreographer.

I hope I can purchase new flamenco shoes by Saturday (shipment is supposed to be coming in); my current pair threatens to break. Not good to suddenly have the most important part of the outfit out of action before the performance.

Speaking of which, I nearly lost the red shawl (part of my costume) today. I was just so tired after the tercera class and training, and I didn't notice that my shawl had dropped. Lucky I noticed it on the bus rather than after I reached home (like what happened previously with my bag of flamenco stuff). Went back for it and found it at the traffic lights. The thought that it might have simply flown away... *shudder*

Top and Bottom in a single night

2009-08-01T01:50:00.003+08:00

Well, there's the good and the bad. Let's start with the good so that, if you're uncomfortable, you can choose to ignore the bad directly after reading the first half of this entry.

The Good

There was a Bachata social dance competition at Union Square, and a friend persuaded me to join him as a partcipating team. No prize (of course lah... I've never taken a bachata lesson in my life), but I did manage to get ascend to round 2 before being kicked out, which was a surprise. The last 3 surviving teams were really good though; wonder how the club didn't catch fire with all that heat going on... Quite fun.

On the normal social side, there was this really tall, well-built and stylish indian guy; and by stylish, I don't just mean his outfit. He had a groove that was really different from most guys, and he was a brilliant lead. We danced twice, and both times I felt absolutely safe; I didn't have to guess what he was trying to make me do, I just responded. You can imagine how flattering it is for a guy like that to say, "You're a really good dancer," and be sincere about it. Now that I think about it, I should have told him that good leads make the girls look good.

Okay, now for...

The Bad

There was a different, older, shorter and scrawny (not "scrawnier", just "scrawny") indian guy who was a complete sleazebag. You can probably already guess what happened, but if you seriously want details, read on.

He first asked me for salsa, which I complied. I usually don't mind guys dancing off-rhythm, but there was something eerily familiar about this one. I left it at that.

He next asked me for bachata, which I politely complied despite already knowing he had terrible timing and lead. Just didn't enjoy myself, and I still had that nagging feeling that this person was shifty, but I again dismissed it as paranoia.

After the competition, he asked me for a second bachata. This time, he was bold enough to press me against him and was insolent enough to actually try reaching for my bottom. I was about to push away when he resumed his hand to my waist.

That's when I remembered that I danced with this guy before, a long time ago, and that he had been absolutely creepy then.

Scratch that. He had been and was still a creep.

It's my own fault, I know. Should have trusted my instincts and boycotted him. I'll just have to be smarter next time.

I didn't write this down for no reason; it's one of the most unpleasant things, and no one likes to recount that. But this lesson isn't just for me, it's for all the salseros out there. Most of us are decent people, but there are others who impudently use dance as an opportunity to feel you out. Trust me, it's not a nice feeling.

There's a big difference between a guy making you feel sexy and a guy just trying to be funny.

Multiple Turns Milestone

2009-07-25T01:39:00.003+08:00

Whoa... That was some salsa social.

Most of the evening was more or less ordinary, with my stepping on a few people and getting a the nerves of others, but two of my last three dances was filled with adrenaline!

We'll just talk about the first of those three, since that was my favourite of the night.

I guess I was lucky, because we were dancing to "What a Wonderful World" (salsa version), which apparently was his favourite song. Kind of deja vu, since we were dancing to this on Wednesday as well (and on both occasions he HAD to stop to shake hands at the lyrics, "How do you do"), except he was somehow at the top of his game today.

He. Really. Got. His. GROOVE. On. It even beat my bachata for the night.

We were doing body waves, and he was showing off a lot of styling while keeping me at close range... Loads of sexy moments. Ended off with another sexy dip.

Plus, he had this thing about making me do multiple turns. It started off with 3 turns, then 5 turns, and then out of nowhere he started spinning me through 3 bars of music. I'm surprised I didn't fall over (maybe because I wasn't so self-concious).

Who needs sex when you have latin dance, man?

(P.S.: Don't quote me on that... Just a figure of speech)

I love days like this.

Blood is on the dancefloor... well, almost.

2009-07-24T01:38:00.004+08:00

I shall spare you the delightful picture of blood under my newly-mishapened toenail. It's not cracked; it's just bulging in a strange way it shouldn't.

Yes, it's because of flamenco. Speaking of which, my heel is coming off. Literally. The heel of my flamenco shoe is coming off. I can't wait to get a new pair so I can take a new photo for all of you and use the current pair as a hammer.

I feel like swearing. I swear, flamenco training is simply draining.

Peace out, MJ... I may not be successful at doing it, but I'm gonna try to copy all your moves, starting from moonwalk... I'm halfway through mastering it...

Dead tired.

2009-07-19T00:39:00.002+08:00

Well, the Orange Ribbon event at Bishan Active is over, and I screwed up the dance. I wonder if it's a good or bad thing that I don't feel so beat up about things like that anymore, though I still wish I could have done it perfect.

Just a suggestion: Afternoon outdoor performances are a bad idea if you wear stage makeup. What a nightmare.

Perils of exhaustion.

2009-07-17T03:16:00.004+08:00

First up, a big THANK YOU to the service staff at the 24-hour branch of McDonald's down at Orchard, near the Royal Plaza.

I was very tired after flamenco class, training and rehearsal. Headed down to McDonald's since it was the only place left where I could conveniently get my dinner, then happily headed all the way home before I realised that I did not have my bag of flamenco stuff with me.

Since I only have one pair of castanets, one skirt and one pair of flamenco shoes, of which the shoes were absolutely required for Saturday's performance, I kinda jammed the panic button, as you may well imagine.

Thankfully, when I took a cab back down to Orchard, the staff had kindly kept my bag for me. So once again, thank you.

Speaking of the performance, it's at Bishan Park, 16:30pm. Come watch!

Life of a wannabe artiste.

2009-07-16T03:05:00.003+08:00

Guess what? Last Saturday's flamenco performance didn't happen. It rained. Which was just as well since I was completely unprepared.

Oh, but guess what? I'm up again this coming Saturday.

I know. I'm an idiot.

I can't walk out for this one; I've got no excuse. It's in the afternoon; my salsa and drama are in the evening. I would have been glad that the location is near my residence, except I have a meeting in school the same morning.

Sigh. Life of a wannabe artiste.

On another note, the photoshoot for Animal Farm last Saturday went quite well. Really enjoyable. It was a nice perk to be able to wear my kebaya and my mum's sarong (gasp).

Next 4 weeks are going to be CRAZY SALSA WEEKS! Well, not that I can free up all my evening slots, but I'm planning Tuesdays and Wednesdays... Still wondering about Fridays. Also contemplating Movida on Sundays.

Now you see me; now you wish you hadn't.

2009-07-10T12:47:00.008+08:00

Here is a picture of me with my "husband" in Short+Sweet. We didn't get in the Gala for Mandarin 10, but he did for English 30. Congrats!

No, he and I are not an item. It's called "acting" for a reason.

This is a picture of my "family" (from left to right):

My son, a innocent bystander, my sister-wife's daughter, the second and illegitimate wife (me), my philandering husband and the nosey parker waiter.

Notice that I've got no makeup? Well, there's some on the other half of my face. Don't ask.

Cast members from the different plays of Mandarin10. The nutcases are pretty easy to spot.

So there we go... I promised photos and here they are. I obviously don't look very old coz this was all backstage and I was more interested in going bonkers. Our favourite prop was the gun up there.

