25th April 2009 - Melacca Line Dance Workshop by Bronya

Tammy presenting me with my beautiful flowers. Thank you girls!




This is the way to make a POINT!




Helen Fan, the organizer












Making sure that all important HIP action was achieved.





Really getting down to the business of 'feeling' a move.













Demonstrating how to use the 'power' of the hips & core to create a fluid motion.





Some found it all rather much to absorb in 3 hours but they sure did try their best.











Walking thru the routine while some were still trying to figure out which foot to start on :)









The attendees listening attentively to some pointers before the start of the workshop








Realizing the stage was just too high, i decided to 'assume the position' so that they didn't have to crane their necks to look at me.





I had been approched by Helen Fan last year to come down to Melacca to conduct a Line Dance workshop focusing on technique and styling. It took us both a good 6 months to finally come up with a date that worked for both of us but finally we managed it.

I drove down with my girls, Sze and I Vee, and we got there a good hour before the workshop in order to check in and run through our technical requirements. We were then lead to the venue by Helen and arrived on Malaysian time (a good 20 minutes behind schedule). Luckily everyone was ready to go and we launched into the workshop straight away.

After a brief introduction by Helen, I got up on stage and did my routine check on whether everyone was wearing the right footwear and clothes and ensuring everyone was medically sound before we started. Then i discovered the stage was way too high and i decided to join eveyone on the floor. We covered 3 dances with 3 different styles in the workshop. I used my own 'Let's Get Loud 08' for the Cuban and 'Kiss Goodbye' for the Smooth (step sheets availble on guruofdance.com & kickit.com) and borrowed Scott Blevins' 'Feed the Feetish' for the Funky.

Everyone tried their very best to execute all the moves with me and I was very impressed by their enthusiasm to get it right. Even during the breaks they approached me to clarify finer points of certain moves. Their desire to learn could be tasted. I was very encouraged and proceeded to give them everything I had to satisfy them.

However, it had to end after more then 3 hours of exhausting work, everyone wanted some time to head home and pretty up for the dinner and jamming session that was to follow during the night. That allowed my partner, Sze, and I to run thru our own routines which were were planning to demonstrate during the dinner.

For the demonstration, I planned it in 3 parts to reflect what we had covered in the workshop. We opened with our Funky sequense and the crowd was excitingly responsive. Sadly i had a costume malfunction near the end of that section (i lost my hat) but we still finished off well. The second part of the demonstration was the Smooth which I performed on my own. The crowd was very eager to react to my actions which was great as the smooth is very expressive and filled with emotion. We finished off the demonstration with a cuban section during which we also showed off our new jive and cha cha partner routines. I Vee managed to capture all this on video and handle our music at the same time. Good on you girl.

After falling into bed for a much needed rejuevinating sleep, i was up early the next day to conduct a couple of private lessons with these insatiable dancers. Its such a joy to teach people who really really want to learn for the pure passion of dancing. I finished off my visit to Melacca by being taken out for an authentic Baba lunch by some of my new friends - Kathy, Tammy, Susan and a few others.

Thank you EVERYONE and especially Helen Fan, for making my visit to Melacca such an enjoyable one. I can't wait to come back down again and share more with you.

22nd March 2009 - YS Dancesport Center Anniversary Dinner & Dance

It was the 20th anniversary of the YS Dancesport Center and the event was held in the Banquet Hall of the Royal Lake Club in Kuala Lumpur. The hall was filled with dancers from all walks of life, from the very young to the young, to the trying to get there and the i'm getting there, to the i've been there and to the young of heart. Its amazing what 20 years can amase in one room. I, having been there are the conception of YS Dancesport Center, suddenly felt very 'senior' as I was forced to look back over my own years in this field. Lucky for me, the picture wasn't too bad at all.

