New Ballet Diagnosis Discovered.

After almost an hour of pointe work, the 'special' students of Premier Dance Academy has discovered a common visible, energy-draining side effect to the Medulla Oblongata.



The dialysis is called Post-Pointe Syndrome (PPS). The symptoms include:


~Weak and shaky leg muscles
~Temporary (or permanent) insanity [varies in different people]
~Excessive laughter for no apparent reason
~Blurting out random phrases/words
~Loss of energy and/or enthusiasm
~The Leaning Tower of Pisa Effect; in other words, slant-walking (due to imbalance of toes)
~The ability to do double pirouettes and fouettes (applies to penguins only)


Symptoms may vary in individuals depending how serious the PPS is.


One of the reasons for PPS is the excessive weight one's toes would have to bear. Straining (especially placing your body's weight purely on your toes) in general strains the brain, thus triggering these side effects.


(Are we geniuses or what? xD)


That is all.

Gino Speak Thai.

Yup.
Lo and behold, Not only does he speak Japanese, Chinese, English, Malay and Portuguese (VERY little Japanese, Chinese and Malay though, xD), turns out he speaks Thai too, as we found out today.


.....
....
...
..
.


Ok fine, so he doesn't speak proper Thai.
He speaks Gibberish Thai. xD
It's composed of random Thai-sounding mumblings to make it sound as if he's speaking Thai. I wonder what Nickhun would think if he heard the gibberish coming out of that old man's mouth. xDD
Probably facepalm silently. xD


For the most part though, the fashion in which he dragged pronunciations at the end of the sentence had Lika and I cracking up like mad.
So no surprises there when I laughed till my tears came out.


As if that wasn't enough, Lika began speaking in Japanese to Michelle all of a sudden, leaving poor Michelle confused.
But then again, all Lika ever said was 'お元気ですか?' and 'わかりません' (which she translated to "Wah, kari masin~" xD) and that was with help too. Lol. x]
Of course, I just had to turn the poor, innocent sentence ('お元気ですか?') into something.. Not so innocent. orgasm desu ka? xDD


And then, history also repeats itself, like how it does everytime a new Grade 6 enters the picture.
The scarf dances.
The students would at least have to get a good scolding every now and then, and this time was not different.
Oh, and I had to fetch Ashley at the beach halfway through ballet (during Intermediate), because mum was asleep. =_=
On the plus side, Lika hopped on my car as well and bought McDonalds as I waited for Ashley.


This entry will be a short one; it's already almost 6am, and I've got class in around 3 hour's time. >_>

Another Lazy Post.

I really, really should be researching the Bridal Fair event and writing my report instead of blogging. Seriously.

But the 'power' of blogging can just be too darned tempting. >_<


I would have updated yesterday, but as I was prone to doing, I got so sleepy that I slept in front of my laptop, and when I woke up (which was around 2AM[FTW! xD] something), I felt too lazy to update. It's a 'virus' I've been having lately; lazy.
And I know as well as everyone else that I really shouldn't. >_>


Yesterday, though, Lika had conveniently forgotten to tell me that Gino wouldn't be here this week. Sick again, it seems.
I suspected that much when I was greeted with darkness and desertion in the studio as I went up.
My first guess was that Gino and Lika might be at Snipx buying dog food for Gino's dog. But then common sense hit me and I realised that if they had gone down to Snipx, I was sure either of them wouldn't need to turn off the entire studio's electricity; and then there's the other logic that he could've asked Lika to go down for him.


Which just proves how smart my 'in-the-moment' intuition can be. 


When I called Lika for clarification and asked where she was, my final guess was confirmed. Gino had called in sick and was not coming this week. When I complained that she hadn't told me, she replied with a  "I thought you knew? I posted it in Facebook!"


Uh, ohkayy, Lika. 


Then during her class, Bethany told us something about a sort of live comedy skit (of some sort, I think?) in Scotland involving a few men wearing kilts, then tearing them off one another only to reveal their British Flag-printed undies. xD


One thing we (Lika & I) like to do in class though, is twist the pronunciation of the ballet terms. Because the terms are in French, the pronunciation can be totally different from the spelling. For example, Pas De Chat is pronounced 'Pa-The-Sha'. But we like to pronounce it as the spelling suggests.
So during Grade 3, Lika had one of those moments and asked the students to do 'pass-the-chart'.
The 'senior' students (aka Joe Yee, Jean, etc) were used to Lika's pronunciation by now and went to places almost lazily, while the newer ones (Misaki, Cassandra & Michelle) looked at each other in confusion and asked, puzzled; "... Pass the chart? (or, as Misaki heard it, "Pass the tart.")"
And it cracked Lika up so much that she began mumbling other mispronunciations and laughing so hard, her face turned red, in turn cracking ME up.
The students (the new 'uns, I mean) probably thought she had gone crazy. I had thought that I saw their faces, although smiling, showed a little concern in it for her sanity. xD


But we had the most laughs during Primary. In fact, everyone was more cheerful and less stressed when Gino isn't around, even if he's joking and all.




And then today, I went to the studio after going to the office (in which, not long after arriving at the studio, I realised that I had only put the pictures in the folder and completely forgotten to send it in; which was the main reason I went to the office in the first place), so I was clad in my Jefferson shirt and jeans.

(OH, and did I mention I got my 2PM 1:59PM CD today? [Ok, technically it was yesterday, since it's waaayyy past 12am now, lol, but still.] *squee* xD)

 Yup, that's my man Jjit-Taec over there. xDD

 The boy abused the 'ㅋㅋㅋ' and '하하하' characters in his Thank You speech. Oh Chansung.. xD

The drillings in the next building almost drove me to insanity; I swear I could've screamed in frustration. You couldn't hear anything else; just the loud drilling and the occasional vibration.
You couldn't even hear what the other person was saying; it was like being at a rock concert or something, only more... annoying. 