Overall, it was pretty good. I wasn't too focused on the last two nights, but can't change that now. Didn't really get to see the other plays; was always hiding backstage, and the tv-screen provided there is not exactly a fantastic substitute. It was an interesting experience, though I wish I could have played something other than the maternal mother character (maybe it's because I'm still sore about not playing the role well; I know I lost the character on the last two nights

On another note, yesterday I got roped in to do a flamenco performance tomorrow.

WHAT???????

So yesterday, I learnt the rumba flamenca choreography for the first time, went through all the blocking, and I have to be ready to perform it tomorow evening. What an idiot I am. Two days! I still haven't nailed the zapateado (footwork).

Before that, I have salsa, then I've got to open up the rehearsal space in school for drama then rush off to Ang Mo Kio to perform. After that I've got to rush back to school for a photoshoot. If I had just remembered the drama and photoshoot in the first place I wouldn't have agreed to perform and I wouldn't be in this trouble now. Gah.

Oh well. What's done is done. Hope I can push through tomorrow.

Shall I or shall I not audition for that "girly and pretty" role...

Shut up. I know those pictures aren't flattering; you don't have to laugh at the screen like that.

Making it work

2009-07-05T03:19:00.007+08:00

From Moving Centre-stage

Right... It's 3 in the freakin' mornin'...

Okay, so I decided to be adventurous (to put it nicely) and go for salsa class even with Short+Sweet Mandarin 10 looming after that. And it was SO WORTH IT.

Lionel was helping me with my technique during class; mainly the activation of tension in my back and arms, but also stuff like squaring off to the partner. It was cool; almost like a one-on-one lesson.

Well, Short+Sweet Mandarin 10 is drawing to a close, and I have one last performance before the selected entries for the Gala is announced. Busy day I'll have in a few hours:

Morning: Jazz at YMCA
Afternoon: Tuition followed by some research time
Evening: Short+Sweet at The Arts House.

Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm having picture posting problems, but I got around it for now. Doesn't look quite right but I'll deal with it another time. And yes, that's the set for my play.

Shorter and Sweeter

2009-07-02T02:03:00.002+08:00

First run completed with resounding success! Though the waiter in our play stole most of the show. Which was supposed to happen anyway, or it wouldn't be as much fun... hyuk hyuk.

Having problems doing admin side for DL. What can I say? I'm a newbie.

As usual, just reminding all that the Chinese segment of Short+Sweet is at the Arts House, and the English 30 is at Laselle.

Let's see if I remember to get a photo of me by the last run. Not that I look very flattering. At least it's better than my Kafka get-up.

Can you tell I"m stressed?

2009-06-30T00:51:00.005+08:00

What with Jazz, Salsa, admin work for DL, Flamenco, Short+Sweet and school annual production (on top of a summer module and planning a school event), I'm getting very very tired. Not enough sleep.

Guess I asked for it. Quite literally.

I like dancing with Lionel and Alicia during salsa classes. They're great leads (well, when Alicia is teaching the lead, that is).

You know, I'm running out of cash to support my arts fervour. I need to buck up (no pun intended).

By the way, my Short+Sweet play debuts on Wednesday, if you are interested. It's in chinese.

Have you noticed my posts getting less fancy?

2009-06-22T15:57:00.003+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been officially promoted... to administrator for Dragones Latinos.

Hah?

Yes, I know. I've barely been in DL for half a year. Don't ask me how this happened.

It's great, but now I have loads of stuff on my plate: summer course (not a topic for this blog), event planning (also not related to this blog), tuition (doubt I need to elabourate), Short+Sweet, assisting for salsa class, and this.

Something tells me that the school annual production is not likely to happen for me... at least, not without seriously jeopardising my school grades, which would in turn jeopardise any chance of hanging around the arts scene, depending on how short my leash is going to become.

Life of an aspiring artiste in the small red pimple of the world (no offense intended... seriously...).

The scary thing is that I might end up always only being an 'aspiring artiste'.

Daze

2009-06-16T01:00:00.003+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen... as of 15 June 2009, Monday, I have been elevated to the status of assistant instructor for LADC. Well, at least for 1 course anyways. Which is 6 lessons. Which, if you exclude first lesson, leaves 5 more lessons.

What I'm saying is, if you want to take up Salsa Beginners, sign up with LADC soon for the 8.15pm lessons on Monday. Then you get to see the face behind this blog! It's still easy to pick up if you start from the second lesson.

Meanwhile, I've gotten throught the first round of my school production's auditions alive, though I sang completely out of tune (I can tell you now; I chose Mambo No. 5... not my forte) and still didn't quite reach the notes for my "second chance" (which was Think of Me). Suppose it's okay if I don't make it this time; have other obligations, and will have other opportunities. Not that I won't be disappointed.

By the way, I had a really weird day. Not that it had anything to do with any of my training, but... I went to Coffee Bean with a friend, and found three of my LADC dance instructors there having cuppa. Said the usual 'hellos' and made a few wisecracks at the expense of my friend, then sat down in a spot where I realised, much later, was right next to the table occupied by my theatre workshop mentor.

I swear there's a conspiracy.

A little bit of everything.

2009-06-12T02:25:00.007+08:00

Ladies and gentlemen, you see here an invitation to watch a series of short plays in Short+Sweet Singapore.

(If you want to look for me, I'm doing a chinese play, and those run from 1 - 5 July... I'll only appear for 10 minutes, though...)

Get your tickets people. Short+Sweet festivals have always garnered good reviews, so it should really be worth your money.

On another note, the auditions for my school annual production requires me to do a song-and-dance number.

WHAT THE %^#@%$&*???

Tell me to sing? Fine. Want me to dance? Fine. Sing AND dance? Dudes, I sing opera and dance salsa, hip-hop, jazz and flamenco.

I mean, can you imagine a hip-hop jazz choreography to the beat of Ave Maria?

Didn't think so.

The first thing I thought was: maybe I can do Habernera. That's a classical song, and it's meant to be done with flamenco choreography anyway. There's just one problem. I wouldn't be able to memorise the song and do a decent choreography with it in less than a week. Plus I doubt the judging panel would be greatly entertained if I messed up something there... it's not exactly the kind of thing people look for when they say song-and-dance number.

So I'm going with something a little more contemporary. Since the preliminary audition's only going to be one day this time, I can tell you more about the piece and the choreography after I'm done. No, I do not intend to put it up on YouTube, or Veoh (though that would certainly save me a lot of work... hmmmm... no, no, NO. Nothing doing).

Can tell you this much right now, though; it's the first time I'm singing this style, and the first time I'm actually doing a dance to a song (standing on platforms and doing minimal arm and head movements in the primary school choir doesn't count, though I do have fond memories of those days), so my vocals are hurting like mad trying to maintain control while employing a different quality.

Sigh. C'est la vie.

Life and Lunacy: End or Beginning?

2009-06-01T02:24:00.005+08:00

Good morning.

It's 2 plus in the morning. Damn, would you look at those knuckles? It was bloody fun.

I forgot to take my camera along for the production days, or I would have better pictures for you (I know some of you would have just loved to see an embarrassing shot of me with my two long ponytails and pink get-up).

I'll miss being a monkey.

Let's go through the individual performances:

Show #1, Friday night

The Good: Not much aside from the usual blocking, unless you include the snacks we openly ate on stage (picking peanuts off the floor, munching bananas)
The Bad: I forgot a line, and the banana-telephone refused to allow me to peel it with my teeth. The tire swing I was supposed to hit Swift with flew behind then in front of her, missing her completely.The "evolution" scene had not been edited because we forgot to talk about it.
The Ugly: I lay on a banana.
Overall: Bad

Show #2, Saturday afternoon

The Good: "Evolution" scene corrected. Got a few laughs for the low-blow inferences.
The Bad: The cigarette pack fell on stage behind Milton during Milton's bonzo routine, but this was covered-up by yours truly.
The Ugly: The tire swing got scared and refused to drop down for the performance.