The hosts for the night were of course Mr Y S Lee, the principle, and his petite wife Amy Lee accompanied by their children and family members. YS, notorious for his shyness of public speaking, left the opening speach to Amy who bravely opened in English before reverting to Chinese which allowed her to give a heatfelt speech to thank everyone who's supported them over the last 20 years. After that, some of the audience winked at me and suggested i get them to dance, something that has not been witnessed by any of us! YS and Amy are well know for their training and coaching skills (they are responsbile for several of our best Amateur couples) but are equally well known for their reluctance to dance publicly. After much encouragement, YS wagged his finger at me but proceeded to take his wife onto the floor and dance a basic rumba to the cheers of all in the hall. It didn't last long though and they quickly scurried off the floor to the safety of their VIP table.

Aside from the fantastic dinner which was planned by one of his long term students, Mrs Janet Lim, there was an award presentation to 3 students who had been with them from the start - Mrs Janet Lim, Mr Jimmy Heng and another who's name escapes me at the moment. Together they gathered around the anniversary cake with the many performing couples for a photo opportunity.

The highligh of the evening was of course the many dance performances presented by their students from as young as 4 all the way up to their more 'mature' students. Most were done in formation style so that they would all feel more confident. However, their top competitive students e.g. Michael & Janet (Malaysia's top Amateur couple) performed solo.

It was also an opportunity for the center to announce its next two events which will be the 1st Malacca Dancesport Championship on the 14th June 2009 and the 1st Taiping Dancesport Championship on the 20th September 2009.

The night wrapped up with lots of social dancing and much congratulating to YS and Amy. Here's to another 20!

Updates - April 2009

Terribly sorry for the very long silence. Work just piled up while I was travelling during March. I still owe you all a post on the remaining 2 ADC Tour event as well as the 3rd Hong Kong Dancesport Festival event. I will get to that, never fear.

Meanwhile, I have updated the Events list and the Class list on the side bar. Several new class slots have become available with the merging of a few senior classes. So have a look as see if there's anything suitable for you and give me a buzz if you have questions. Also many new events have been added on to the events list. See if there's anything you'd like to attend and contact the organizers for more details on ticket pricing or entry forms.

I've also added on a couple of dances to my 'favourite line dance' list. I attended a jamming session on the 18th April held by the FunStomppers at the TTDI Community Hall where my good friend Mei Ling presented one of her latest dances which I took quite a shine to even though I did make a minor change to the step sheet, with her permission, of course. Once I learn how to link you to the step sheets you'll be able to download them straight from here, but for now you'll have to search for it yourself with the information i've provided in the side bar. I've also just completed a new waltz done to the beautiful song "If I Were a Painting by Kenny Rodgers" which I have named 'Painting'. I should have that up on my website soon for you to download. I'm also planning to twist Sze's arm to set up a You Tube channel for me so you can finally view some of my demo video's which i've been promising many of you for oh so long.

Well, that about all I can give you for now. I hope to get time soon to update you all. Take care, keep dancing and remember - age is just a number.

ROUND 1 !!!!!

I'm exhausted! And that was just the start of the season, but boy was it an exciting time, watching the world's top couples slug it out on the dance floor - exhilirating!!!! I've never been one to get excited about the modern discipline of Dancesport but this year the levels were sky high and both the latin and modern professional open levels became battling grounds for both the competitors and the fans. I cant even begin to describe the energy in the venues during those events. I can only tell you how much I wished I was on that floor too, feeding off the vibes and enjoying myself.

Sadly I didn't get to photograph any of the top couples as I was always compeering during the higher levels but I do have some of the closed & open Amateur level couples which I can share with you.

In case you didn't read thru my earlier post, the ADC tour went thru the following countries : Tokyo, Japan; Gentings, Malaysia; Seoul, Korea and Macau, China.

2009 World Super Series

Asian Open Professional Dance Championship, Tokyo, Japan

The thing that struck me most about the Japan event was the incredible efficiency shown by every member of the working committee. There was someone specific to take care of every little detail and every single person performed their task to the very best of their ability. Before you could even finish thinking about something, someone would have carried it out for you. It was heavenly working with such ease. Every little detail had been thought out before hand and noted for the next team to improve on even more - amazing.