Thankfully, they had to stop at around 6pm, so we had peace then.
We did have fun and all, especially with Penguin as always, though she stayed until quite late today. She was still here when Grade 4 started, but she went back not long after.
We spent the entire Grade 7 class talking, mostly to Tze Ping about her ballet Grades, because she said she wanted to do Advanced 1 with us too.
It started when Lika asked her if she could come for extra class, since it's the holidays (She's taking her SPM, but still) and she should be able to come for more than one class.


But what was really surprising was that the atmosphere during Grade 4 wasn't as glum as it normally was.
Lika was cheerful towards them today and didn't pick (I mean correct, xD) on En Yi as much as she normally does.


That being said, I'd better hit the sack, otherwise I'd look like a zombie (2PMMMMMM~! xD).
Without makeup. 

An Awesome Show

Ok, I admit; I truthfully hadn't been looking forward to this performance at first.

Why?
Well it's kinda hard to put the many complicated thoughts I had into words. Something that I would rather not mention here, just in case.

Firstly, on the day before the performance, we had a practise.
Poor Dhivya, who was pulled into this by my sister, had to learn all 3 dances in one day. *A* Kudos to her, lol.
It was probably the longest I've ever done for a practise: 6 hours. (Or wait.. Wasn't last year's concert rehearsal longer? I dunno, I can't remember..)
Whatever it was, my limbs/ligaments/muscles didn't really ache (save for the joint ache in my right leg) until I got home, and later on.
I couldn't fold my leg and sit without having to lower my right leg slowly to the ground.

Then there was the outfit issue.
See, this is what happens when you're fat in all the wrong places. It becomes a tedious thing to find a pair of clothes that matches. >_>

Also, we had practise again the next day, but spent it mostly discussing the poses at the end. To much hilarity. On Edmund's part, at least. xD
We had fun trying out different (and mostly) ridiculous poses, though we did end up choosing the proper ones. x]
It was probably the most fun I've had in a while. ^^

We bathed in the studio too, for the first time. So yeah, that means we brought all our stuff there.
Ashley and I ended up using none of the outfits we brought; we ended up lending Ella's.
Dhivya did lend Ella's too, but she mixed and matched with her own as well.
After that, we got to applying makeup. And we went in one car (Edmund's Honda) so it would be more convenient, and so Ashley could braid Ella's hair for her. ^^

The butterflies didn't really catch up with me until after we arrived at Mega and went to the stage. Knowing that our performance was inching closer as the singers went on made me even more nervous, like it was taunting me or something.
But I reminded myself of my love to perform, and told myself that I knew I wouldn't regret it once I was on stage.

And I was right.

The moment I stepped on the stage (and seeing that I was the first one to go on stage as well), all the butterflies had flown away, and only adrenaline rush filled me.
I had a blast dancing up there; all my doubts previously blown by the wind.
Though I did remember feeling the teeniest bit a little sick after the first song... Must be the leftover nerves. xD

Anyhow, I enjoyed myself tremendously on stage.
And after the performance, everyone was all smiles.
Nearly all of us had slight mistakes at one point, but we never dwelled on that or gave ourselves a hard time about it.
Stuff like that happens.
Oh, and we were sweating like hell too. Who knew 3 songs would have the ability to make us sweat that much?

Edmund had asked one of their Aikido students to record the whole thing, so yeah, if it is ever posted on Facebook, I'll update this entry, together with the other pictures too. ^^

Anyways after that, we decided to have dinner. Both Edmund and Ella treated Dhivya, Ashley and I (and of course Shikin) to dinner at K & Y.
Seriously, they're both too nice. *_*

By the end of the day, I'd like to think that our friendship blossomed.
We hung out in the studio for a while, chatting and watching the video that said Aikido student took, and laughing about out mistakes and SugarHigh!Edmund.
We even talked about spending a night in the studio one day, for a group sleepover.
I can only imagine the chaos that would happen. xD

So all in all, it was a great experience. We were all so hyped up after the performance (though no one could beat the sugar high kid^^), and even more so after we went back to the studio.
Well, Dhivya and Ashley, for the most part. xD

Pre-performance pic:




The videos that my mum took of the performance:


Jai Ho


She Wolf & Gata Brasilera


I'm starting to love Zumba now. =]

Thursdays Have Officially Been Deemed 'Penguin Day'.

Today had probably the nicest weather I could ever ask for.
It was raining the whole damn day.
And if what Lika said was anything to live by, that for these 5 days it's gonna rain non-stop, then well.. Guess who's gonna pig up on sleep?
If I had nothing to do the entire day, I would've been a huge couch bed potato and laze around in my room the whole day, eyes glued to my laptop screen.


If I had had to wake up for anything else other than ballet, I would've been either slightly grumpy or hypnotized by the welcoming view of my bed.


Yes, I'm even more lazy in cold weather, but so are you. (And don't you lie!)
So don't go telling me what a lazy ass I am.


Anyway, I was late for class in the evening (morning classes are usually uneventful; it's the afternoon classes that pack some laughter).
No, I wasn't sleeping.
Really.
I just.. Lost track of time. xD


Ahem. Back to the story.
So seeing as the weather was cold (it's almost 1am and I still haven't turned on the air conditioner; can you believe it? xD) and my hair still wet from shower, I danced without tying my hair, and never broke a sweat.
Normally, I would've been perspiring by then.


Kathrina 'delighted' us with her penguin-y (word created courtesy of Lixian.. I think) ways again, because I never knew there was a penguin version for Sissonne and.. Petit Allegro, I think?


So you guessed it, Lixian came today, after what feels like lightyears of her dissapearance.
Gino called her..- uh, better not mention it here, for PG rating's sake.
And during Grade 7, Kathrina danced along with Lixian and Tze Ping.

What a clever little penguin.

This time, with Jovian, doing Triple Runs.

Also, a video of said exercise:



That is all.

Can't Say I Didn't See This Coming...

