dance_this dance_that

Ahh itchy feet!!!!

2007-07-28T03:46:00.000+08:00

Bee hong.. I miss dancing with you! Remember when we were in Grade 7? I'm humming the dance music we did and I misssssss you!!

How's everyone?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

2007-01-08T01:52:00.000+08:00

Calling all you shirkers from class. Haul your asses back into those leotards and tights and come to let me torture you. How do you expect me to be happy and chirpy if I have nobody to bully???!!!!!
Teacher Katy

STOP PRESS!!!

2006-12-13T02:26:00.000+08:00

STOP PRESS!!!!
I have an important announcement to blast!
BEE HONG SCORED A DISTINCTION FOR HER ADVANCE 1 EXAMINATION!

Ok, enough with the shouting. But indeed, I am very proud of her. Over the months, we slogged hard at it, just her and me (and sometimes one or two others to keep her company) It IS a lot of pressure to have private lessons. Afterall, she has my undivided attention and scrutiny.

Way to go, Girl. Next year the same for Advanced 2! :p

today

2006-11-06T22:29:00.000+08:00

Somehow time today was crawling pass like snail. Usually Miss Cui Xin teaches during Monday classes, but since her relative passed away, Miss Katy took over the classes. Only three of our Advance Foundation girls came, which were Amanda, June, and me.

Class starts at 8.30pm, but seems that we had started later than that. However, the clock seems reluctant to move its fingers. We covered everything, plies, tendus, rond de jambe, grand battement, adage, allegro, etc, etc. And guess what, we repeated the sissone exercise for three times, everytime consists of 4 sets, and every set consists of 3 sissones. So, we actually did 36 sissones!! Woohoo!!

Anyway, I was surprised when Miss Katy asked us to go in to reverance after one of the exercises *forgotten which*. I thought the class was never going to end, keeps going on eternally. Haha.....

I am also here to make an announcement that this blog, Dance Art blog's blogskin would be edited soon.......and i'll be the skin editor!! Any objections or suggestions are welcomed!!!

THEY FORGOT TO INVITE ME!

2006-10-17T01:01:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, 13th ( also my birthday) . I was frantically running around like a headless chicken, cleaning, cooking and so on...... I dashed the dobi to drop off some clothes for ironing then to Alex's to collect the cream puffs and the butter cake. I had to pass the studio. Saw the downstairs door open. Rang the studio...............
"Bee Hong? So early?"
"Huh. Er..........ya"
"You came straight from college ah. Didn't go home?"
"Er, ya"
"Ok. I see you later. Bai bai"

I sped home. Jumped into the shower. Alison knocked on the door. "Mummy, somebody rang from studio. Seems there's an important package for you there. Ask you to go ASAP wor"

Sped to the studio. Saw Su-Anne's car parked downstairs. Smelt rat. 'Something's up'

Went upstairs.........................."SURPRISE!!!!"

Yup, the girls went through all the trouble to throw me a party. (So touched!) Then I heard about the boo-boo they made. Seems that the party was arranged for 5PM so that class will not be disrupted but THEY FORGOT TO INVITE ME!

Since I was not informed, I did not have my camera with me. So you girls who were prepared............ Post Those Pictures.

Again, the focus on the food. Cui Xin went all the way to Puchong to get a gorgeous ballerina bear jelly cake ( be jealous!) Hui Ann and Su-Anne made a very 'professional' salad. Pei Wun cooked the angel hair pasta with her very own 2 hands. June's sandwiches were so delicious that I kept protesting "Very full, very full" while stuffing them in my mouth. Bee Hong had her own concoction of dip for the fries. There was also a plate of fruits with very good persimmons. Did I leave anything out??????

Thank you, girls. *Muaks*

New azam after PMR

2006-10-07T00:11:00.000+08:00

Yay PMR is finally over, at last i can do things other than studying like dancing =D

First i wanna stregthen my ankles....for better pointe work.....my left foot always doesn't seem to go fully en pointe....
Then i wanna perfect my arabesque line.....it looks kinda cacated now....
Finally i wanna learn something new......maybe continue modern dance =D

How long can you last?

2006-09-18T01:09:00.000+08:00

I am wondering how long can you last without dancing or have anything to do with dance? How long will it be before you feet began to itch. You long for the smell of a sweaty dance studio or you flex and stretch your ankles.

