A Lazy Sunday Afternoon
I wish the title were true today, but unfortunately I have a number of things to do, including a tuition class, dance practice, and going to pick a fight with Ikea later (more about this later, when the issue has hopefully been resolved).
Anyway, just wanted to write a quick mention here that I have appeared on Soo Hon Wye’s blog!
Who is Soo Hon Wye and is he important? No, he’s not. He’s just a former student of mine starting his own blog. I’m not even mentioned by name. I thought it’s just cute how he had selected a photo with me in it to represent his school days.
By the way, the comment I left on his blogpost was true at the time it was submitted. He changed it accordingly after I pointed out the error.
That's me in Hon Wye's blog post!
Update 6:18pm: Hon Wye added my name in his blogpost after I wrote this post. Thanks, Hon Wye! 
January 3, 2012
Happy 2012!
And yet another year has flown by.
2011 was certainly a good year for me. It’s a year of many firsts for me, and a year of many memories. It was also a year of many tears, because you can never have too many good times without bad times. It’s a balance that’s required – as the Chinese say, the yin and yang.
There are some things too personal that I can’t talk about here on a public page, but I will say that among the many that have happened, there are three things I will definitely remember about the year: (1) I’ve finally managed to buy my own place, (2) I’ve finally broken the ceiling for my individual dance win, and (3) my dearest students.
(1) I will not discuss this at length, because I have no desire to let people know where I stay lest I get stalked O.O But what I WILL say is that it’s so great to finally be able to own my very own place! It’s so fantastic to be able to do it up and decorate it and do things the way *I* want to. It doesn’t have to be perfect, or to be beautiful, as long as it’s my own.
(2) People close to me – and those who read my blog – know that I compete in local dance competitions, but because I’m limited in my dance genre (line dance / jazz dance), I don’t get many chances to compete as I simply cannot afford to travel out of state or the country to be able to compete in other competitions. So I’m usually limited to maybe one or two dance competitions a year. And from the past few years, my highest individual win has always been second place. Even though I’ve won champion before, that was for team events. For the first time, I’ve managed to break that ceiling and obtain first place. And the best part was, I managed to win first place TWICE this year. I don’t mean to boast, but the feeling is indescribable. It feels as if all that hard work for the past eight years has finally paid off. The support that I have received both from friends and audience (whom I don’t even know) has been both humbling and strengthening. I am truly thankful for what I have been given this year.
Champion, baby!
(3) I love my students every year, and I don’t mean to make any of the students from the previous years jealous… but this year, I’ve been rewarded with some really awesome students. I had the opportunity to be the homeroom teacher of two very special classes – 4 Mozart in 2010, whom I also taught in 2011, and 5 Columbus in 2011. I was also fortunate to teach 5 Aristotle and 5 Galileo, and there are certainly some amazing students from all these four classes. But I really have to give a special mention to my homeroom 5 Columbus – you are the most united homeroom that I’ve ever had! My friends tire of hearing me talk about your class incessantly. It was great fun being with you on the class trips and working on class projects and selling twist potatoes with you. I am going to miss each and every one of you dearly! And yes, this also goes out to the students from my other three classes! You are the best batch I’ve ever taught!
5 Columbus 2011
So what’s in 2012 for me?
I don’t know. If I did, I’d be psychic.
What I would like for 2012 is for it to be just as good as, if not better than 2011. I hope my students would be just as awesome as my 2011 students. As for my dance competitions, well… I will just keep working hard and continue to do my best!
There are several other things that are in the works, but I’m not allowed to discuss that until things have been finalised.
I am not going to hope that 2012 is good. I am going to MAKE it good!
Happy 2012, everybody!
Happy 2012!
P/S: I don’t believe that 2012 is the end of the world, no matter what the Mayans said. Besides, even if it is, what I can do about it? I’ll just make the best of every day as long as I can!