I mean, after all, I was already kinda sore from Zumba yesterday, plus ballet again today, tomorrow morning AND afternoon, then Zumba again on Friday.
There goes my limbs, I tell ya. xD


First there was our Advanced 1 class at 3pm, then we danced Grade 3 with Bethany 'so she wouldn't feel alone', according to Gino.
After that, we danced Grade 6 with Jermaine, Wan Hui and Sharnita.
Tomorrow, I have Adv 1 in the morning and again around evening, then Grade 5, which thankfully, I sit out most of the time (Guiltily grins at Lika), and then Grade 7.
Which I know for a fact that we'd have to dance with them.
Oh, and then there's Grade 4 after that too, by which just looking at them drains your energy.
Seriously. It's either some Feng Shui thingy or the aura. xD


But today was a fairly good day.. Gino made his 'comeback' after 2 weeks of serious food poisoning.
After Bethany's class, her younger siblings Ben and Rose hung out in the studio while Gino was talking to Ruth.
Lika showed off asked Rose to hug and kiss her, which Rose did. She's adorable.^^
Rose, I mean. Rose is adorable. Lika is not. xDD
Lika then asked Rose to hug and kiss me, but I got rejected. Dx
Not long after that, though, Rose gave in and hugged and kissed me.^^ No idea if she was persuaded into doing it, though. xp


I was told something shocking during Grade 3 though.
Misaki had a hole in her heart when she was a baby, and had to undergo multiple surgeries for it! O_O
I never would have guessed, looking at her today. Just makes you feel thankful that everything went well, doesn't it?


And I think, though, that amongst Lika's students that come to this studio for double class, Primary (Gina, Esther, Yen Min, Irene) is probably the most well-organized. Maybe it's because they're bigger girls than the pre-primary, and well, Kathrina and Kai Hong is a definite exception. xD


And it was during Primary that I realised; my dance blog has been rather.. picture/video deprived lately.
It's been a while since I took a picture or video of a class and posted it up here. About time I got some fresh resources. I'll try to get some tomorrow. ;D


Yeah, well, I can hear crickets starting to sing in my brain now. Best stop here before I ramble on about totally irrelevant stuff. xD

Genee

Just because I felt stupid for not posting this together with my Genee entry.

The Genee ticket stub.

Now I gotta find a container or something to keep all my memorable ticket stubs.
... Which reminds me.. Now where did I put my My Fair Lady, Chicago, & Beauty And The Beast Musical ticket stubs?

*Facepalms* 

Yeah, well, celebrate my stupidity, why don't you? Dx


On another note.. The Genee International Ballet Competition 2010 will be held in London. *_______*
Anyone wanna sponsor me? xD


Uh, ok.. I'll just.. Ping off now. xD

Here's to Happiness, & Everything That Goes With Dance.

Well I couldn't think of a better title. >_<


So something made me take my time today, as in to get ready and stuff. Because everytime I go around 4, Gino would be surely talking to Lika about her orders and whatnot for her students.
So instead, I went to the studio at about 4.30pm.
And when I looked in the studio, I saw Lika sitting on the chair at the teacher's table, and as I went in, she announced that he wasn't here.


And I was already clad in leotards and tights.
Oh well.


She was teaching Jian Yee and Betthany's Grade 3 class, so we just mostly sat and chatted.
It wasn't until Intermediate that we started having fun.


Out of the blue, Seow Hui started dancing and singing (though mumbling most of it,) to 'Nobody' by the Wonder Girls. The Korean version, I might add.


Behold the power of Kpop.


xD


She said her cousin had taught her, saying that she HAD to learn it, because almost everyone knew the dance. xD
Well, JYP, I guess you did one thing right there. xD


And then Lika suggested we do that dance, wearing fishnet stockings, collared corset and a top hat, for her (still unconfirmed) mini-concert next year.
I'm not really digging the fishnet stockings idea, though. xD


I wish I could've stayed until all the classes were over, but I promised Ann I would see Jennifer's Body with her tonight, so I had to leave early.
I'll write a mini excerpt from that in my Strawberried.info site ^^.

It's Official.

Katrina is one hell of a mood maker. xD
What was once glum immediately liftens up with her presence. She should 'join' MUEC (Magarita University of Excessive Crap), she'd be an honours' student. xD


Also, due to the Grade 5 'virus', a skid (which involved barre-grabbing due to almost 'overshooting' the mark, courtesy of Lika) was 'added' in the Character Dance.
Why is it that we always tend to mess up the silliest things during Grade 5 (and cause a racket)??
Oh yeah, the virus. xD


Li Xian came for Grade 7 today, but ended up sitting out for most of it.
Though, I managed to have a short chat with her after her class.. It's always nice to talk to her, she laughs easily. xD


Not much of a story this time, but sometimes short is better, no? ^^

Nothing New, But..

Today was a mentally and emotionally exhausting day for me, and I can imagine that it is even more so for Lika.

If you're gonna ask someone to do your dirty work for you, at least give that person some credit. Hogging all the praise and only handing over the negatives are not mature at all.
I have never mentioned anything before, but really, it's getting too much.

To have a student be cut from another person's registrar and into yours? Tell me how that sounds fair, especially when the parent went to the other studio instead?
If you can't get the kind of student or recognition you want, at least have a little responsibility in it, and have some pride in you and don't steal someone else's student. That's just wrong in so many ways.

You say you're horrible with money.
Well, either you're just extremely forgetful almost to the point of Alzheimer's, or that statement was a lie.
Try to understand the other person's situation. How would you have felt if you were in that person's shoes?
You do, you say. That's why you're more lenient with the fees of some students, you claim.
But that's just it. You're only so; slightly, I might add, with the students.
Students whom you know are having their parents pay their fees for them. Parents, whom you can't twist around your finger.

We are not ungrateful. We are well aware of the things you have taught us, the dedication you put in your work.
But.. enough is enough.

Hornbills, Penguins, Dead Ducks.. What's next??

It doesn't sound as horrible as it looks, trust me. xD

1. First, it was the ultimate 'Dead Duck' Dance, a.k.a Grade 7's Port De Bras, created by yours truly and THE ultimate partner in crime.
   
2. Then, it was Sayaka and her 'Hornbill' Dance.
3. Today, 2 new revolutionary dances were created by our very own protege.

The first, the 'process' of the death of the poor(tortured) duck mentioned in (1.) through the dance.

