Born To Rock - Update

Hi everyone, just a little update on my dance BORN TO ROCK.

I created this dance back in March this year just so that I'd have something of my own to teach (in addition to other choreographers' dances) at Hiro's workshop. He said he would like something fun so I searched through my music library and chanced upon the song by Elvis. The moment I heard it, I liked it and could feel the steps coming almost immediately.

That was 7 months ago and while I had hoped that it would catch on among the Japanese, I hadn't expected it to go places. But since then, this is what's been happening to the dance (these I know of because of emails, feedback and via Youtube). There could possibly be others of which I am unaware :-)

[Note: I am fully aware that compared to other well-known & established line dance choreographers' works this is peanuts; a mere drop in an ocean. But I'm just so thrilled that something is happening...I just had to share it.]

• It has been selected as a competition dance (under the Novelty category) for an annual line dance competition in Sweden! I do not know how the organisers came to know of the dance [I certainly didn't tell them about it but I'm not complaining, no sirree ;-D] . My line dance friend from Sweden tells me that this is a popular event and is always sold out. It's in late November. I'm not sure if they'll post any videos of the competition dances on Youtube but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



• Through emails, I know that certain groups are dancing it, (or will be dancing it in the near future) locally, in Australia, the US, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

• Write-up in the Oct 17, 2008 issue of World Line Dance Newsletter by Mike Taylor (Thank You! Mike):

Subject: BORN TO ROCK (n' ROLL)
Mike Taylor
taylormademusic@yahoo.com

Hi everyone,
You have seen and heard it many many times.... 'the script is a lot more complicated than the dance'.. and some you find its actually the reverse. Welllllllllllllll.... nowt different here. The dance script for BORN TO ROCK not only looks complicated... it IS complicated - that is until you listen to the music and read the script at the same time.. then it
DOES get a whole lot easier. It also helps (as in this case) when there are excellent demo video's to be had.
The music, by Elvis is not one of the ones you would expect and is from the 1964 Viva Las Vegas EP (blimey... do you remember them!!) but still easily obtained from iTunes and the like
See for yourself.. is IS a fun dance ..and in my opinion (for what its worth) is extremely well crafted and a credit to the Choreographer (Leong Mei Ling). The Rainbow Dancers on the second clip are totally brill.

Demo: http:://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3AsVZkqgVuA
Partyparty: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=etHIuJeJ848&feature=related

Time to Roll your Rocks off......

Regards
Mike

• The Youtube video has been embedded in/linked to some linedance related blogs and websites in Japan, Sweden, Netherlands, Germany, the UK and Italy.

• I submitted the stepsheet to Kickit and Yipee but it's found it's way to the Linedancer Magazine, UK. I'm guessing I should thank Mike again ;-)

• The stepsheet has been translated into Dutch! I've downloaded a copy and am saving it to show my future grandchildren LOL!

• Used as a performance piece. One by KK Linedance group and the other by The Rainbow Dancers. Recently I got an email from an instructor in the US saying that she will be teaching it to her group of senior ladies for a performance next year...and she has promised me a video of it ;-)

• Invited for a local workshop next year (2009). I will know more nearer the date but if all goes well I will be teaching 2 dances at the workshop: AUTUMN TEARS & BORN TO ROCK (blush blush).

Thanks everyone for the generous comments you sent via email and on the Youtube. And thanks for dancing my 'baby'!

\(^<>^)/

MARDI GRAS Party Snapshots

As the saying goes: "A picture paints a thousand words". So, what better way to see what fun we had at the party than depicting it in photos.

Welcome!

The early arrivals and me - hamming it up.

Watch the transformation...Morina putting on the hairpiece

Making sure it's secure.

Voila! Move over Captain Jack Sparrow! It's Kapitan More-In-La Pipit...kekeke

Party gets underway

Vennie & Toni - groovin' to the beat

Makan Time! Wow look at that yummy chocolate fountain in the foreground

More movin' & groovin'

Photo break with the Cendana Mas dancers

right after their performance.