The Movie: 2012
August 29, 2011
Malaysian Open Dancefest 2011
The Malaysian Open Dancefest is an event I’ve always looked forward to, eversince it first started in 2009. Sanctioned by the International Dance Organization (IDO), it is one of the biggest multi-genre dance competition in Malaysia, including line dance, belly dance, and street jazz. This year it’s even more exciting with the inclusion of latin and ballroom dance.
I look forward to it not only as an observer, but as a competitor.
This year is the 3rd year MODF is running, and as usual I signed up for as many events as I could cope with. I signed up for the individual belly dance novice open and crystal, and the individual line dance novice open and crystal. I was hoping to be able to do better than my score last year : quarter-finalist for belly dance novice open (after fighting in 2 preliminary rounds), 5th place belly dance novice crystal, and 3rd place in both line dance novice open and crystal.
In case you’re wondering, the term “crystal” is a nice way of describing the age category of 30-45 years in this competition. Hey, *I* like it.
I was getting butterflies in my stomach by Friday (the day before the competition), and I could not wait for the competition to arrive. So… here’s what happened from my point of view when the big day finally came.
BELLY DANCE
The individual belly dance novice open was scheduled to be the opening event of the competition, and given that my tag number was a single digit (#9), I was in the first heat, and I was literally the first dancer to step onto the floor competitively that day.
Belly dancer
I didn’t do so well in belly dance this time, unfortunately. This is probably because the contingent was even bigger – there were almost 60 participants in the belly dance novice open! Out of which only 24 were selected for the semi-finals. It was too tough a fight for me, especially since I don’t even take belly dance lessons. I didn’t get through to the next round, which was the quarter-finals.
For the belly dance novice crystal, it wasn’t easy either as there were more than 20 participants. I literally jumped for joy when I found out that I made it to the semi-finals!
The semi-finals was not an easy round for me; not only because the other participants were talented – which by the way, included one gentleman – but also because I had no breathing time after my line dance novice open preliminary round. It was all I could do to change into a whole different costume, try not to get anything tangled, catch my breath, and run almost straight back onto the floor for the semi-finals.
If I was happy for getting into the semi-finals, imagine how I felt when I found out I made it for the finals!
The finals was held that night, and fortunately I had some time to rest before the night events resumed.
The finals for the belly dance crystal was held almost in the same fashion for me as the semi-finals – straight after my line dance finals, out of one costume into a completely new one, and running almost straight onto the floor again.
Now, for the results : I got 6th placing. I’m quite satisfied with it as the fact I got into the finals already pleased me. It was an honour to dance with such talented belly dancers in the finals, some of whom I know made it to the belly dance novice open category too.
Individual belly dance novice crystal winners
LINE DANCE
The line dance genre also saw greater participation this year compared to last year. And looking at the participants while we were waiting in line to go on the floor, I realised I was one of the oldest (I’ve found out that I AM the oldest. Damn. Now I feel old). Of the 9 dancers competing in the preliminaries, only 2 of us (including myself) were eligible and were going to compete in the line dance novice crystal. I was literally fighting with people half my age, give or take.
I was simply ecstatic when I found out that I was one of the selected 6 to make it to the finals for the line dance novice open!
For those who are unfamiliar with line dance competitions, individual line dance categories have pre-selected songs and choreography, which means that all dancers in the same category must dance the same choreography to the same song. The only thing we can change is the styling (e.g. hand placements). The dances and songs selected for the novice open and crystal were the same: Burlesque, which is a tango piece; and Twist With The Fat Boys, which is a novelty dance. They’re quite tiring dances, especially the second dance. I can tell you from personal experience.
The line dance novice open was scheduled to be the opening event for the night, and I was probably going to be the first competitive dancer to open the competition again. However due to some changes in the day line-ups, we became the second event that night.
