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.