Photos with True Fitness (USJ Taipan & Jaya33) members:

Pretty ladies all. But where is our hunk Toni?

Ah...there he is!

No wonder la he hilang. Take photo with leng lui.

Hah! Zorro is no match for the Trident Queens

Wait! Wait! Before you do me in, let me get a good pose for the camera

Photos with Celebrity Fitness (1U) members:

Walao eh...this Kapitan More-In-La...one girl in every port huh?!

That 'dancer' at the back looks suspiciously like the Kapitan la. KEKEKE! :-D

Lucky Draw, Best Dressed & Best Costume:

This year I was blessed with many generous sponsors for lucky draw items as well as door gifts. I'd like to record my thanks to all of them for making the night a memorable one as everyone was able to go home with something.

We had so many items for the lucky draw that instead of picking the lucky winner, each guest came up to the lucky draw table to select a wrapped gift. A lucky draw with a twist! :-D

Tokens of appreciation for the Cendana Mas team.

BEST MASK:

1st Runner-up - Rosnani

Very creative Ros. You added colour and oomph! to your mask.

The Winner! - Vennie

A lovely ensemble. The cute little hat completed the look fabulously!

BEST COSTUME:

2nd Runner-up - Ms Pixie Blossom aka Diana Thum

Aiya! You don't have to beg la! I said I'm giving you the prize!

Oh! thank you, thank you.

.....and I'd like to thank my mother, my father...blah, blah, blah....

1st Runner-up - Morina

'Hmmph! You better give me something or I wallop you betul betul!'

And the Best Costume goes to..oooo....(drum roll)

The Winner! - Jan, our very own Ms Kitty Cat.

Can you spot her tail?

Great job putting the costume together Jan!

I had a great time my friends. All the work putting the party together was well worth it.

'Au Revoir' until next year!

HAPPY DEEPAVALI

To all my Hindu students & friends

&

to all Malaysians

HAPPY DEEPAVALI!

Autumn Tears - dance update

After having danced the dance several times with my students and also at the party, I've decided not to start the dance right from the beginning. It's too difficult to catch the start of the music and there's no base beat making it difficult for everyone to keep the same time.

Therefore, from now on, the dance will begin only after a 48 + 4 count intro.

If you have any difficulty learning/teaching the dance or if there is a particular step you wish to clarify, just email me at linedanz@gmail.com and I will answer your query the best I can.

Enjoy the dance!

ASMARADANA

This dance was choreographed by my good friend Morina Mohamed to the song of the same name sung by Datin Tiara Jacquelina.

Before I go on, let me just say that she did an EXCELLENT job. AND...she also did an excellent job in passing the necessary skills to the other ladies (within the short time frame she was given) so that they could execute the dance so effortlessly.

From Left: Morina & Jan

Morina choreographed this dance for her trip to Christmas Island (where a big line dance event was organised) early this month. Not only did she put her creativity into the dance, she also used her creative talent to come up with the wonderful costumes using common everyday items. The only piece on the dancers that's expensive is their 'crown' and even that amounted to less than RM50. But the final effect of the costume is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S, GORGEOUS!

Cendana Mas ladies & me
Back Row from L to R: Foong Lian, Rosie, me, Jan & Siew Looi
Front Row from L to R: Mei Mei, Morina & Betty

I thought it would be a waste if all that effort would only be seen one time at Christmas Island and then not again. So I invited them to perform at my party last Saturday. Luckily for me, they graciously accepted. And they did such a great job that besides putting the video up on Youtube, I feel its worth sharing it here too with visitors to my blog.

Well done Morina! And thank you CENDANA MAS dancers for a delightful performance.

Sooo...tired

I know many of you are checking my blog to see if I've posted anything about my party last Saturday. I intend to my friends, I intend to. But right now, my body is protesting and my brain is not thinking straight... from all that dancing, and all that running around to ensure the everything at the party ran smoothly :-)

A big THANK YOU to everyone who came and to those who helped out. I hope all of you had as much fun as I did!