Because the line dance novice open finals were held quite early (about 6pm) which was before the dinner was served and before the formalities of speeches and such, the hall was quite empty. And honestly speaking, the few who were already there were not very encouraging as they barely smiled or clapped during the competition, no matter how well the dancers danced. However, I did not let that stop me as I was here to compete, not entertain. I pulled out all the stops and gave the two dances my all.
The line dance novice crystal finals was held a little later, after the formalities and after dinner was served. By then, the hall had already filled up to maximum as all the ticket-holders were already present and were enjoying their dinner, although the temperature in the hall barely rose. Did I mention how cold the hall was? It was freezingly cold!
The line dance novice crystal had five participants and hence was straight to finals, but please don’t think that it made it any easier. The other participants were obviously prepared, with beautiful latin dresses and pretty heels.
Anyway, the audience now were certainly far more encouraging. It always makes it easier for all competitors to do well when they have positive feedback. It was heartwarming to see people smile back when I gave them the “arrogant” nod during the tango (they obviously knew that I was merely in character, and I’m not really a snob). And apparently I shocked a lot of people (in a good way) when I took the long black skirt off after the tango piece and appeared in short little red number for the twist. It surprised me, considering I did the same for the novice open categories, and I wasn’t the only one. It was probably because I was the only one to do so during the crystal finals.
Dancing to "Burlesque"
A complete change of character was necessary for the twist. It was a fun dance, and I certainly had a lot of fun with the dance. I-Vee told me that some of my moves were very cute, and people actually laughed when I executed them. And when she shouted my tag number (in support), they shouted it with her. I made fun faces at the crowd with every move; and many of my friends told me that they loved my facial expressions because they were so fitting with the song and were not at all static.
Doing the hip bump in "Twist With The Fat Boys"
As a competitive dancer, I cannot describe to you how heartwarming it is to have people cheering you on, especially when they don’t even know you and is only probably seeing you for the first time; to see them watching you (instead of watching another dancer) with big smiles on their faces; and to have random strangers stop you after the dance was over and tell you what a great job you did, and that they hope that you win. I experienced it all that night. It is a feeling I will cherish for a very long time.
I hope you don’t think I’m boasting, because I’m not. I did not expect any of that, and when it happened, it was such a pleasant surprise.
I really couldn’t wait for the results, and yet when the prize-giving was finally conducted, I did not want it to happen.
For the line dance novice open, I was hoping (but not expecting) to get a podium finish. And… I did!!! I got 3rd place!!! It was certainly a shock for me, because as I had mentioned earlier, all the other finalists were about half my age!
Individual line dance novice open winners
The biggest and best surprise was yet in wait for me. I was holding my breath when they were announcing the individual line dance novice crystal winners.
Individual line dance novice crystal winners
I was announced as the CHAMPION for the individual line dance novice crystal category!!!
This was the first time I’ve broken that ceiling… all the while the highest I’ve ever gotten was second place as an individual dancer. I’ve gotten first place before in team events, but not for individual events.
I hope this will not be the last time!
Thank you to all the people who have supported me and believed in me all this while! I could not have done it without your support!
Special thanks to I-Vee and Christian for coming to support me at the competition even though I didn’t ask you to.
And my utmost gratitude and appreciation must be given to my sifu who has never given up on me – Bronya Bishorek!
Congratulations to ALL winners of the Malaysian Open Dance Fest! Thank you to the organisers for a job well done!
And… I haven’t told you the kicker yet. I was actually not feeling well throughout the whole competition. I’ve been sick since Monday, and in spite of my efforts, I wasn’t able to recover in time for the competition. In fact, as I’m typing this, I’m still coughing my heart out. So… yes, I’m very proud of what I’ve achieved in the competition.
Here’s a video someone took of the individual novice open finals. I haven’t found a video of the individual novice crystal finals yet. I did buy the competition DVDs that a professional videographer took that night, but I will not upload the videos because that would be copyright infringement.
I’ll post a link if I can find the video of my winning dances! In the meantime, see if you can spot me in the video below. Enjoy!!