Overall: Better

Show #3, Saturday night

The Good: The tire swing got unstuck.

The Bad: We had an actor swap, so we had to run the play an extra time to familiarise the new monkey with the blocking.

The Ugly: The peanuts got knocked offstage.

Overall: Okay

Show #4, Sunday night

The Good: Some people actually understood the Milton poems. Low-blows appreciated. More freedom to deal monkey damage to our bananas and laptops since it was the final night.

The Bad: I kept stuttering because I kept nearly skipping lines. And the laptop that was supposed to come apart refused to come apart. Oh, and our legs and knuckles were killing us.

The Ugly: Well, from the audience's point of view, probably the manhandling of the bananas, especially during the en-venom-ing of the tire swing. Hey, it was the last performance.

Overall: Good

Some memorable lines:
======
Words, Words, Words (which I quite literally crawled around in)
-----
Milton: How about you, Franz? What have you got?
Kafka: Well... K. K. K. K. K. K. [Milton and Swift poke their heads out between Kafka's legs and nod their heads to the beat] K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K. K...
Swift: What is that, post-modernism? At least it'll fuck up his data.
Kafka: Twenty lines of that. Twenty lines of that, and I went dry. I got blocked. I felt like I was.................. repeating myself?
------
Swift: What's really scary is that if we stick around here long enough, we'll evolve into Rosenbaum.
Kafka: Evolve? Into Rosenbaum? [3 monkeys pose the evolution, or rather, devolution chart]
======
Hungry
-----
Mug: I - AM - GOD!
-----
Mug: You gotta have somebody to pray to, play to, say toooooo.
-----
Mug: Wisdom! Wisdom! WISDOM~~~! ... What happen?
-----
Mug: [about fibre] Deficiency leads to constipation!

-----

Baby: Mummy, how do people die?

Mui Choo: Aiyoh! Why you ask this kind of question? [prays to Mug] Tai-ga-lai-si, tai-ga-lai-si... Cannot ask!
-----
Mui Choo: Hallo, hallo! My name is Mui Choo. Ei! Yan Dao! So long never come and see me! I know! You got new girlfriend, right? Right? Aiyah, you bo sim ah, bo sim. Heart break ah, heart break... [cough cough]
-----
Mug: Scared! Jelly bone, eye fish, Scared!
-----
Mug: [being forcibly pushed into the afterlife in a parade] No! No! He need me! She still need me! He pray to me before!
-----
*Sidenote: The actor playing Mug was a first-timer, and he pulled it off beautifully. Hilarious!

So anyway, later tonight is the first of my Short+Sweet rehearsals, and sometime over the next few weeks I'll need to audition for the school annual production. Shall update another time.

For those watched Life and Lunacy, thank you so much! Leave a comment or email, and tell me how you found it!

Always better to try than not.

2009-05-25T21:51:00.006+08:00

E.M.O.

Slow Jam (lyrical hip-hop)

*Note: This was written at 10:30pm on 25th May and published later.

=======

Dance

=======

Yay! Dance recital went okay, and I can wait for my bruises to settle. Guess having Advanced Jazz in the morning was a good thing (though I previously had my doubts); got my mind in the frame of dance for the rest of the day.

By the way, LADC is holding more classes come June! Go check them out! I've already signed up for Salsa Intermediate (5th June; I'll be learning the lead though) and Salsa Inter-Advanced (6th June; still the follow).

=======

Drama

=======

Regarding Life and Lunancy. We needed 3 laptops for Words, Words, Words. Originally, we were using our own (rather begrudgingly, I might add). Miraculously, we now have two non-working laptops we can use as props, courtesy of a lady who took my namecard at Sim Lim Square. Now we can do so much more without fearing about breaking something.

Additionally, I got a call from one of the directors for Short+Sweet. Well, she called me before, but I was late in accepting the role she assigned, so I thought I'd missed my chance. Today, she called again to ask me to step in to fill another role in the same play... a bigger one. I don't know what happened to the original actor, but I'm glad I got another chance.

Today's lesson: Never hurts to try.

Don't forget to come!

2009-05-23T02:58:00.005+08:00

Pardon me, but...

HAVE YOU PEOPLE GOTTEN YOUR TICKETS YET???

Dance On Us dance recital:

24 May, Sunday, 8pm

Life and Lunancy (purchase directly from me):

29 May, Friday, 7.30pm

30 May, Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm

31 May, Sunday, 7.30pm

=======================

The two distincitive bruises on my right knee have now merged into one patch. Sigh. Thank goodness we're wearing long pants for the performance.

Blocking for Words, Words, Words (Life and Lunancy) has been scrapped and we're building it from scratch. Ouch.

I wish I was in Sure Thing.

Right-oh. Busy day tomorrow. And tiring day on Sunday.

Gain from Pain.

2009-05-16T21:27:00.005+08:00

In case you were wondering, the patchwork you see above is are my knees. That comes from lyrical hip-hop rehearsals.

If, rather, you were looking at the toe with the funny red cresent, that's actually my toe, and the red cresent is just a little opening in my blister (barely visible - it's still skin colour after all). That comes from flamenco.

What you don't see up there are my knuckles, which got grazed and bled because I was moving around on them for my role as a chimp in Life and Lunancy, the mini-production in school. I forgot to take a picture of it earlier; not much point now that the bleeding and scabing and the scraping off of the scab is all over... the picture is not as spectacular.

I should put all of that, plus my bloody blister in an earlier post (look for salsa), into a nice collage.

But you know what? I have never been happier. And it's great fun being a chimp.

===== Dates to look out for:

24 May: Dance On Us dance recital. E-mail them directly for your tickets (not that there are a lot left...)

29 - 31 May: Life and Lunancy - a triple-bill by StageIt, at SMU. All night performances begin at 1930; Saturday matinee is at 1430. E-mail me for tickets, or you can come along on the day itself and hope there are tickets left for you.

Theatre Review #1: 12 Angry Men (1957)

2009-05-12T15:48:00.005+08:00

I just finished watching a teleplay, 12 Angry Men (it formed a case discussion in one of my school summer modules... don't ask). It was old, it was in black and white, and it was brilliant.

Why don't they have shows like that anymore?

So despite the fact that it is not technically a theatre production and that I did not see it live (and also despite the fact that this has probably been reviewed thousands of times), this girl shall write a review on it. See below. Do forgive the little informal comments scattered inside though. Bear in mind that there are potential spoilers.

========

12 Angry Men (1957 film version)

Cast:
Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E. G. Marshall, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber

Judging the Jury

When a teenager from the city slums is convicted of murdering his father, a jury of 12 is given the task of determining his guilt, with the condition that the decision must be unanimous. What at first seems to be a simple and definitive decision soon turns into a battle of wills and a disclosure of best and worst of human nature.

This is classic gem that forces the viewers to face the question of how fairness, facts and truth should be defined, and probes into the darker recesses of human nature. Right from the very start of the film, we see just how quickly (FIVE. FREAKIN. MINUTES. Barely one, if you leave out the dilly-dallying when they first enter the room. What the hell is that?) members of the jury are willing to judge the defendent, and how agitated they got when there was but one who did not conform.