At the moment I'm expending whatever energy I have left on teaching classes and editing videos from the party to put up on Youtube. A few have already been loaded. Check them out.

It may take a while before I find some quiet time to blog about the recent MARDI GRAS line dance party, but do keep checking in to see k?

Meanwhile, here's something to appease your line dance 'cravings'. It's a new dance (Sept 08) by Guyton Mundy and Jordan Lloyd called NOTICE THE DANGER. Looks like real fun doing it contra.

Mardi Gras Line Dance Jam - SOLD OUT!

The tickets to this Saturday's line dance party has completely been taken up. It was sold out since about a week or so back and all who have bought the tickets are gearing up for the event.

Practice sessions for the dances in the playlist have been going on for over a month now but the pace has quickened in the final run up to the party. It's almost like cramming for an exam LOL! Except that these dancers are memorising steps instead of formulaes and such :-)

For some of them, you can actually see the stress on their faces. Chill people! Let's just have fun. It's okay if you can't remember the steps. For your information, I can't remember all the dances either, although I'm the one who taught them to you hehe... :-D

As for me, my stress is in making sure everything runs smoothly on the day itself. Quick mental checklist: music for the dances - check; doorgifts - check; lucky draw items - check; food (for sure la the venue is going to provide); 'dump' the kids with a sitter ;-) - check; sweet talk hubby into being my 'kadam' for the day - check. Anything else? Hmmm...let me know if you think I've left out anything ya.

Just a quick and friendly reminder: Party starts sharp at 5pm (that means the first dance will be played at that time). Dinner is scheduled for 6:30pm and general dancing will resume at 7:30 until 11pm.

Oooo...my feet are itching already! See y'all there at KGNS, Oct 18 this Saturday :-)

G.R.A.C.E Workshop

I woke up early last Saturday morning in anticipation of attending the day's workshop scheduled to start at 9am.

The workshop: G.R.A.C.E (Geriatric Research And Continuing Education) conducted by Rosie Multari.

The venue: One World Hotel (or at least that WAS the initial venue until it was changed at the last minute without any form of notification to the people who turned up at the hotel hmmmrph!)

Fortunately for me, I met another line dancer, Captain Poon who was just as surprised as I was about the change. Fortunate, because he was kind enough to give me a lift and together we headed to D'Taipan Dance Studio in Kota Damansara.

As a result of the last minute change, we arrived about 1/2 an hour late at the new venue (I hate being late! especially when I had made an effort to be early). The workshop was already underway but Rosie was very kind to receive us and gave us a quick summary of what the group had covered before we came so that we could follow from there on in.

I must say I enjoyed the session with Rosie. From the way she presented the information and how easily examples were given, it shows the vast experience she has had in the field. By the way, these are her credentials as listed in the Dancing For The Dream website (US):

Rosie Multari - Active Adult - Bayville, NJ

Certified Fitness Instructor and Gerontologist

ACE Gold Group / Personal Trainer

Arthritis Foundation Certified

CPR-C American Heart Association

Post Rehab Specialists

25+ Years Experience - Instructor w/ Dance & Exercise

Exclusively with Seniors / Active Adults since 1987

Rosie, if you're reading this, I wish to say a BIG Thank You for sharing so much valuable information with us. I know you have much more to share but so little time in which to share it.

I also enjoyed the informal way in which the workshop was conducted. Some of us even sat on the floor (which is a very acceptable malaysian way) to make ourselves more comfy while soaking in everything Rosie had to say. The entire session was very relaxed, open and friendly.

L to R: Captain Poon, Annie, Swee Lee, Sze Yen, Rosie, Me, Gidget, Dev, Sue, Soo & Molly

[I hope I got the names right ;-)]

Back Row: Desmond

Missing in the picture: Bronya (who had to leave early for a class)

All in all I enjoyed my 6-hour session.