May 25, 2011
My Dance Competition in Melaka
Last weekend I took part in a local dance competition organised by the Melaka Tengah Line Dance Association (MLTDA) with Dataran Pahlawan Megamall, Melaka. It was a bit scary because I went down all on my own – without any supporting team including my coach. I did have a friend in Melaka who showed me to the venue – she was the one who told me about the competition.
I didn’t realise how friendly the Melakans were. When I arrived, there were many ladies who recognised me (both from previous competitions as well as from Facebook) and gave me a very warm welcome.
The competition was divided into two age categories : Under-45 and Over-46. I was in the Under-45 category, of course, and unfortunately because the age group was so big, it meant I could even be competing against people half my age. Well, I didn’t, but some of the participants were little more than half my age.
There were nine of us in my category, and we had to dance two dances: In Love, which is a smooth dance to a chacha song, and Fashion, which is a sexy funky dance. Initially the organiser wanted to only have just the one round for both age categories; but the head judge, Alvin insisted there should be a finals round. This is because with that many participants (9 in the Under-45, and 7 in the Over-46), he felt that they would not be able to judge fairly in such a short amount of time.
Dataran Pahlawan is quite a nice shopping mall. The problem is, the venue was in the concourse which was round. For a line dance competition, it is terrible to have to dance in a round venue because line dances are usually danced in a square or rectangular area due to the “wall” concept. Everything was round there – the tiles, the balconies in the higher floors, everything! There was no marking to help the dancers figure out their “walls”.
Given the competition that I had to face, my aim was to get only to the finals. I heard they initially wanted to choose only five, but they chose six – competition must have been that stiff! As they were calling out the numbers, I held my breath while waiting for my number to be called… and when it was, I actually leapt from my seat up, onto the dance floor.
After the competition, I just sat around listlessly waiting for the results. There was social line dancing between the competition, but I didn’t join the dancing because I don’t know any social line dances… I only know the dances needed for a competition.
They announced the results for Over-46 first, and then the Under-45. For this competition they only announced the top 3. When the emcee called my number for third place, I was honestly quite and pleasantly surprised. I didn’t expect it!
Second place went to Cindy Lee, and first place went to Jovial Lim, both from Seremban, and both very deserving wins!
Here are some of the videos uploaded by the lovely ladies who watched and supported us in Melaka.
I’m in the leopard print dress (tag 08), Cindy is in the blue dress (tag 04), and Jovial is in the yellow-green dress (tag 07).
First Round: In Love
First Round: Fashion
Finals: In Love
Finals: Fashion
January 21, 2011
Rocking to a new year!
It’s been three weeks into a new school year, and I’m slowly settling into the school routine. I’ve been assigned to teach four Form 5 classes this time; different from my previous assignments, which have always been a mix of Form 4 and Form 5 classes, except for the one time I was teaching Chemistry to four Form 4 classes. I’m teaching Physics again, which is and always has been my baby.
I was hoping to be the homeroom teacher of the same class again, which was 4 Mozart last year, but alas – they assigned a new class to me (5 Columbus), and I did not teach this class last year, so it’s going to take some time to get to know the students (and their names!). The good news is that they seem to be a pretty cool bunch. More good news is that even though I am not the homeroom teacher of 5 Mozart, but I’m still their Physics teacher, so I can still yell at them hang around them as much as I did last year.
The year ahead looks like it’s going to be a tough one, though, but I’ve got some practice handling it from last year. Last year was riddled with financial setbacks, false lies spread by a former colleague about me to students, and many other personal issues I am not willing to discuss on a public website like this. It wasn’t all bad though. At least I still have my hair and my teeth.
OKOK, it was better than that. I recovered some of my financial losses, and I worked hard to prove that the lies were indeed lies, and managed to overcome quite a number of personal challenges.
This year I’m taking on a number of personal projects, including moving to a new place of my own, and opening my own business. So yes, I’m looking forward to the year of the Rabbit!