For the next piece of genius, I give you the equation of:

Kathrina + Holubetz = Kathrina(Penguin) x Genius originality²

                                ___________________________________

                                                 Crazy creativity

                            

                              = The Happy Penguin Dance.

That is all.

Mr Sandman is Beckoning Me...

I feel So.Freaking.Poofed right now.
Lika and I had to dance Grade 6 AND 7, to teach the girls. (And danced Grade 6 in an almost sauna-ish atmosphere; thank you, faulty air cond.)
And to top it off, I wasn't able to have a good night's sleep last night, for some reason.

All that, plus another water shortage is really doing me in.
To save water, I was bent over for about 15-20 minutes to wash my hair in the kitchen sink, then waddle to the bathroom downstairs to clean the rest of me.
(Just picture it: For once, the smell of Dove shampoo and not food, coming from the kitchen. Enter kitchen, see an akward figure, doubled up in the sink in an even more akward position, water splashed all over sink and table.)
So thanks to that, I officially have somewhat of a stiff neck now.

I didn't feel the pinch until I got back and had dinner, which was around.. 11 something, maybe?
But by then I felt like a bear wanting to hibernate or something.. Seriously, I felt so heavy and sleepy.. NOT good.

And then there's tomorrow morning, where I have to go to my old school (Afzan) for them to 'certify' my photostated copies of my SPM certs and whatnot, for my uni application.
I really hope I get it.. Wish me luck! ^^

Last Minute-ish Ms Chua Class

Ok, so today wasn't too bad.

I've experienced worse. xD

Class was meant to start at 2pm (2PM, jjang~ xD), but it started 15 minutes later.
And it did a lot of difference.
Within 15 minutes with Ms Chua, we could've already done half (or more) of barre work. So yeah, 15 minutes is precious. xD


The only thing I curse is that Ms Chua's class, twice already, had to fall on the day which was 'not my time of month', if you get my drift.
Yes, I got the dizzy spells again, and it seemed I need more iron.
Thankfully it wasn't as bad as before.


But for the most part of our class this time (which was about almost 30 minutes of our 2 1/2 hour class), we spent discussing things like our techniques and how to strengthen and improve them.
We also chatted a little about the Genee, and a tiny (not so tiny, actually) problem regarding the new Pre-Primary and Primary syllabus thingamajig.
The more senior dancers would probably get what I mean.


At the end of the class, the 3 of us discussed phones for a while before the Grade 3 class started, and Ms Chua left not long after.
As Michelle (or Couper, [not Miss Couper, just Couper] as Lika liked to call her,) came in the class, I casually asked if she missed me.
She said yes, and to my surprise, she hugged me. =B


Then came Grade 5, and Sayaka confessed to me that she hadn't practised her 'Hornbill'.
I stopped, looked at her with raised eyebrows, and repeated, "Hornbill?"
She went on to ramble about it, showing me the steps, when I stopped her and asked, "Do you mean Holubetz?"
That was it. The entire class burst into fits of laughter.
And as of today, Holubetz will be officially known as Sayaka's Hornbill Dance. xD



About nearly 5 hours later (almost 1am; now, to be exact), my brain is so exhausted and foggy I can't think straight.
Which explains this (rather) short post.


And I think I feel a cramp coming on too..
Damn.

Carmina Burana

If you haven't already figured out, I tend to be extremely bad/slow at catching up with things; terribly so, in fact.
So is it any wonder that I've only grown to completely understand and relish the meaning behind the song recently?

I first got to know about this song through some car commercial some lightyears ago.
I loved how that song got my pulse racing for some reason; and gave me an adrenaline rush.
But all those times, I never knew the title of the song, nor the composer.


Then 11 years ago, I heard that song again.
It was used for one of our (ok, not mine, technically,) ballet concert recitals; Min Li's group.
I fell in love with the song again when I saw the dancers dancing to that song (thanks to dad, I still have it on tape ^^), and at one point, even tried ashamedly to learn the steps from watching the taped video.
And failed, of course. >_<
But I was only 10 then, and had little to no 'computer time', so yet again, I never got to look it up.


It was only a few years ago that I learnt the name and composer of the song, and downloaded it.
But I still had no clue of the meaning.
Until very early this morning.


I was in the 'Classical' mood, listening to S.E.N.S' songs (a Japanese new age instrumental group formed in 1988, and stands for 'Sound, Earth, Nature, and Spirit'), and decided to look up for the translations online.




Here's the lyrics - and translation, in case you too, like me, never knew the meaning of this piece of work before this. 

FORTUNA IMPERATRIX MUNDI

1. O Fortuna (Chorus) (O Fortune)

O Fortuna	O Fortune,
velut luna	like the moon
statu variabilis,	you are changeable,
semper crescis	ever waxing
aut decrescis;	and waning;
vita detestabilis	hateful life
nunc obdurat	first oppresses
et tunc curat	and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem,	as fancy takes it;
egestatem,	poverty
potestatem	and power
dissolvit ut glaciem.	it melts them like ice.
Sors immanis	Fate - monstrous
et inanis,	and empty,
rota tu volubilis,	you whirling wheel,
status malus,	you are malevolent,
vana salus	well-being is vain
semper dissolubilis,	and always fades to nothing,
obumbrata	shadowed
et velata	and veiled
michi quoque niteris;	you plague me too;
nunc per ludum	now through the game
dorsum nudum	I bring my bare back
fero tui sceleris.	to your villainy.
Sors salutis	Fate is against me
et virtutis	in health
michi nunc contraria,	and virtue,
est affectus	driven on
et defectus	and weighted down,
semper in angaria.	always enslaved.
Hac in hora	So at this hour
sine mora	without delay
corde pulsum tangite;	pluck the vibrating strings;
quod per sortem	since Fate
sternit fortem,	strikes down the strong man,
mecum omnes plangite!	everyone weep with me!