How long will it be before you reach out and take a dance DVD/Video/ VCD to watch. How long before you wonder if you can still get into your leotards, which, by the way, you CAN, because it's so stretchable.

For the past 3 years I have taken the entire month of December off, to catch up on other things in my life. But it has never been completely void of dance or dancing. I am wondering how long will I last.

So you wanna do Pointe Work?

2006-08-13T00:26:00.000+08:00

I am bad with uploading pictures in this site. Therefore, I have done it at Katryna Ballerina.

Fare Thee Well, Poh Lynn

2006-08-04T11:51:00.000+08:00

Poh Lynn leaves for the US of A tomorrow. Today, during the Advanced class, I asked a general question, "Do you think she will come back?" "Huh?" "I mean come back as in after her studies.." "Dunno wor" "I think maybe not. It's good for her to stay there also. Plus, it depends on how much she has to come back for lor" .....................(my deduction) I got to know PL many years ago. She was, to me then, YiVonne's neighbour. In fact, I did not even know she is Wan Tze's cousin till later. She used to tag along with YiVonne to ballet and sit quietly at the corner and watch. Then many months later (and I strangely suspect with much pestering bestowed upon her parents) she began her love relationship with ballet. About 2 weeks back, Wan Tze asked if we are throwing a farewell for her. "Of course!" PL was always the one to organise parties and occasions. So, since this was done in her honour, everybody was sort of a little lost with no direction. But the general plan was, we wanted something different this time. This time, we will GO OUT! JAPANESE BUFFET! No less! So everybody was to dress up but not tell her. Wan Tze was to make sure she comes for class. And Wanz was also to bring something for her to wear after the er, 'surprise' should she just come in a pair of shorts and raggedy T-shirt over her leotard and tights. But ..........BUT! The cat was let out of the bag! Wanz pleaded 'no choice!' She was going to 'serong' ballet. So there you are, SURPRISE! Nevertheless, a whole 3 carload of very hungry ballet people made their way to this restaurant in the middle of town. All under the direction of Bee Hong (the only one who's been there) , who confessed that she slept while on the way there that time and therefore have to ask her sister to draw her a map. *not very promising* But, either her sister's map was VERY good or Bee Hong even asleep also remember the way, we got there. We saw and we conquered. We ate and talked and ate and laughed and ate and took pics and ate and generally had a good time. We were very spoiled for choice. So much food. So much variety. I had so much shashimi and fresh oysters.......YUM! Cui Xin took this "Mini Monk Jump Over the Wall" soup. In it, we found a strange piece of watchmacallit. Jan and I studied it closely and I thought perhaps it's a zebra's liver. We never found out what it was. Way too strange. Somebody(can't remember who) asked me if I bit on the fresh oyster or I just swallow it. Shucks! I just finished the plate............Ah well, I'll just have to get some more ...........more YUM! Conclusion: Yup, I bite. We all got little gifts for PL. I am sure she loves every single one of them. She had a grand time opening them. Then there was speech. Of how she will miss all of us. Of course she will! Why? Because we will MISS HER LOTS! May the everlasting blessings pour upon you, Poh Lynn. May He be your Shining Beacon in your life always.

Competition 2006 pictures

2006-07-03T00:13:00.000+08:00

Yup, I actually uploaded the pictures. It's in Flickr
Got lar, also a few in KatrynaBallerina. Also some in Friendster.
Am I hard-working or what! Go, go, GO look at them!

Search for 'perfect' variations

2006-06-27T01:32:00.000+08:00

Wan Tze and I waded through a whole pile of DVDs today looking for variations. I am re-doing the competition variations again. All in the quest to improve the competitions.
So there we were, me with the remote and Wan Tze with the pen and paper to take notes.
Comments uttered,
"This is nice. It will be suitable for Cat 2. Not too 'geng'. "
"Wah! VERY 'geng' oh! " "So Teacher, do we KIV?"
"Nolar, if we put in, after it gets desecrated!"
"This one looks ok what."
"Nope. The dancer don't have right expression. Dowan the contestants to emmulate lousy expressions"
"This one I WANT on the list." "Why Teacher?" "Because the guy VERY 'leng chai' mar"

This is only the beginning. I forsee many more hours of hard work before the DVD can be put together.

