On a last-minute decision I decided to go for the Dance Funtasia competition in Penang from 15th to 17th June. The reason it was last-minute was because the entry fee was quite high (RM450 just to get into the door) and any competition fee will be added on. I didn’t have a team to go in with and I was initally going to forgo it altogether. But I was itching to go because I heard Guyton Mundy was going to be there and I totally love his hot moves!!! I met him and his wife three years ago when he was conducting a workshop here in KL and they were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Plus, it was a working weekend which means I’d have to take two days leave (Friday and Saturday). So after tossing about for a bit, I finally decided to go. The organisers kindly agreed to let me have the discounted rate (because after a particular date, I’d have to pay more than the RM450). And I decided to try the choreography competition for fun, sending a dance I co-choreographed with Bronya and Kobee.

The week before the event, however, I found out Guyton had a foot injury and wouldn’t be able to make it. :’( Sob sob… But since I’ve already made the commitment, I was going to go.

I’m really glad I went. Initially I thought for the choreography competition we’d only need to teach the judges the dance, and wouldn’t need to dance it at all, but then I found out each choreographer had to showcase his/her dance to everyone, and I was going to panic because frankly, I wasn’t prepared and I couldn’t really remember the dance steps even though it was my own choreography. But fortunately I managed to pull it off, and not alone as Kobee was on the floor with me. Kobee had also joined the choreography competition (he had decided before I did), and Bronya and I joined him on the dance floor. Bronya sent in two entries but neither of us danced with her as… we hadn’t mastered her dances and we’d have looked like fools on the floor next to her. Haha!!! She’s a born performer anyway and pulled off her own performances beautifully.

Great news is that Bronya won the choreography competition – tied with a Penangite, Wei Chih. Both received invitations to conduct a workshop in a US competition this November (airfare not included though) and to next year’s Funtasia (airfare included). Kobee and I didn’t win, but a lot of people came up to us to tell us they loved the way we danced.

Here are the pictures of us with the judges and workshop instructors. They’re all lovely people.

I’m with Barry and Darri-Anne Amato. Not only are they choreographers, they’re singers and TV producers too.

Bronya and I with Doug and Jackie Miranda. Doug emceed the remaining half of the gala dinner and he’s one of the funniest guys I’ve ever heard speak. Jackie is just this cute, bubbly thing on the floor and in person!

Bronya, Kobee and I with Jo Kinser. She’s so friendly and approachable. Lovely lady.

Definitely going back for Funtasia next year!

I was driving to work this morning when I heard something about a police crackdown on AB Fund (www.abfund.us), and I was like, hey, that’s a familiar name!

A colleague had introduced it to me; it was apparently an investment scheme which you put money into, and they would take the money and invest it in O&G companies. You’re supposed to get back a daily rate of 2-3% for 100 days or something like that.

Curious, I got to school, and I immediately ran on online news search and found the links:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Technology/Malaysia-cracks-down-on-Internet-investment-scams/2007/06/13/1181414327700.html

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=266989

I didn’t sign up for this scheme. Fortunately neither did my colleague herself.

I feel sorry for the people who lost their money.

I was at a brand-new studio in Kota Damansara today, and I must say that there were certain things that caught my eye. Not the floor space; I had already anticipated that after hearing about it. When I saw it, all I kept thinking was, “What a waste!” It could have been split into two smaller studios which would have maximised floor space and classes, and get more profit, too.

But what really caught my eye was the extremely ditzy flyer:

Taken from www.studiow.com.my
(That’s the owner of the studio, by the way)

It sounded so… well, airheaded in a dumb-blonde way. I mean, who wears make-up when they work out?? But I suppose I’m one of the rare few women who work out because of genuine concern for our health and fitness. I’ve seen women at my gym with a full face of make-up and dangling / hoop earrings pretending to make some effort at the machines. They’re just there to pick up guys (and these ladies aren’t all that young either), obviously, and not really concerned about their fitness. Too bad most of the guys at the gyms are gay.

I mean seriously, I wouldn’t sign up at a gym with a flyer like this; but like I said, I’m probably one of the rare few who work out for my own health and fitness.

PLUS, what’s this about “I’m so happy when I found out about Studio W“?? It’s only been completed this week! It hasn’t even officially opened yet!

Still, I have to give it to the owner though; she has really spent some money in the setting up the place. The floors were lovely, the furniture from Ikea, and the flyers and buntings were well-made. (Can’t say the same for certain placemats-on-the-wall though)

This bunting is the first one you see when you enter the studio. I didn’t realise the photo didn’t come out clear; it says “WOW”

The other buntings hung around inside the studio

But this is the bunting that got me really… well, “Ugh!!!”

WAH LAU WEI… Why got this kind of bunting wan??