2. Fortune plango vulnera (I bemoan the wounds of Fortune)

Fortune plango vulnera	I bemoan the wounds of Fortune
stillantibus ocellis	with weeping eyes,
quod sua michi munera	for the gifts she made me
subtrahit rebellis.	she perversely takes away.
Verum est, quod legitur,	It is written in truth,
fronte capillata,	that she has a fine head of hair,
sed plerumque sequitur	but, when it comes to seizing an opportunity
Occasio calvata.	she is bald.
In Fortune solio	On Fortune's throne
sederam elatus,	I used to sit raised up,
prosperitatis vario	crowned with
flore coronatus;	the many-coloured flowers of prosperity;
quicquid enim florui	though I may have flourished
felix et beatus,	happy and blessed,
nunc a summo corrui	now I fall from the peak
gloria privatus.	deprived of glory.
Fortune rota volvitur:	The wheel of Fortune turns;
descendo minoratus;	I go down, demeaned;
alter in altum tollitur;	another is raised up;
nimis exaltatus	far too high up
rex sedet in vertice	sits the king at the summit -
caveat ruinam!	let him fear ruin!
nam sub axe legimus	for under the axis is written
Hecubam reginam.	Queen Hecuba.

Wow.

Now that was deep.

My First 'Review'? ^_____^

*Bounces in seat excitedly*
So, my first informal 'review'.
After all, if you've been reading my previous entries, you would know that the term 'formal' doesn't really tally with my blogposts.

SO...~!
Who's interested to hear me blab?
*Looks*
No one?
Oh well. I'll blab anyway. *grin*

It is times like these that I thank my job for enabling me to grab opportunities like these.
And also to my boss, who, in this case, gave me this assignment because he knew I was interested in Performing Arts. ^^

To be honest, I never really knew who the Footstool Players were before this, and if it's one thing I regret, it's this.
I must admit I was rather skeptical when I heard that they won an award. Not to be 'countryist' or anything (my term of 'racist' in the country form), but in my opinion, most (though not all) Malaysian productions seem a bit.. lacking, most of the time.
Maybe it's due to the fact that I've watched too many internationally acclaimed plays that I've grown unappreciative of our local plays.
Whatever the reason may be, I realise that more often than not, it is of my own doing.

The second thing I thought of was what a weird name 'Footstool Players' was.
Other people, whom I told about this play, would first either ask or exclaim "When did you like football?", "Yeah, I know futsal's great," or something along those lines.
I had to refrain from rolling my eyes, before reminding them that it was Footstool Players, not Football Players or Futsal Players.
Of course, I didn't know what it meant either, since I'm a Buddhist; though closer to a free thinker, to be exact.
But I decided to give it a go anyways.
What have I got to lose?

I arrived at Kuantan Chapel, and already, I started noticing a few familiar faces.
Well, I guess that ruled out the usual dread of being all alone in an event. ^^
I sat next to Erina and Burney in the.. 4th row, I think, and waited patiently for the play to begin.
The church was small but had a homey feeling to it; and the stage, even smaller.
I remembered wondering how the Footstool Players would be able to perform using such small space.
Because for the two years that I participated in my school's drama, we did complain about the size of our school's stage, though it was much bigger than this.

 Be Real, the first sketch in the first act.

Before the play began, Ann gave a sort of welcome-cum-regulation speech, and from then on, I began to feel less skeptical about the play I was about to witness.
Ann was funny and witty, and immensely friendly with the audience.
And then the play began.

The first few acts were nothing short of funny, and I remembered comfortably enjoying the show, and slowly began my admiration for these actors.
I found myself relating to the skit titled 'Whatever', which, as it's title suggests, revolves around a couple's indecision to do something.
It kinda reminds me of Ashley and I whenever we had to make a decision on where to eat, whenever we were about to go out for a meal. xD

Although ALL (and I mean all) the acts were performed unbelievably well, the one that stood out most for me was 'Word Picture'.
Sure, I've said that the climax of the Beauty & The Beast musical in KL almost moved me to tears, but that was different.
The acting was so intense, so emotional, that I couldn't help admiring the two actors (Adrene and Soon Wei) for putting up such a front.
My eyes were almost out of their sockets; my heart beating like I've just ran a mile.
Adrene's desperate pleas and Soon Wei's roar of anger almost brought me to tears, but of course, I held it in.

Because I'm a wimp that can't shout like that for the life of me without bursting into tears. >.<

 'Word Picture'

By the end of the entire play, I felt a newfound respect for the actors. With me, whenever I watch a movie or play, I would sometimes imagine myself as one of the characters and think "Hmm, I can do that," or "It would be interesting to play that character, since it's the total opposite of me," . But after watching Crazy Little Thing Called Love, not once (okay, so maybe there was a thought here and there in the more humourous acts... xD) did I imagine myself to be able to act out those roles.
They were so emotionally powerful, so heart wrenching, that it would take me ages to put forth emotions like that, if I ever did challenge myself to it.
To be able to switch emotions just like that, and slip in and out of a character so easily, now THAT's a true actor.

I've never questioned myself at being a dancer - I know for sure that it's what I want to do forever, no matter what kind of dance it may be.
But I'm now starting to question my potentials in acting.
The wimp side of me is wondering if I'll ever be that good, and to be that courageous to get so into character, as if it was a second skin.
But the other part of me is determined that I must try harder, to strive to at least reach their level in acting.

'Impasse'

'Billy'

I've never been so glad to be proved wrong from my misconception before.
And as I interviewed them after the performance, I found they were all a sporting bunch.
Sean was literally as hilarious as the character he plays, Colin is probably a genius for coming up with ideas for plays such as these (and equally humourous, though in my opinion he had the kind of fatherly aura about him too, like he was the father and took care of all his 'kids' in the team), Adrene, Ann and Linora were so sisterly and funny, it was as if they were real sisters. Soon Wei, though not as dorky as his character in 'Be Real' nor as fierce as his character in 'Word Picture', was funny in his own way.

After I finished interviewing them, they decided to team up, (Colin and Ann excluded) turn the tables around and throw the same questions at me that I gave them, namely;

"How do you prepare yourself before an interview?"
"Don't worry, it's all easy questions."
"Are there any special preparations you do before you write a report?"

xDD

Too bad it was their last performance, I would have really loved to see these bunch of people again in the future.^^

The awesome gang, and a performance I'll never forget.^^

Sean(back row, left of all) and (anti-clockwise from Sean) Colin, Soon Wei, Ann (Red shirt), Adrene and Linora, with the crew of FP.