This play could have been played out as a courtroom drama, only it does not. Instead, the onus is on the members of the jury, who have already heard the arguments and are simply rehashing them for purposes of deliberation (and for the audience's sake). Also, while it is easy to assume at first that the main gist of the story is a "did he or did he not" conflict, the viewers gradually come to realise that this is secondary to the real plot, which is about the recognition and resolution of personal prejudices. In fact, the definitive status of guilt of the defendent is never definitively resolved, and by the end of the film, you would realise that it was not necessary.

There are formulaic elements in the play, such as the presence of the absolute good-guy protagonist, the ultimate antagonist, the cold and calculating character that you cannot quite place your finger on and one wise old sage. But for a brainiac play, formulaic is the way to go. This keeps the spotlight focused on the plots at hand.

If you know of any egoistic, self-righteous, presumptious or bigoted friends, show them this movie. If this does not cure them, nothing will.

There's a price for passion... Don't even mention obsession.

2009-05-09T22:28:00.003+08:00

Right... the fatigue has set in, and as always, the parental objections are starting to manifest themselves afresh at this point of time of all times.

You know I love you dearly, and I really have tried to walk the steady academic and corporate road, but the one most important thing I learnt last year: If I do not dabble in performing, I will go mad. I really will. I know all your concerns, and they are very valid and very real, but I am Not. Giving. It. Up. So please... not this time.

Now, for the rest of you... Updates!
========

I still have a lot of catching up to do for flamenco tercera (my sevillianas is completely non-graceful and my fingers still have a tendency to cramp halfway through the pallileos exercises), and the spanish dance company training after that was horrible. My toes still hurt. But, God, the exercises, from warm-ups all the way to cool downs, were fantastically elegant dancing by themselves.

The training started off with flamenco, but we're told we're going to be moving on to several other dance styles (including the rhumba), and I'm looking forward to it.

Which reminds me. I need to look for new flamenco shoes.

Which reminds me. I need to look for a suitable pair of sneakers TOMORROW. The ones I currently have are apparently not suited for the lyrical hip-hop dance item (24 May... go look at Dance On Us studios... Tickets selling out fast!).

Rehearsals for the dance recital are getting intensive and draining. And when you have one almost immediately after an audition elsewhere, you kind of want to spend the rest of the day avoiding society in general. There's no energy left for socialising.

Yes, I had an audition this morning before dance rehearsal. It was for Short+Sweet... (and yes, I'm sorry I've been lazy... I'll put up the link to Short+Sweet right away). Mandarin and english auditions. Think I did okay... But that remains to be seen.

Auditions are still going on, so I guess it's still not yet a good idea to tell you about my chosen monologues. Anyway, I'm starting to think it's not a good idea to mention it until the actors have been chosen, and by then this will be pretty stale news... suffice to say, judging from the response, they were pretty good monologue choices, instead of the usual fare. Then again, maybe the day was early and the panelists all still had energy.

I do hope to get one or two parts. It'll be great if I could get one in each language. It's been a while since I did a mandarin one.

Well, I best get to sleep. Have an early jazz class to go to. LADC.

Warming up the engines...

2009-05-01T18:01:00.005+08:00

*Interestingly, this is the first picture of my own that has utilised no photoshop-ing aside from rotation and cropping. Original colours!

Well, I finally went back for flamenco tercera and have re-started voice training on my own.

Guess what? I've gotten an invite to attend training classes for potential Junior Members of the spanish dance company (a.k.a. flamenco company) that my teacher choreographs for. Wow. And I haven't been dancing flamenco for more than a year.

It's more cost, of course, for training fees, but I think I'm going to take it up. Goodness gracious, I have to find a way to earn it all back. Well, after the dance recital at the end of May (REMINDER: 24th May! Get your tickets from DanceOnUs Studios), I guess I'll drop hip hop altogether and just focus on ballroom and flamenco. At least for the moment. And I need to become friends with eBay. Have lot's of stuff that I don't need anymore, anyway.

The Short+Sweet auditions are coming up soon. I had a bit of trouble trying to find the right monologue, but I've got it. Shan't tell you what I chose until the auditions are over, but I think it'll be alright.

Have a grazed knuckle from the mini-production rehearsals. This one last two or three days of May, and it's being held in SMU grounds, Arts and Cultural Centre. I'm performing in Words, Words, Words... For those who are familiar with the script, the answer is yes: I'm a chimp. Which explains the grazed knuckle.

And the annual production is supposed to be Animal Farm... playing animals three times in a row... swell. Cat, Chimp and possibly Pig. Can't complain though.

Well, I best be off... Have limited time for voice training today, though I guess I can also train tomorrow.

Practise can be fun; just social.

2009-04-22T02:55:00.003+08:00

I planned salsa for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week (although Thursday will be a rush, considering that I'm starting flamenco again).

Boy am I ever glad I went. And to think I'm going again tomorrow!

Union Square, boys and girls.

I hit a few faces (yikes... always do warm-ups before the first dance... sorry Edwin), but one batchata and one salsa back-to-back really got to me. And the entire night in general just blew away everything that was clouding my mind of late.

Got some good advice, too. Damn, it's just so hard not to backlead. Bachata's easy; I never officially learnt it, so it's a little hard to backlead.

Concert Review #1

2009-04-19T02:37:00.003+08:00

Well, I got this on a personal invite, so there may be some biases... but I do mean what I say.

=========

美的旋律之夜 (A Night Beautiful Melodies)
Victoria Concert Hall
Saturday, 18 April 2009

Principal Singers:
张晓农教授 (Professor Zhang Xiao Nong) [tenor]
马青 [soprano]

Other Singers:
韦菊、席国泰、檐凤玉、谢育元、谢宝成、郑春兰、李国松、阎宝君、方杨、任楚明、江峰、陈奇培、林俐婷

Pianists:
李正兴、周小燕、李运贺、李泽敦、林佩珊

Review: The Cresando Night

Well, like a bad audience, I came late to the party, so I missed the first performance of the night. Which was just as well; I wish I had missed the first half of the first half. Most of the singers in the first half of this classical opera concert either had pitching problems (especially on cresando notes), or moved too much, or were just really painful to listen to or watch. Some were all three.

Notable exceptions to the above included: 谢育元、任楚明、江峰、陈奇培... 陈奇培 was a stunner, singing a nomadic song (西部放歌) in chinese opera style instead of the classical western opera. If you want to know what chinese opera should really sound like, or if you have always wondered how one appreciates chinese opera style, listen to this guy. He is captivating.

The second half of the concert was a vast improvement (or maybe it was because I moved up front and perhaps the acoustics were better there). It was dominated by the principal singers, but the opening act was by 22-year old soprano 林俐婷 (Melissa Yenny Liman), with her heart-wrenching rendition of Chi Il Bel Sogno di Doretta from La Rondine (Puccini). She was ostensibly the youngest performer on stage tonight, but delivered a note-worthy performance, acting professionally, taking the stage with her presence and holding her own comfortably and admirably against the other seasoned veterans (I would go so far as to say she did better than most). A saying goes, "十年无声，一鸣惊人"... Indeed, many inconsiderate members of the audience were silenced the moment this songbird opened her mouth. It was a pity that this was her only performance throughout the night.

The principal performers, needless to say, were an absolute pleasure. Although 马青 was a little overdramatic in her motions, her powerful voice and wonderful control were priceless. 张晓农 similarly had a strong, smooth and expressive voice that reverbrated within my ears. Both singers shone best when they were singing songs from their native homeland, China.