The other thing was the sheer number of couples that took part in only 6 events that were organized here. Each event had a minimum of 150 couples competing for a place in the finals. So that would mean approximately 900 couples in the whole championship!! It's no wonder we took the whole day (8:30am-10pm) to complete it. Even in the Professional level, dancers had to battle through 5 rounds to get into the finals. My extreme respect for the champions.

This is the stadium in Tokyo, Japan. They had transformed it into a very classy looking venue with this beautiful backdrop and the couples were introduced as they entered thru the parted curtains.

This was one of the preliminary rounds for the Amateur Open Latin. The judges in the picture are Marcus Hilton & Allan Fletcher from UK.

I cant figure out how to get this picture the right way but if you tilt your head you'll see some of the beautiful Amateur Open Modern couples.

This is the near full capacity crowd at the stadium. The support of the audience was amazing in Tokyo.

Around the arena, in the public excess corridors that circles the entire stadium, there were hundreds of stalls selling all sorts of dance wear and accessories. Here you can see some of the ready to wear Modern costumes complete with stones, feathers, frills and fluff. Starting prices for many were about 300,000 yen for the Modern and about half of that for the Latin.

Champions :

Professional Open Latin - Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis (Poland)

Professional Open Modern -

Amateur Open Latin - Stefano Moriondo & Melene Osteergand (Denmark)

Amateur Open Modern - Salvatore Todaro & Violeta Yaneva (Bulgaria)

The Malaysian International Dance Championship 2009

2nd Leg - Asian Open Dance Tour 2009, Genting Highlands, Malaysia

The Malaysian leg of this tour was held up in the city of entertainment, Genting Highlands. Its not the first dance championship to be held up here but it definately was the the biggest. It was held in the Arena of Stars and a beautiful dance floor was created there by sponsor Eko-wood who did a spectacular job.

Sadly, not all the top couples came to the Malaysian leg as the 3rd leg of the tour was planned a little too close to this date and several did not want to risk the 24 hour travelling time between Gentings and Seoul (not to mention the 6 hour delay many of us had in Taiwan, sigh). Nevertheless, it was an incredibly good turn out and the audience that had braved the drive up in less then perfect conditions (it was very foggy) were in for a fantastic treat.

Ariel De Silva & Cosmas Hoo from Singapore dancing in the Junior Latin event. They came in 2nd in this event.

One of the Senior Modern events which drew couples from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong etc. Both the Senior events were won by Indonesian contestants Andrew Yow & Rita Rahardjo.

There were many more events in the Malaysian championship compared to Tokyo. Some of the more interesting ones was the Mother/Son, Father/Daughter event which made it's first appearence here and had so many entries we had to have a semi final! Very encouraging. Got to get my big boy to dance with me before my body gives up on me :)

Champions :

Professional Open Latin - Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko (USA)

Professional Open Modern - Arunas Bizokas & Katusha Demidova (USA)

Amateur Open Latin - Mykhailo Samoshchenko & Yulia Shorokhova (Russia)

Amateur Open Modern - Gaetano Lavarone & Emanuela Napolitano (Italy)

There was a second day to the Malaysian event but I was not in attendence as I had to dash off to the next leg in Seoul, Korea. Events on the second day included the beginner events of the Dancesport disciplines, Line Dancing, Hip Hop and Belly Dancing. I'm sure you could get more details on those events from the organizers website/blog : ancdancechampionship.blogspot.com

I'll continue with the updates on the 3rd & 4th leg another day.

Asian Competitive Season - OPEN!!!!

It's the official start of the Asian competitive season now that the Chinese New Year is over. Lots of incredibly talented dancers from around the world will now be flocking to Asia to claim the titles and prizes (very often cash). Even more so now since most airlines are not charging fuel surcharges. Great news for competitive dancers who are always cash strapped.

I've been offered the great opportunity to participate in some of the biggest and most prestigious competitions in the region this year as Master of Ceremonies & Compere. Check out my side bar on the competition schedule.