<$BlogFeedsVertical$>

Once a late bloomer, always a late bloomer. Dx

Isn't it pathetic and sad how after almost 15 years of ballet, I'm only starting to take splits seriously NOW?

Chaos & Hot Air Do NOT Go Well Together.

~Jinhyun says:

So I had to teach the classes today - Lika was busy.
To be honest,

Rainy weather + me = LAZY.

But yeah, I dragged my ass up the studio for my own good. xD
Thankfully, there was only 3 classes today.

Genee International Ballet Competition 2009

Wow, it's been quite an experience, I'll tell ya that.
To be honest, I hadn't really expected it to be how it was.
I'll get to the details as I go along.


SO.

Day 1 [12/09.09]

Let's start off from the bus trip to Johor Bahru.
I had woken up at 6am on Friday morning, and I couldn't (and hadn't) had the time for a nap before the 12am trip, so it's pretty reasonable to say that Lika and I were practically out cold the entire time in the bus.
I have never slept that long in a bus throughout my entire bus-riding history.
Ever.

We were expected to arrive at JB at around 6am, but seeing as the bus driver was probably in the F1 mood, we arrived a good 2 hours earlier.
The bus station was almost deserted, save the few other bus passengers and workers there. To be honest, if you had an overactive imagination, it could've looked like a horror movie waiting to happen.
But we were too tired for our minds to even go there, thank goodness.
Normally, when I 'wake up' from my naps in buses, I don't get that fatigued feeling like when I normally wake up from sleep at home, because I would just 'rest' in the bust and not really fall into (deep) sleep.
But this time, it felt as if I had woken up from a short nap. My voice was even a little hoarse from it.

The thing that was of no surprise/was expected though, was the temperature of the bus.
As usual, it was freezing, although I had my jacket on and even put on socks because my feet was turning to ice.
Literally.

Anyways, back to JB.

Seeing as we were still a little foggy from sleep, we only had a cup of warm Milo at one of the mamak stalls there.
After that, we searched for the 'CW2' bus that we were supposed to go on to go to Singapore. Alas, we couldn't find a CW2. So instead, we found another bus (JE) that would be going to Singapore all the same.

By the time we got on the bus, ready to leave for Singapore, we were both wide awake.
Probably due to excitement more than anything, though. xD

We had to go through 2 customs, and thankfully, a Malay lady we met on the bus was so nice and kind as to help us through the customs' process.
It was really thanks to her that we even managed to get everything done correctly.

When we got out from the 2nd customs, it was only a few minutes ride in the bus before we arrived in Singapore, something that quite surprised me, as I heard that it would take about an hour from JB to Singapore.
Minus the customs and all, I think the entire bus trip took less than an hour, and we arrived in Singapore at about 8am.
So yeah, we were off to a pretty good start.

Upon descending the bus, Lika whipped out Singapore's map and we went on our way to find our hostel accommodation (G4 Station) at McKenzie Road.
We walked along pathways and streets, occasionally glancing at the map at hand, and passed Victoria Street and Ophir Road. However, still no McKenzie.
I had to rely solely on Lika's sense of direction, as anyone who's ever known me will know better than to trust me with directions, especially in a foreign country. >_>
Plus, I haven't been to Singapore in.. what, nearly 10 years now?

After walking for a while, and came to what we proclaimed looked like a dead end, we fished out the map again, only to find that we were in fact, further from our desired destination now.

So with a sheepish sigh, we folded up the map, acknowledged our inability to do something as simple as read a darned map, and went back to where we came from.

And hailed a taxi instead. Dx

The taxi could only send us to a particular junction, because the driver would have to make a big round to get to the other side, and that meant more fee.
So we thanked the driver, paid him, and got walking again.
Thankfully, the hostel was just right up front, and even us, the map-disabled, could not miss it.

Relief flooded us as we approached the hostel, newfound energy sweeping us.
As we arrived at the hostel, I was pretty surprised to see it 'run' completely by youngsters, probably in their twenties.
But that surprise didn't last long; it was quickly replaced by the same relief from earlier.
So we checked in, but the occupants from the room that was supposed to be ours hadn't checked out yet, so we had to wait.
The receptionist, a young girl, suggested we put our bags in a room in front of the reception desk, and to go have a bite to eat or use the internet while waiting.
And I must say, all the staff there were very nice and friendly. ^^
But best of all, they spoke good English.

Lika and I decided to go to a 7/11 nearby and purchase a Singaporean sim card, seeing as our phones didn't work when we tried them in the bus earlier.
The shoplots on that row were pretty small and narrow, so I was pretty psyched at what I saw in the fridge.





It looked SO.GOOD. *______*
Too bad I never really got around to buying it.
I swear I feel like kicking myself.

After that, we decided to have breakfast in one of the shops opposite our hostel, that was open at that time (Hawa Seafood).
We had Laksa, and I must say, it was pretty good!
While we were there, I managed to snap a photo of the G4 Hostel that we accommodated in:



Doesn't look like much on the outside, but I assure you that it was really cosy and clean inside.

After we finished breakfast, we headed back to the hostel, and decided to use the internet there, since our room was still unavailable as of yet.
I took that opportunity to send an email to mum (and check out FBs and whatnot), since we had trouble with the Singaporean sim card (but to which we found out later, that it was our own error).
It was then that I also took the first picture of Singapore with my digital camera (the rest was taken with my phone).
The result?






Yeah.
It's Lika and I, what were you expecting?? xD

Anyway, we finally got our room at about 10am, and upon entering the room, I was surprised at 2 things: The cleanliness/neatness/new-ishness, and the size of the room.











Although kinda small, it was homey and it looked new and clean, unlike what I was prepared to expect.
Which is quite a pleasant surprise, really.

Again, Lika and I decided to camwhore (or in Lika's words, 'camprostitute') in our new environment.











And of course, there was also:
























Yes, Lika is to be blamed.