Duets between the two principals were limited, but each one was altogether magical. Kudos to both of them for their encore duet (which, unlike many concerts in the present, was not previously planned and extensively rehearsed... it was a real, traditional encore), where the singers not only watched for cues from one another, but took great liberties with their colortura, littered throughout that one performance. This was the grand climax of the night, and one wishes they had left it at that rather than bringing out all the singers for the final song (though such is the tradition, it did not fare too well as many singers were unfamiliar with the song, and the principal singers got a little over-excited, moving about the stage trying to rouse the audience who also did not know the song).

All in all, this concert could have fared much better if more limelight (solos) had been given to the better performers, instead of trying to get as many performers in the concert as possible. For one thing, I would loved to have listened to Melissa Yenny Liman do a version of L'amore from Carmen (Bizet) or maybe something from The Magic Flute (Mozart). However, the show picked up in the second half and more than made up for the lack-lustre first half, making it a night of truly wonderful melodies indeed.

Update Fragments

2009-04-14T15:15:00.006+08:00

I know, I know... I have not updated, I did not even inform you how the Post-Modern Theatre production went... Let's do this step by step.

============
Theatre
============

Eagle and the Cat went really well. We good a good response from the audience, and scored a high group mark. But I was still not majestic as Big One.

Individual presentation was as much a blast for our prof as it was for my little coven (did you forget this one? We were doing Macbeth witches in a corporate context).

Oh, I got accepted for auditions for Short+Sweet. Have to prepare a few things, but it should be okay.

End-May, there's a mini-production in which I get to monkey around. In every sense of the word. I should familiarise myself with Hamlet.

============
Dance
============

I am so out of shape. I missed rehearsals for the May dance recital (also end-May) for two weeks and yesterday night I ended up gasping for dear life. Oh, by the way, tickets are on sale now: S$30 regular, S$15 student.

Dragones Latinos might be having a performance in October...

I still haven't called my flamenco teacher...

============
Singing
============

Hurhurhurhurhur... Haven't trained. Sigh.

===========
Miscellaneous
===========

Have you noticed I have two end-of-May performances? Plus I have a summer class that month! I'm so royally screwed.

The Eagle and the Cat: A Tribute to Kuo Pao Kun

2009-03-20T23:55:00.008+08:00

Dear all,

It's finally here. The Post-Modern Theatre class will be presenting Kuo Pao Kun's The Eagle and the Cat at The Substation (Armenian Street) tomorrow, 21st March, Saturday, at 8pm. We went through hell (YOU try putting up a production in 3 weeks), but it looks like it's going to be okay.

Our first-time director did a pretty good job (even though he was afraid to scold classmates hahahahah), with some support from some of us and of course, guidance from our Professor.

As for me, I'm still not sure I'm perfectly up to standard, but at least I'm doable (banish all immodest thoughts from thy perverted minds, you word-twisting evil-Shakespeare-twin wannabees).

Think power think power think power think power. God, I hope I get my cues right. Curses if I don't.

The cats now call me Mama Cat (Professor calls me Boss Cat). At least they're somewhat affectionate about my throwing a tantrum every bloody hour during rehearsal time.

Wish me luck! I'm being graded.

Okay okay I'm kidding (even though I AM being graded). In theatre speak, wish me break-a-leg (is that even english?)!

Same words, Different meaning.

2009-03-04T14:34:00.002+08:00

*Picture to be uploaded soon*

So yesterday I did my two individual presentations (yes, two of them) for Post-Modern Theatre class. I was only graded for the first one though, which was a collage of lines of the Three Witches from Macbeth. Thing was, we didn't play the script straight.

Equation:

Three Witches script + corporate setting - supernatural + sexual innuendos

= Catty office colleagues with an agenda against the boss

I don't care if I scored badly for it... it was fun. Potential employees who saw that would never hire my "colleagues" and I. Ever.

Our "cauldron" was a coffee mug marked "Boss", and our ingredients were eyeshadow, press powder, perfumes, lipstick and tomato sauce. Pity I forgot to bring out the liquid eyeliner.

The second presentation was a scene from Dead End. This was played straight. My counterpart played Tommy, while I played Angel. Complete with a fake kazoo.

Another classmate and I ane going to work on the blocking of the sewer scene in The Eagle and the Cat tomorrow. We've got some good stuff going. Remember: It's 21st March!

==============

Waltz today was pretty boring. Almost no one there. But we went through technique for the spin-turn and learnt Open Impetus and Weave as well as Hesitation (never mind if you don't know what those are, they're just dance moves, and I feel too lazy to explain these).

Loved it when they started their tango training. The form is just beautiful. But it also marked the end of recreational class.

Meanwhile, did I mention that I was starting a choreography for salsa? I'll give it to Lionel to see if he wants to finish it, but yeah... hehhehehhehehehehheeheh.

Warning: A very unsettling post.

2009-03-01T21:28:00.005+08:00

To make up for the recent lack of pictures for my post, here's a pretty collage!

Beautiful, ain't it?

Basically, during the Dragones dance training yesterday, I acquired a stabbing pain in my toe which I first thought was some grit off the floor that got embedded in my toe, though I could not find the offending object. After a few minutes of progressions, it began to dawn on me that I had a blister. Since there was no weight placed on that particular spot for the most part, I lived through it.

After cleaning up at home, I discovered a distinctly red spot (see picture above, top section) on my toe where my blister was supposed to be located, previously hidden by black dust off the studio floor (we take our dance shoes off for warm-ups). Observing the strange shape of the spot and comparing the colour against that on the not-so-red toe on my other foot, I finally realised that I might have bled under the skin. Right under a corn (callus), too.

Yes, boys and girls... that was some pretty intense training.

Well, I had to do something about my blood-blister. So I got an alcohol swab, swabbed the blood-blister, swabbed my sewing needle, and carefully drilled a hole through the corn (contrary to popular belief, it didn't hurt... the trapped blood acts as a cushion).

Upon extracting the needle, the trapped blood came crying out for freedom. The kind of pin-prick bleeding picture that usually takes 15 seconds to form while you're squeezing it, took all of 0.5 seconds with no external pressure provided (see bottom right of collage). It turns out, however, that some of the trapped fluid was the normal blister water mixed with the blood, which is why the blood looks diluted (on the tissue, bottom left of the collage).

Are you squeamish yet?

I couldn't get all the blood out at once, but at least the pressure was alleviated. But the redness turned darker today; either the remaining trapped blood is de-oxygenat-ing, or I might have to do another bleed tomorrow, after lyrical hiphop.

========

Now that you are sufficiently irked out, let's move on.

Training was tough as usual. I'm quite sure I looked like a smurf after the warm-ups. Now that the first choreography's been learnt, we're doing a new one. Which looks to be rad-cool, if I may say so myself.

As for my Post-Modern Theatre production, The Eagle and The Cat (by Kuo Pao Kun), the roles have been swapped. I am now Big One, a cat. Should be fun, but I worry about the new eagles. It's 21st March at the SMU Arts and Cultural Centre! Watch out for that!

By the way, we need sponsors, so if you want special seats (or if you're simply feeling generous), drop a mail to movingcentrestage@hotmail.com with the subject header "Sponsoring The Eagle and The Cat". Let me know who you are, what made you want to sponsor and how much you wish to give. Don't forget to leave contact details so I can find you!

Mock Auditions

2009-02-27T12:21:00.004+08:00

Okay, small update. (Again, sorry about the lack of beautiful exciting pics)

Just did a mock audition yesterday at the drama workshop. My choices were: for my monologue, an excerpt from The Phantom of the Opera (the novel; Erik's final speech) and the song Think of Me.