My first stop this year will be in Tokyo, Japan this weekend for the first leg of the Asian Open Dance Championship which carries a purse of US$100,000 for winners in the Amateur and Professional levels. This is the biggest purse that's ever been offered in the Asian dance circle. The Japanese Dance Council (JDC) first mooted this last year in order to raise the awareness of our talented dancers and to educate the public on how dancers participating, specifically in Dancesport events, are equal to professional athletes around the world. We train as hard, spend as much on training (time & money) and are as dedicated as any other sports person but seem to be the least appreciated or acknowledge for our efforts. Well, the JDC is out make this perception change. Last year 7 countries took part in the Asian Tour with each country raising a purse of US$100,000 each, some managing to raise a little more then that too and adding it to the prize money to the winners.

This year, the JDC has decided to divide the tour into 2 seasons in order to pace the dancers that follow the tour from country to country. In this first season four countries will take part in the tour - Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Macau. I've received the honor of accompanying the tour to each of the stops as the English speaking MC/compere. I'm terribly excited and I look forward to bringing back lots of news to you all.

New Fitness Classes ! Bringing rhythm to life, fitness to the soul.

Ah.............i've finally figured out how to post the flyer here. Thanks Sze :*

Hope you all can read about the new fitness classes i've created and am introducing this year. If this image is not clear enough, go visit my website and you'll see a really clear one there posted by Sze.

Happy reading. I hope it'll help you achieve your idea of fitness thru my passion of dance.

New Look, New List

Hey, hey...........i've changed my look. What do you think?

I've decided to divert away from my norm of dark (black) and mysterious. Frankly i think they just gave people weird ideas about me and how 'dark' i must be :) Anyway, green is another firm favourite of mine so i'm giving this a go.

Check out my two new list i've added to the side too. Lots of people ask what i'm doing in classes week to week so i've decided to let everyone know. If you want to pop in to learn just that one dance, come right on over. Just remember to buzz me first to make sure class is on schedule.

Since i've been getting into line dancing in the last year i've actually found quite a few step sheets that i actually 'approve' of. The choreography matches the song well and the flow of steps are smooth and suitable to the style. They also allow 'free souled' dancers, such as myself, lots of room for expression. So i've decided to add a list of my favourite dances to help dispell the notion that i dislike line dances. I DO like them, i just dont always enjoy the way line dancers dance them. Step sheets are there merely to guide you thru the dance people, add some of YOU to it when you dance it lah.

Another list I'll be adding soon will be the Competition List which will feature competitons in and around the region that i'm either participating in as compere or competitor OR am just aware of. This is to help keep you informed so that you can either attend them as a spectator or take part in them. I'll also throw in the occasional social event that comes along that is open to the public. Stay tuned.

Sze Yen, my webmistress, is constantly making improvements on my website, all of which are worth checking out. Sometimes i'm not even aware of how cool its become till someone tells me :) So check it out if you've got time at www.guruofdance.com and check out the flyer for my new fitness classes which commence in March.

Enjoy.

2009 !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR ! SELAMAT TAHUN BARU ! KONG HEI FATT CHOY !

I'm finally back on line with my blog. I am once again aiming to try to keep people informed on things I consider important in my corner of the world and on what I'm doing to spread my passion on achieving Fitness thru Dance. Aside from my existing, long standing classes in :

1. Freestyle Jazz
2. Freestyle in Line
3. Social Dancing
4. Fusion Line Dancing

which are conducted in several locations in the Klang Valley. The new fitness classes I'm introducing this year are :

1. Dancefit in Line
2. Ballet Fit
3. Cardio Dance

Stay tuned as i discover how to post the discriptions of these classes here. If you can't wait, just go check out my website at www.guruofdance.com where my brilliant webmistress will have done an effortless job at posting it there.

On another note - as the CNY draws to a close the competitive Dancesport scene in Asia is springing to life. The first event I'll be involved in will be the 2009 Open Asian Dancesport Tour which will cover Japan, Malaysia, Korea and Macau in the first leg of the year. More news on this to come but I can let you know that it will commence 22nd Feb. 09 in Tokyo, Japan.

I shall be back with more news. Meanwhile, enjoy 2009 and good luck at keeping your resolutions.