After our little 'photography session', we decided to take a nap before having to prepare for Genee later, seeing as we hadn't exactly slept well in the bus either.

We woke up at about 4pm to get ready, and decided to take a bath first.
I sort of panicked when Lika mentioned 'bathing together', but thankfully, as I found out later, the bathroom had two seperate stalls.
I wish I took a picture of the washroom though, it was simple and nice too.
And the water pressure was powerful. *_______*

Again, during and after getting ready for Genee, pictures were taken.








Candid shot. I happen to look sleepy and tired. I assure you, I was neither.








Of course, she just HAD to take a picture of me while I was putting on makeup. =.=








All dolled up and ready for the evening! ^^

Before we left for NUS though, we decided to eat something first.
We went to this typical chinese foodstore, where we attracted quite a few stares, dressed up like that.
I ordered duck rice (omnomnom), while Lika had fried rice (that woman simply cannot live without rice, I tell ya).
After we finished, we found out there was still time left before we had to leave (we planned to leave at 6.30pm at least, and it was only 5.30 then), so we decided to use the internet at the hostel while waiting.
The receptionist at that time, a young boy, had helped us find out the cost and given us advice on how to get to NUS, and it was pretty simple, so even us map-impaired people weren't worried we would get lost.

When it was time to leave, we took a cab to NUS.
Simple, right? Straightforward, no changing MRTs or LRTs, no getting lost.

Anyhow, when we get there, the place was kinda empty, save for the few NUS students and staff members.
It was kinda expected, after all, since the competition started at 7.30pm, and we arrived close to 6pm.
There was an exhibition there too, called Dance Ink, where pictures/paintings related to ballet and dance were put on show.
We managed to get a few photos of them:























This particular picture kinda gets me, I have no idea why. =p











Lika and I had also ordered a Genee shirt each.
Note 'ordered', because the female-sized shirts were out of stock, and really, you wouldn't expect us to go back to Malaysia, from an international event, empty handed, now, would you?

And of course, it would be quite impossible if Lika hadn't 'blessed' a place by visiting the bathroom to pee, so I managed to take some photos there as well.
Blame my inner camwhore.











Anyhow, as time went by, more people started filling the halls, and the pathway was becoming more packed and harder to get to the other end of the place, because when I say it's packed, I mean it's packed.
People from all over the world came to see the competition, and I had a hard time believing that that many people were probably booking seats the same time I was.

Lika and I decided to get a drink to share and sit at the uni's cafeteria while waiting for the hall to be officially opened.
And on the table was a 'menu' for the kind of desserts they offered.
And it looked like this:








*______*

We also saw Ms Chua at the counter (we were sitting near it), and called her.
Then she, along with her sister, joined us and chatted a while before seperating to our respective hall entrances.
Our seats were on the third floor, and it was really chilly along the corridors.
We got a free booklet/program book upon entering the hall, and I must say, it looked grand.

Although they made it clear that no photography was allowed, we figured that it only applied to during the competition, so we whipped out our phones and began snapping.
I say phone camera, because well, just in case.
This was what we snapped up.




































We then got to looking at the program book.
Before I go any further, let me just state what I expected of Genee.

• Typical international ballet competition - where professional veteran ballerinas and ballerinos would perform variations from plays like Swan Lake or Coppelia etc;
  
• Olden days English backdrops, possibly;
• An orchestra playing the live music for the scenes.

So imagine my shock when I found out that:

• The oldest of the candidates was only 19, and the youngest was 15;
• There was no orchestra.

I had to do a double-take on the Semi-Finals list, just to make sure that my eyes weren't deceiving me.
I mean really, when I was 15, I was doing.. what, probably Grade 6/7 syllabus work, dammit!
And here these girls are, competing in an international competition.
For the life of me, I would be able to compete even in their standards, even now. *sobs*

Oh, and this was the state of the hall shortly before the competition started:






Filled to the brim with audiences.
It was a full house, literally.
Every seat was occupied. O_O

And as I found out later when the show started, the supposed 'orchestra' I had expected was replaced by a single grand piano on the left corner of stage left.
And the stage was bare. No fancy backdrops, no elaborate costumes. Just plain leotards and tights, and their candidate number pinned on their leo.

However, they did perform variations and scenes from plays, and when they performed Swan Lake/Cinderella, the girls wore tutus/flowy nightdresses, and the boys, who performed Elite Syncopations/Les Patineurs/Danses Concertantes, wore a costumed top with the usual white tights.

Before they brought on the Finalists, they had the semi-finalists enter the stage simultaneously as the announcer called out their country.
When 'Malaysia' was called, the hall erupted in loud cheers.
Guess there are many from Malaysia that traveled to Singapore for this event too. ;D

I think the one that awed the audience the most was candidate #12, Paul Russell(17). So it was no surprise that he brought home the gold for Australia in the Males category.
I expected him to get the Audience's Choice award too, since he got a tremendous applause everytime he performed.
However, it was candidate #11, Claudia Dean, that took the ACA. She also won the gold in the Female category.
I don't have a decent picture of the winners; it was kinda a in-the-moment decision to quickly snap a picture of the winners on stage before the curtain closed.
So this was the only decent picture I had of the winners:






Yeah.
Nothing to shout about. =_=

Anyways, when it was all over, we followed Ms Chua and her sister, using the bus, then going to the MRT.
Lika & I got off at Bugis station, while Ms Chua & her sister rode further.
We then hailed a cab to get back to G4.

The driver (a different one, of course) stopped at the same junction, and we walked the rest of the way to G4 Station, as we had done earlier that morning.
But it was a different feeling as the streets were dark and intimidating, and there were even a few guys loitering near the Indian cinema (which was somewhat in front of the hostel).
We hurriedly made our way to the hostel, and as it had earlier this morning, relief swept over me the minute we entered the hostel; not from fear of the threatening darkness of the streets or the creepy group of people huddled up in the dark, no.
But simply because I was sweating somewhat profusely, and my feet were beginning to hurt from mum's Clarks shoes. xD
After all, I had spent nearly the entire night in them.