I knew I should have done Edelweiss instead.

General comments:

Project more
More intensity and intention for my monologue
Choose a different song with a higher range, because this one killed me and I couldn't project much on a lower range (I sung a few notes lower than I was supposed to... it was cold... not much of an excuse, but yeah...)
I can afford to play more with the position and the space, even if I wanted to keep the energy grounded
Be more natural when not doing my pieces; I looked too performative throughout. Shine as me! (hurhurhurhurhurhurhurhur.................. hur.)
Don't stick my tongue out, not even if I'm behind the door waiting to come in
Take very serious note of my slang... it may kill me one day if I can't control it
Good that I was completely off-script and willing to ask questions when I wasn't sure
If the guy forgets to ask me about the song, I can remind him. Don't just guai-guai (like a good girl, for those who are not acquainted with the chinese language) leave

For everyone in general:

Don't lean on one leg
Stay grounded; don't keep shifting your weight throughout the monologue
PROJECT
Don't walk through doors and walls
If you have the script memorized, get rid of the paper
PRESENCE when you walk in the room is important
Please dress appropriately
Don't act cute
Try and avoid having an imaginary person around
Don't act 90-degrees of the panel.

Sigh... I really don't know what else I can sing. My voice is operatic. I'm severely limited.

Exhausted

2009-02-22T01:32:00.000+08:00

No pics this time, sorry.

Technically, all this is yesterday's news. But I came back late. So sue me.

Dance training and conditioning for Dragones has stepped up, so I can barely keep up, but that's to be expected. Starting to learn the dip (tricks/stunts), just short of learning how to get back up.

I need to prepare a monologue and a song for the coming drama workshop, think I have my monologue, just need to decide on my song.

Even shorter this time. Don't worry, it won't disappear altogether.

Waltzing Cat, Latin Eagle

2009-02-18T15:35:00.000+08:00

Dear all, it's been TOO LONG!

And yes, I'm taking waltz now, but I'm taking it in school, not with LADC, so I hope you're not too mad at me for not dropping the news much earlier.

On the other hand, there's a whole slew of new classes coming up for LADC, so check out their website if you want to know more.

Additionally, there's a little assorted dance showcase by LADC come May, so keep a lookout for news on that!

====

Back to waltz. Well, there weren't enough students to make the teacher come (ie, not enough money), so we were taught by some people in the performance team (Ballare). So far they've been flattering me. Okay, so I had an added advantage because I had dance background and I had prior experience with the notion of "following" from salsa... but it was still flattering.

It's certainly different, though. They emphasise sliding forward on the heel rather than the toe, so that takes some getting used to. Five points of contact rather than four (at the hip, like Bachata), and the girls have to lean way back.

====

Next up, still in school! My Post-Modern Theatre class is having a mini-production, The Eagle and the Cat, written by Kuo Pao Kun. Free for all if you want to come, but bear in mind it's a student production with limited preparation time. Still, given the people we have in charge, might turn out to be pretty cool. Will let you know the venue and time in a few weeks.

====

I know it's a short post, but bear with me. I'm in the middle of school.

Learning to walk again

2009-02-04T00:37:00.000+08:00

ALRIGHTY! UPDATE!

=====

Dance

=====

LADC classes are up! Slow Jam (Lyrical hiphop) and Hip Hop start next saturday! Sign up people! The usual salsa classes are coming as well, so check out the LADC website at www.ladanceconnection.com for the class schedule. Think we're having a showcase soon. Keep an eye out!

I've also signed up for waltz in school, and will be taking classes in a a little more than 12 hours time. Should be fun. Will let y'all know how it goes.

The scales have yet to tip but my figure's showing. Girls, that just tells you what dance does for you! Go! Learn social salsa! You know what's really great? I'm eating chocolates like nobody's business and the scale hasn't tipped the other way either.

Oops, out of point. Moving on...

OH, OH! For those of you who want to try out, Dragones is still recruiting new performers, so just call up and ask about it. If phone lines are busy, well, then just email. That's the new phone nowadays.

=====

Acting

=====

Not much new here really, not even from my Post-Modern Theatre course module. But I got the go ahead to do a monologue for individual grading!

=====

Singing

=====

Obviously haven't done much here, as I've been coughing for 2 weeks straight. Guess too many late nights watching YouTube is never a good idea, even if it's Jeff Dunham. But I'm slowly recovering and my voice hasn't deteriorated much, though I believe I've lost some of my range. Will get it back slowly.

Roos and Moves

2009-01-07T12:55:00.001+08:00

Alright, I know I haven't updated lately, so this is going to be a long one. Will segment it for you.

========================================

Dance Class Announcements. Mentioned classes pertain to my personal interests. For full class schedules from any of the dance companies, look up their respective websites.

------------------------------------------------------------------

LADC: Salsa (Claymore Point, DanceOnUs Studios)

Starting 10 Jan, Saturday (HURRY UP, YALL!)

All last 6 lessons

1700 - 1800: Salsa Technique #2, best partners

1800 - 1900: Salsa Inter-Advanced

1830 - 1930: Turns Technique [ I really want to go for this one, but I'll have to wait the next round I guess]

------------------------------------------------------------------

DanceCircle: Flamenco Tecera (Gillman Village)

Starting 8 Jan, Thursday, 1830 to 1930 (You can join in a few lessons down; personally have to wait 7 weeks before I'm free to attend class)

Year-long

========================================

Slow Jam / Lyrical Hip Hop

Started December last year when I abandoned you all for Coffs Harbour, so I joined in from the third lesson, Monday night. Not a bad display, if I may say so myself... I'm on par with everybody else; but then, who knows if the class was slowed down to accomodate me? Brrr. Not likely, so hopefully not the case.

Very emo choreography (even choreographer happily admitted so). Still have a problem with overdoing moves, but hopefully that will only last as long as it takes to be familiar with it.

========================================

Salsa in Coffs Harbour (in New South Wales, Australia)

Not a very big scene there, but I managed to squich (yes, I know there's no such word) myself into the Ex-Services Club for a free class.

Got my first taste of Rueda (the resident dancers were all very nice about it, despite my ramming into one during a partner exchange) and did some basic dancing after that. Very different style: less excitement and more conversation kinda thing, less need for fancy moves except at selected intervals.

By the way, the picture above does not show kangeroos doing salsa.

========================================

Salsa Cinderella

Yesterday, I went to Union Square for a salsa session (something I'm trying to do every week as training, much like my singing which I'll touch on in a later segment), and did particularly badly for the first few dances because I was so bloody freezing. I understood the importance of warmups before, safety-wise, but now I fully comprehend the entertainment-wise importance of warming up before dancing.

Anyway, I was feeling particularly miserable for a while, but after a few more dances and being slightly more warmed up I felt a little better and was punching less people by accident. A familiar face asked me for another bachata, for which I must say I'm very flattered. Did a salsa with this big, burly, cute aquaintance ("cute" here not as in aesthetically, but seriously, very kawaii and teddy bear-like) who, for your information, is a very good lead and loves to mix dancing with laughter.