Dance For Dreams: 8-12 Oct 2008

Some of you may already have heard about it. I'm referring to the Dance For Dreams event starting this Wednesday up until the weekend, at One World Hotel and Sunway Lagoon.

According to the organiser's website http://www.dance4dreams.org/, the objective of this event is to:
TO BRING HEALTH AWARENESS THROUGH LINE DANCING GLOBALLY
TO BRING UNITY AMONG OUR NATION THROUGH HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

The website goes on to say:
"To invite as many senior citizens as possible to the dance floor with easy to remember steps and low-impact movements.

To invite as many instructors as possible to be specifically trained to continue this programme.

Line Dancing is the second most popular extra curricular activity in the world, using rhythms of music. The most popular music used globally for line dancing is country music. The benefits are great.

To manage aging problems effectively like poor health, losing of jobs, partner, and as well as hopes. It has been proven for decades that music lifts depression.

We feel that all seniors should have the opportunity to experience the health benefits of what we already know are benefits that come out of this great thing called, "line dancing".

The week long programmes will be professionally conducted by Dancing For The Dream Corporation USA - a National 501 (C)(3) Non-profit corporation established for the purpose of promoting health physically and emotionally through line dancing. "

To check out the programmes lined up for the 5-day event, click here.

There is a Technical line dance workshop on the 3rd day and this will be conducted by a US instructor and 2 local dance instructors. My sources tell me that the local instructors are Bronya Bishorek and Joanne Wong. Definitely a workshop worth attending I say. But, unfortunately for me, I'll be working :-(

However, I've already got my ticket for the G.R.A.C.E (Geriatric Research And Continuing Education) Instructors' workshop on Saturday. So I'll be attending at least one of the workshops ;-)

All proceeds from the event will be channelled to the following charities:

1. PDK (Persatuan Dialisis Kurnia)
2. Persatuan Kebajikan Ti-Ratana (Ti-Ratana Welfare Society)
3. Tabung Kanak-Kanak Kanser

So do your part and support this event the best you can and in the manner that you can, ya.

Jubilation 2008

It's been 2 weeks since I headed down to Johor for Scott Blevins workshop. The event was organised by Judy Teh under her annual event named Jubilation. This year's theme was WATCH ME DANCE.

Besides Scott Blevins, Judy had also invited other instructors to teach us their dances: Jo & John Kinser (US), Wendy Teh (Png), Bronya Bishorek (PJ) and Vincent & Felicia (S'pore). Turn out for the event was good with participants from all over M'sia (including Sabah & Sarawak), Singapore and even as far as Australia.

The dances taught were (according to event programme):

On Saturday

JO & JOHN KINSER

HELL IF I (NC2S)

WENDY TEH

DIRTY POP (Funky)

BRONYA BISHOREK

Bronya taught Funk Technique using

Scott Blevin's dance WHAT IT IS as an example.

SCOTT BLEVINS

DRIVE ME WILD!!

FEEL (new choreo; debuted at Jubilation 2008)

On Sunday

JO & JOHN KINSER

STUPID SH*T

SCOTT BLEVINS

CREEPIN' (new choreo; debuted at Jubiltion 2008)

BRUCIE

VINCENT & FELICIA

Vincent & Felicia taught Latin Technique

In the evening, several local talents performed for the dinner audience. The performance started with a duo dance by Wendy Teh & Tracy, followed by a solo each from Sae Min & Philip Sobrielo and finished off with our team dance comprising of Bronya, Sze Yen, Tracy Ho, Peggy & myself.

With Ivee & Jo Kinser

With Scott Blevins & Bronya

The team: Sze Yen, Tracy Ho, Bronya Bishorek, Peggy Heng & Me

The Team with Ivee.

Ivee participating in the Best Dressed Competition (Country Western division)

Festive Wishes!

To all my Muslim friends and students:

Here's wishing you a

SELAMAT BALIK KAMPUNG

and

SELAMAT HARI RAYA!

Don't forget to bring back some ketupat and rendang for me ah... :-D