Have to say that the website’s very well done (her boyfriend and financier is a webdesigner) though. And they’re even coming out with an e-newsletter, which is more than what a lot of studios and gyms offer.

The KL International Dance Festival, organised by The Dance Space and sponsored by many huge corporations including Astro, was held this whole week from 4th to 10th June. The weekdays saw a host of dance workshops for various dance styles including Jazz Funk, Capoeira, Argentine Tango and Shuffle to name a few, and the nights saw performances for said dances. Saturday was the international dance competition for four different divisions which are DanceSport (i.e. ballroom and latin), Middle Eastern (belly dancing), Hip Hop and Shuffle.

I didn’t go for any of the workshops although I had wanted to, and wanted to take advantage of the fact that they were held during the school holidays and I was free to attend. But I didn’t, because (1) I was sick (yet again) and (2) a friend said that they weren’t really worth going for. The dance floor was lovely, without a doubt the best we’ve ever seen; but the dance workshops were not really workshops; rather just classes for the general public who know how to dance as much as an ostrich might. OK, that was rather harsh. I mean they were catered for the public who knew nothing about dancing; and seasoned dancers, regardless of discipline, would find them rather beneath them.

I didn’t want to go all the way there just to be disappointed, so I stayed home catching up on work instead. Geez, how sad is that??

Anyway, I went to the mall today to watch the competition which was held at the concourse for the entire public to see. I was there from 11am (comp was scheduled to start at 10am). First thing I noticed was the unresponsive crowd. The crowds at a tickets-only dance competition are always far more appreciative than the general free-for-all public; I’m guessing it’s because they want to get their money’s worth. Haha!! Seriously, it’s usually because the people who are willing to pay for the tickets are generally dance enthusiasts themselves, or appreciate dancing enough to pay for it; and they can appreciate the hard work and effort the competitors put in on the floor.

It started with ballroom, and I’m not a big fan of ballroom to begin with, but I didn’t see anything worth watching. I’ve been to a few ballroom/latin comps before where there were some ballroom couples who really wowed me. Not this time. I stood there waiting until the next division (Middle Eastern) came on, where there were two levels: Intermediate and Advanced, both of which had three participants each. The participants were required to dance (freestyle) to three pre-selected music, and then on the floor on their own to one own selection. Two of the advanced dancers reused a pre-selected music. Frankly, the only thing interesting on the floor during the division was their costumes. The dancing was, as we would say, syiok sendiri. They danced for themselves.

Then Hip Hop came on. There were only teams for this competition, which including one kiddy team (all under 12) who were so cute, and honestly better than some of the teen teams who competed. This time around, the competition level felt a bit lower than what I’ve previously seen in other hiphop competitions. Quite disappointing. But it might be due to where I was watching, because I was standing on a higher level sort of behind the stage; the speakers were pointed towards the floor, so I was sort of behind the speakers. I wasn’t hearing the best sound that the competitiors were hearing, and so not quite able to get into the groove the competitors were trying to draw us in.

Then Shuffle came on, and honestly, I’ve no idea what shuffling is about. My friends tell me that it’s just a dance move, and it’s not a dance discipline so to speak. So all we saw were teams doing their own thing but the similarity they all share is their footwork. I only stayed to watch three and half teams before I dragged my friends (Andrea, who was supposed to meet me at 11 but only came at 1; and Kobee who came a little after Andrea) away for lunch. I had been standing at the same spot from 11 to 3! I didn’t even go on a washroom break!

Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s fantastic that dance festivals like these are organised, to cater to different dance styles, and giving opportunity to dancers everywhere to compete in. This is the first Malaysian belly dance competition, as well as the first Malaysian shuffle competition. It’s also great that dance workshops are conducted for free to the public. It’s just disappointing that the level of competition is not as high as befits a KL International Dance Festival.

Still, I applaud The Dance Space for successfully organising a dance festival on a monumental scale as this!

One of the songs that currently gets lots of airplay on the radio as well as on MTV is Rihanna’s Umbrella… and while I don’t really mind the song (it’s pretty catchy), I really hate the music video. It’s enough to turn me off the song as well. The song lyrics imply friendship and being there for your friend, but all the video shows her strutting around in kinky leather and lace flourishing an umbrella. I don’t find her sexy (but then I’m not a man) and she can’t dance to save her life; all she does is stand in poses to show off her curves and shakes her little booty from time to time.

I suppose the video was designed to capture the young hot-blooded males who don’t care about quality music or videos, and just want to watch as much near-porn on the telly as possible. That’s what Rihanna does mostly; strut and show her stuff. Her Unfaithful video showed her all over the piano.

That’s the latest trend, isn’t it? All the young supposed up-and-coming singers are only selling sex and not music.

Whatever happened to creativity and real talent?