Feeling much, much, much better, I went ahead and did the lead with a few girls, all of whom, as usual, have trouble reconciling the idea that a girl can lead. {At this point I'd like to rant about a previous outing whereby a girl refused to dance with me on the very suspicious ground that she wasn't used to girls leading... How are girls' leads different from guys' leads??? The girl was likely a homophobe stereotyping me as a homosexual... idiotic woman...}

As it was nearly 11:30pm, I decided to have one last whirl, and was very very very happy when a very familiar aquaintance, very fancy dancer and very good lead happened to walk my way. I was even happier when he agreed to take me to the floor. And, boy, was it worth the embarrassment of the first few dances for this last one.

Magic, people... magic.

I've danced with this guy before (obviously, if I can describe him as above), but usually it was always just, well, normal; I'd make mistakes as a follow, he'll be patient, see how much I can handle and just humour me accordingly (that's usually how it works in most cases). This time though, it was like electric: great eye-contact, lots of fancy moves that I actually managed to follow... his smile and hold were not from the usual politeness, but I could see that somehow he was actually having great fun.

The magic lingered for a few minutes after, during which we acknowledged each others presence more definitively than usual cordiality.

Well, maybe I imagined it, but hey, do you want to hear a story or a report? This is my narrative, from my point of view.

===========================================

Fort Canning Wails

No, this will not be a ghost story. On Monday, I had some free time after classes and before Slow Jam, so I headed to Fort Canning Park to practise my singing, using my mp3 as a guide. Worked out surprisingly better than I expected: hardly anyone comes through, so I was quite undisturbed and wasn't disturbing much of anybody. Somebody came to sleep on a bench under the same shelter, I'm surprised he got any sleep at all.

I think this is a good practice. Shall bring along Il Divo lyrics next time.

============================================

Drama Workshop

There's one being held on Friday, and I'm enrolled. But the subsequent rehearsals are supposed to be on Thursday nights, which poses a problem for me (flamenco time). We'll see what happens.

============================================

Okay... That should be about it. Till next time!

Takes Courage to Dream.

2008-11-30T00:09:00.000+08:00

Exams began and ended on Wednesday (WAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA), so on Friday, I went a-social-ing on my own. And my ability to follow has declined.

Sigh.

But never mind that. I've signed up for salsa beginners again - this time, I'm learning the lead. WAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This is going to be soooo fun.

I still need a job.

Well, looks like no training next week, since the boss is getting married (CONGRATS!!!!... By the way, a lot of people seem to be getting married this December...), but toda... I mean, er, a few hours ago, I was glad to have two guys back, so we could actually move on with the training.

Anyway, next week I'm going into confession with my mumz. Wish me luck, coz I don't intend to back down, but neither will my mother...

Been freestyling with some music on my mp3. Have discovered some really nifty moves...

Practice makes perfect? Wrong. You never really reach perfect.

2008-11-23T01:30:00.000+08:00

Welcome one and all! It's been a while, but honestly, I hesitated about posting because, well, my camera went berserk. Tried to get help and all, but sadly, it was beyond repair.

But it's okay now. I have a new camera.

As you read this entry, please take note of my new segment markers, which are bolded and enlarged texts in light blue. Might make the reading easier for you.

So anyways, on Wednesday I paid for a Bailamos ticket, got my new pair of jazz shoes, (since my previous pair was losing its sole and I needed a pair at peak performance... I so love a good pun; did you catch the one before?), and paid for the Salsa Technique class. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry I didn't update you; but the class was pushed back a week and condensed into 4 sessions instead of 6. So it actually started today (okay, FINE... yesterday).

I have a problem. My studying thus far consists of looking at my notes, drawing blanks and then throwing them across the room. Which is a big problem, because I need to prove that I can handle training and schoolwork AND a job, when it happens. Or the parental units will want me to literally break a leg. Well, I better get my act together soon.

So about my day for the day (OKAY, okay... for yesterday). I made a rookie mistake: I did not bring a water bottle. Luckily, Dance On Us sells them, too.

The technique class is A. Lot. Of. Work. Complete isolation (the technical, not the grammatical sense) is DIFFICULT. We were doing mostly hip isolation and getting used to leaning forward. Don't know why Lionel wanted me to lean forward so much... Was I really too straight? Didn't feel very natural, but I trust the boss. I mean, like, hey, I am in the performance team(s) after all, even as a newbie. What the choreographer-come-trainer says, I carry out.

Still, after that, I was feeling pain in all the wrong parts of my legs.

Training-wise, we still haven't progressed to the ladies' shines (which means when Lionel came to observe us, I suspect he got highly irritated... I looked it up on YouTube and got a few rough steps, but apparently the seniors still can't remember it well enough to teach us... I'm very worried). But we went through a few details, and Lionel went through some framework issues with us. All in all, it was more productive than last Sunday. Not to mention I was completely exhausted.

Speaking of Sunday, instructions are, again, to focus on salsa first before the hiphop. Not sure if I'll be able to catch up in hiphop in the end, but we'll see what happens. Who knows? Maybe it's for the best.

Vocal training... starting to be able to keep my pitches properly, but without a portable recorder it's difficult to hear how I sound. At least, I know I still have a lot of pitch problems when I get to the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber (unless I'm plugged into my mp3). My range is still very limited. But things are looking up. My voice is a lot smoother, that much I can tell. My throat is no longer trying to protect itself with phlegm every time I sing (my throat and I had a good talk). Need to keep a tab on my breath control, though.

After exams, I'm so going Union Square for practice.

The wrong foot

2008-11-17T01:40:00.000+08:00

*This picture has nothing to do with dancing, but has everything to do with the idea of "WRONG"*

... Gah... Damn. Salsa and hiphop trainings were going on consecutively, so missed out the entire session of Phunk Patrol today (okay, yesterday), which was pretty wasted because we didn't do anything new for salsa (nobody could teach us the next part because no one present could remember the ladies' shines, which was pretty much no one's fault but still). GAH. I'm so mad at myself now. I should have listened to Peiling and learnt the hiphop moves first. Now I'm behind on both ends.

I'm resigned to getting kicked out of hiphop, but I'm not going until the boss (any one of them) says so. This time, I want as far as possible to stick it through both Dragones Latinos and Phunk Patrol. I chose this road knowing I was going to get my ass kicked by the carriage; I intend to try staying on the carriage till I can ride the horse.

Enough with my metaphors... I know they're horrible. Anyway, even if have to drop it this time, I'll come back for it in a year or two. Assuming I have to drop it.

No word on the flamenco side. I wonder if my instructor changed his number? Whatever, I intend to take tecera (third grade) next year.

Voice training went rather okay today. As expected, my voice range shrunk a little after a few weeks of disuse (got sick after several late nights due to school projects), but overall it's okay. Still trying to get the hang of hearing the right pitch. I keep going off, so then I have to go back to the last spot where I got my note right and play it through several times before I get the last note right.

Breath and volume control are still major problems. Plus, I instinctively change the quality of my voice when I try to hit a certain feel of a song, only to find I can't sustain it when I change octaves. Need to be more consistent. Maybe I need to narrow down from "classic" to "operatic"? But not bad, if I say so myself. Several spots where I usually find myself off-pitch, this time round I was on target.

Eventually I think I'll need to get a voice teacher, but for now I need to get the income first... and my school degree.

Not a lot of readers to this blog at the moment, but to those who are reading, wish me luck. My exams are in two weeks, my next term is going to be horrible, and I'm going to need all the luck you can give me.

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By the way, people, remember to buy tickets for Bailamos 2009! No link yet, though you could check out Bailamos en la Calle, which was in Feb this year. Lots of videos up on the web, too.

Slow and steady wins the race.

2008-11-16T00:52:00.001+08:00

Today marks the first day of salsa dance training, and tomorrow will be salsa AND hiphop. Can tell you this much: Warm-ups are more gruelling than the actual stuff.