Lika was probably the most exhausted; having cough and a slight bout of homesickness and all.
She was only too eager to change into her pajamas, eat her 'dinner' (which was a packet of those cream bread; she brought two, one for me and one for her), wash up, and go to bed.
I originally thought of dropping by 7/11 and buy those delicious looking sandwiches I saw, but as I washed up, I felt too lazy to.
Again, I really should have gone. Dx
I had thought of using the internet too, and let Lika sleep, but that too was pushed aside as I grew lazy after I changed, what with it being an air-conditioned room, and the bed looking so inviting.

Not surprisingly, I fell asleep not long after I turned off the lights and laid in bed.

Finally,

Day 2 [13/09.09]

My alarm went off at 8am.
But as was usual, I turned off the alarm and snapped my phone shut, seeing as Lika didn't look like she was gonna be waking up anytime soon.

At 8.30am, Lika's phone alarm rang, and this time, both of us woke up.
Lika coughed a little, sat up on the bed, and said a very simple 'Happy Birthday!'
I chuckled and sat up with her.
Normally, I would laze in bed for what seemed like hours, trying to get back to sleep.
But when I'm with a friend, I (almost) always have no problems getting up early. xD
We packed up what little things we hadn't managed to pack up yesterday, and took a shower.
After that, we went down for breakfast (which was from 8.30am - 10.30am, I think).

It was simple, and certainly simply laid out - two loaves of bread, a tupperware of what smelt (and later, tasted) like durian biscuits, margarine, and a variety of jams and marmalade.
On the left side of the table was a tin of Milo and a jug of coffee.
Though to be honest, it would've been better if the margarine container was cleaner (not to mention less oily), and if they had seperate, dry spoons for the creamer.
All the butterknives and spoons were soaked in water - and quite dirty (as you can imagine, after a few uses).

But I guess nothing is perfect, right?
The rooms, the washrooms and toilets; they're already better than I expected, plus the friendly service of the attendees.
I didn't mind that little piece of imperfection, seeing as everything else was good.
After breakfast, we used the internet again.
Lika said her friend was coming to bring us shopping at Bugis Street, where it was a tourist bargain spot.
And when her friend came, it would be then that we would check out.

We didn't get to use the internet for long; her friend and her friend's boyfriend arrived pretty soon.
So we went up to get our stuff and checked out.

Then we walked to Bugis station, and that itself already got my pores leaking.
There were a lot of clothes stores, foodstalls, and watch shops.
As we were browsing through the stalls, a certain blinking neon sign caught Lika's eye.
And out of curiosity (though she already knew what shop it is, she was just curious as to what sort of things a shop like this would sell; other than what was displayed in the glass cabinet), she went in.
I peeked in, but remained outside. Shops like these always made me feel a little uncomfortable.
I always felt that if you were in these kind of shops, the guys who come to browse as well will automatically assume you were.. well, lonely.
But Lika's friend and her boyfriend kept encouraging me to go, saying that there was nothing to be afraid of, since I was legal and all.
After a few more peeks, I decided, what the hell, no harm in going in, right?
So I did.

To be honest, I was surprised at the 'variety' of the toys there.
I mean sure, I've heard (and seen) the basics, but these...
Whoa, I never knew toys like that even existed. xD
I still felt a little uncomfortable at the stares I was getting from the men who came to browse, it seemed as though they were imagining me with those toys or something.. Eew.

But yeah, that would definitely be a memorable 21st birthday. xD

We walked around for a half hour or so, and then it was time to get to the bus station.
Lika's friend took us to all the shortcuts to get there, so needless to say, we were early.
She also made sure we took the CW2 bus this time.
She saw us into the bus safely, then waved and went off.
She's a lovely girl.^^

Since we still had over 9$ in the Singaporean sim card, we decided to finish it up by calling our family, otherwise it'd be a waste.
So I called mum up (having failed to do so during breakfast; which meant she was still sleeping at that time), and told her about my little 'escapade'.
She burst out laughing.

The rest of the trip would be pretty boring and pointless to write down, seeing as nothing much really happened.
But I probably should mention, though, how the bloody bus driver made so many freaking stops. First, he stopped in front of a mart in Mersing, and the lady that was with him said that he needed to get something. So fine, we waited a good 10-15 minutes for his return, only to see him bring up a hamper.
Then, he drove a short distance to the actual bus station for Mersing, and we waited around 20 minutes for him and the other passengers who had wanted to 'relieve themselves' to return.
As if that was not enough, he later stopped at some junction in this kampung-ish area, for about 5-10 minutes for God knows what.

Lika and I were beginning to get miffed.
Not everyone appreciated the delay of time as he apparently did.
As if to test all our patience further, he stopped by somewhere again, announcing that anyone who wanted to buy dinner for their break fast could do so now.
I mean seriously, what the fuck.
I know that the Malays probably are starving and whatnot, but using that as an excuse to stop for food, when he's already made so many other long stops, is a pathetic excuse.

He then apologized to the non-Malay passengers, trying to pacify us by saying we could buy food there too, if we wanted/were hungry.
Seriously, I was pissed off at said driver.
I wouldn't think that nearly everyone was brainless enough to not pack food for themselves for break fast, knowing it would be a long trip.

Well because of that, we arrived back at Kuantan at nearly 9pm.
I had wanted to arrive early, if possible, and maybe have dinner with the family, but that was quite impossible now, was it?

Anyways, all happenings aside, I wouldn't change anything from this trip for the world.
I think it has been a long time since I genuinely enjoyed a trip, and missed it badly the second I left.
At least I took the cherished memories of Genee and Singapore back to Kuantan, which explains the detailed entry, as I never wanted to forget what happened.

P/s: if you're wondering why this entry was posted so late, it's because unfortunately, my time has been upset since my return from Singapore; resulting in me getting so sleepy and sleeping before 2am(2AM^^ ok, I'll stop..) at least, and have me waking up at around 6am. =.=
I finally got around to finishing this because I didn't want to delay writing this 'fan account' or 'report', whichever tickles your fancy; for fear of forgetting the details.
I'm glad I finally finished it - I can start sleeping in peace now, knowing I have nothing to rush anymore. xD