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.

EVENTS - JUNE 2008

6th & 20th
Royal Selangor Golf Club - Social Dance Workshop Series
Dance : Off Beat Cha Cha
Organizer : RSGC Sports Division

7th
Daniel & Cindy Leong's Line Dance Farewell Party
Location : KGNS (Subang Golf Club), 4 pm
Organizer : Daniel Leong (012-386 0611)

7th
Sai Min's Social & Line Dance Party
Location : OUG Club, 5 pm
Organizer : Lim Sai Min

21st
Studio 33 Annual Line Dance Party
Location : Genting Highlands
Organizer : Teressa Liu (012-388 0135)

Line Dance Workshop - Kota Kinabalu, 3rd May

I was invited by a lovely lady named Beeda to conduct a technique & styling workshop for Line Dancers in Kota Kinabalu in Dec 2007. However, due to committments and festivities we only managed to get a date together this year and I'm sooooooo glad we did.

First of all Beeday herself is a wonderfully warm lady and a really keen dancer. Together with another teacher, Annie, they met me at the KK airport and gave me a light breakfast overlooking the Marina. What a beautiful place to enjoy breakfast.

I was then taken to the workshop venue and introduced to my first group of wonderfully enthusiastic dancers. They had already learnt the steps for the dances that I was going to elaborate on and we raring to learn how to make it technically sound and master some great styling. What a PLEASURE it was to have such a like minded crowd. I enjoyed every hot, sweaty second I had with them. With the first group I managed to cover a cuban (Guajira by Sebastian Holtland) and a funky (Dont Need a Man by Darren Bailey & Lana Williams). The second group covered a cuban too (Going All The Way by Teresa Lawrence & Vera Fisher) and a lilt (Cherry Poppin' by Neville Fitzgerald & Julie Harris).

We had a total of more then 60 people which was the reason we broke the workshop into two groups so I could give more attention to individuals. There was some real talent in the groups too. Unfortunately I had only managed to allocate one day for the workshop and therefore did not have time to socialize with the attendees. Never fear!!! Because I had such great fun with you all, I promise to make more time during my next visit. That way we'll all be able to chat a bit and possibly shake backsides more together.

Thank you ALL, especially Beeda and Annie for your efforts and warm welcome and keeping me hydrated :) I'm so looking forward to going back again.

RSGC Social Dance Workshop Series - Middle Eastern Dancing

There was a good turn out of ladies eager to learn how to shake their bodies. Sadly I couldn't get any of the men to join us in the workshop. I think this was due to the fact that the event was publicised as 'belly dancing' instead of 'middle eastern dancing' which would have been more neutral.

Anyway, we all had a great time. We spent the first day trying to tame our hips and get them to do our bidding. I worked in a simple routine which helped teach the ladies how to move while accenting the thrusts, rolls and lifts of the hips.

On our second day I worked the ladies' upper bodies, teaching them basic movements with the shoulders, arms, fingers and chest. Utilising the simple routine we had used on the first day, we added in the arms and had a great time laughing at the difficulty some had trying to make our stubborn bodies adhere to our directions.

It was a great introduction to the art of middle eastern dancing and we had quite a few new faces in this workshop series. Hope we'll see them back during the month of June too.

Events in May 2008

Here's whats happening in May. Check it out.

Royal Selangor Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur
2nd & 16th
Social Dance Workshop Series - Middle Eastern Dancing
Organizer : RSGC Sports Division

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
3rd
Technique & Characterization for Line Dance - Cuban, Lilt & Funky
Organizer : Beeda Gautier

Royal Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur
10th
Social Dance Dinner with Demonstrations
Organizer : RLC Dancesport Committee

Kuala Lumpur Dance Association, OCM, Kuala Lumpur
24th
Social Dance Night with Local Buffet Dinner