Tomorrow, I think I'll begin voice training again. Back to basics though.

And amongst all that I gotta be able to study. Thank goodness it's only two exams this term. Next term it's 3 exams. Plus flamenco will have started.

Still haven't flipped the papers for a job yet. After exams maybe. Have another pet project going on as well, but that's another story.

I have two dreams (discounting the one where I run down the street in a chicken little suit screaming, "The sky is falling"):

1. Be able to sing the entire Phantom of the Opera with ease (as any single one of the female characters)

2. Do the Habenera and Sevilliana from Carmen, dance and opera and all.

Long way to go. I know. Working on it. There is nothing classy or seductive about a 65kg deadweight (bear in mind I am an Asian, who generally have a smaller frame with which to hang our weight) with legs the size of tree trunks. Well, okay, the latter bit was exaggeration, but you get my drift.

Should this be a short one today? Hmmmmmmmm... yeah, I should stop writing about now. I have to rest before tomorrow.

Dance Review #1: FireFives by Singapore Dance Theatre

2008-11-14T00:16:00.001+08:00

Right-o, people, here's another midnight post. Before the review, I'll start with the bit where I've just realised I could have signed up for that salsa technique class (required, by the way, for Dragones Latinos... don't you love that new linking thing I just did with the words) eons ago. For those who wanna sign up, you'd better do it soon. It's like (checks clock) tomorrow. Just go to www.ladanceconnection.com to see the details.

For the rest of the post, please enjoy this review I did on SDT FireFives, which I got an A+ for (yes, it was a class assignment at school). I can post this up now that that course module is over. I can also expect to get whip-lashing in the form of defamation accusations. Please don't report me. The performance is long over anyway.

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FireFives: A Mixed Bill

Singapore Dance Theatre

University Cultural Centre Hall, NUS

27 September 2008

Pieces / Choreographers:

Breath of Love, Solitaire – Jeffrey Tan

La Rose Malade – Paul DeMasson

Excerpt from Why Not? – Paul Ocampo

Fanfare – Graham Lustig

Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 102 – Edmund Stripe

Principle Dancers:

Xia Hai Ling, Liu Xiao Mi, Modoka Toguchi

FireFives Burns Dim

FireFives compiles a series of unrelated pieces. Like fireflies, they explore understated beauty, hiding reality within a surreal world. All six pieces utilized a minimalist stage design and simple lighting to create a pocket world within which the dancers flit about, revelling in love, confronting fear and regaling in celebration. Of particular note are Solitaire and La Rose.

Solitaire is a solo piece, with beautiful choreography and breath-taking execution by Modoka Toguchi: a claustrophobic depiction of entrapment and space. Insecurity, uncertainty, anxiety and fear fill underline this piece about isolation, along with a very subtle sense of freedom, easily overlooked but distinctive when picked up.

La Rose Malade chronicles the life of a rose, from the opening of the first petals to its eventual wilting, and looks into the concept of fleeting beauty. The dancers were at their best form, emulating the unfolding, floating and falling of petals with hypnotic elegance. The end of the piece was marked with a hollow feel, as the layers of this delicate and enchanting being began to droop without protest.

Despite captivating choreography, the dancers were inconsistent, sometimes displaying effortless execution and at other times disappointing.

A handful of male dancers began unmistakably out of sync with one another in the first piece, with a considerable lag between dancers. This was quickly overcome by the end of Breath of Love; in the next few pieces the dancers regained good control and strength until Fanfare, when one of the dancers on downstage-centre stumbled during a routine lift.

Female dancers fared slightly better, maintaining smooth lines, strong point-work and excellent control; the nuances incorporated in their movements made them seem more like sprites than dancers. However, they too seemed drained of energy by the time Opus 102 begins, with the exception of Liu Xiao Mi and Natalie Clark, who kept up a spirited performance for the last piece, in contrast to their comrades on stage.

Liu and Clark both truly seemed to celebrate as much as the choreography did, never losing their brilliant smiles and showing no signs of strain. No wonder Clark was selected to do several solo segments for Opus 102, enthralling the audience with nimble and playful footwork, reminiscent of mischievous Puck from Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Nevertheless, credit must be given to all the dancers for their professionalism; despite several sound glitches, especially during the when the wrong music was played halfway through Breath of Love, the dancers kept dancing, unfazed, as if the real music poured out from within. Additionally, their well-paced and soulful performance in La Rose Malade made up for some of the other minor missteps.

FireFives fails to reach the usual standards expected of Singapore Dance Theatre; but the choreography, visual design, energy exuding from the principal female dancers and the short moments of magic turn this mixed bill into a satisfying medley.

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Now, I actually have another review in store, but I got a few cautionary remarks for that (yes, it was another class assignment), so I'll try and filter them out before I post it up. Over, too, anyway.

Tightrope: Half a step to fall

2008-11-10T00:49:00.000+08:00

... And I am in Phunk Patrol. Hoo-yeah. But that was a hell-a-lot audition compared to the salsa one. And a lot more contenders as well. Somehow the entire lot made it through the audition with no cuts.

So that's two training sessions a week, Saturday and Sunday. Plus extra lessons I will need.

Now I need a job to pay for my lessons. My new (dance) boss has very kindly given me a contact, so let's go for it.

First though, I gotta get past tomorrow's (well, "later", if you're so picky) test. And I've got a presentation in school to rehearse for.

My academic calender next term is whacked, and having to balance that with flamenco, Dragones Latinos, Phunk Patrol and any job(s) I may take up... If someone is willing to sponsor a coffin, I will take it.

About the hiphop audition... kena stress sia. This move that move and the other at lightning speed... The Flash couldn't learn it. Guess that makes the whole lot of us auditionees faster than him.

Had a choice of specialisation, and since doing all three would be pretty much suicide, I've decided on Slow Jam, or lyrical hiphop. Closer to the stuff from my training. We'll take this diversification thing one at a time.

My throat is recovering, which means I should be able to start my voice training again after the exams, or even before that if possible.

Acting... not quite on the cards right now, though I supposedly have a bit part in an upcoming school performance. Not that I've been called in for practice yet, goodness knows why... I'm suspecting I didn't even get a part; if so, that bloody idiot could've just told me... it would be a rude shock, yes (considering I've managed to secure pretty good parts and reviews till now... all school performances though...), but it would save a lot of trouble.

Right, gotta get some sleep... this balancing act starts now.

The first step.

2008-11-09T00:57:00.001+08:00

A few hours ago I made it into Dragones Latinos. In another 6 hours I will be auditioning for Phunk Patrol.

I have taken my first official step to get what I want.

I should explain.

I caught the performing bug early. No surprise, the entire maternal side of the family was heavily musically inclined. It started with ballet, then primary school choir, went on to secondary school and junior college drama, and then flamenco and university drama and social dance.

A lot of the little things transpired along the way, but suffice to say that it lead to my eventually being the good academic girl in university after a very rocky academic path. I gave up a childhood dream of performance to take the safe road of a degree and a good corporate job.

Until I discovered it was not as safe as I thought. It was not something I could sustain long-term. That is because I understand nothing about the outside world beyond theory, not even about myself. The only thing I truly understand is movement, rhythm, sound, nuance, emotion. The only thing I truly understand is the stage.

This is going to be a story about how high the price is for a chasing an elusive dream. Will it be worth it? You decide.

Just a note, subsequent posts may not be so melodramatic. I know people like you want some action. Am I right or am I right?