2006-06-24T22:01:00.000+08:00

yeap you are rite pohlynn... we do seem to be neglecting this blog.

so here am i, updating this blog with the 'newest event'~~~competition 2006.
As usual, the standard went up. I think it wont ever stop going up. Category 3s are doing double pirouettes....oh so big grand jetes....turning round and round en stage(pose turns) and the list goes on.

And of course, there are newbies in our team this year. Sandy, Pei Jean, Rowena and Yen Nee. Pei Jean, Teacher Cui Xin and me got into the finals and my sis won something.

zzz cant think of anything to write so tata!!
PS: sorry pohlynn, pictures are at another computer so will upload them when i have the chance

DanceArt and Taman Melawati

2006-06-22T01:32:00.000+08:00

Amazing discovery! - DanceArt and Taman Melawati

Should they have a link to DanceArt too? =)

And the TDS Competition, where are the pics? Where are the family pics?

Gals, start keeping this blog with updates or our weekly complain and goodies, screaming blued toes, painful adage, horrible turnouts, or.. pL can finally do a single pirouette! or yay, it's adage month again!

Echo....

Happy Teachers' Day 2

2006-05-21T09:20:00.000+08:00

Read ALL about it here. DanceArt is really a HAPPENING place. Everything sort of happens one after another. After the annual exams about 2 weeks ago, we are in full gear towards the competition. Today, Pei Wun, Bee Hong and I are going shopping for their 2nd variation costumes. Yah, practising hard, literally blood, sweat and tears.

Poh Lynn and June will be the make-up artists for our girls. Most others will help me keep law and order backstage. Wan Tze will strut about, ordering people off the stage once their rehearsals go overtime. I will strut about, ordering people all over the place............................ Once a year I get to be a dictator! Cackles!!!!!!!

Happy Teacher's Day!

2006-05-16T22:51:00.000+08:00

To our cool and passionate Teacher Katy, [she's cool ok, she plays nintendos when she's not teaching]
To our energetic n adorable Teacher Cuixin! [not to forget her voice!]

Happy Teacher's Day!!!

I am sick

2006-05-01T02:19:00.000+08:00

Observation: One never falls sick at a 'convenient' time. Exams' a week away. Competition training is full speed ahead. Administrative work for competition is piling up.................................. and *sigh* I am sick! I better not lose my voice.
Teacher Katy

Competition 2006

2006-03-12T01:30:00.000+08:00

Today is Pei Jean's birthday. She's 11 today. Today is also the closing date for TDS Solo Ballet Competition. And since Pei Jean is now officially 11, she is eligible for entry. Yay!
Training has begun. I wish I have more time to spare for all of them. There's so much more I want to do.
I spent the whole evening processing all the entries. It is such a joy to process completed entries. On previous occasions, I have had to frantically contact people because submissions were not complete.
We have 6 girls going in this time. Bee Hong will be attempting Cat 1 this year. Pei Wun will be doing Cat 2 and newbies like Pei Jean, Yen Nee, Rowena and Sandy are going for Cat 3.
Train hard girls, the sky's the limit!

Guilty

2006-02-20T00:50:00.000+08:00

Yup, I have been neglecting this blog. So many things have been happening.
Classes are in full swing now. All gearing up for the exams.
At last Pei Jean is eligible to enter TDS Solo Competition this year. She's been waiting for 3 whole years, bugging me all that while - "Teacher, how come must be 11 then only can enter?"
"Because that's the rule lor"
"But why MUST be 11 meh? I am going to be 11 soon mah" (That was last year)
Competition training must happen soon. Classes splattered all over in the week. How am I going to fit training in. Category 2 will be easy. Only Pei Wun. Category 3 will be a little more difficult to arrange. Best time, I suppose will be on Saturday but I have already become a zombie by 6.30PM - the last class.
It's amazing how holidays can louse up technique. Before Chinese New Year, everybody was sort of looking forward to that break (eventhough they JUST got back from a long December break) so progress was almost zlitch! But since last week, things are beginning to gel up. Emily will be playing the piano for the exams. She will be ok, just as long as I can get her to practise with the classes *sigh* She's such a busy missy.
My PTS have begun. Emails are coming in, queries, schedules and all those blahs. I expect it'll get busier.
March 10th closing date for competition. After that even busier. Asked Teacher Hooi Koon if she'll like to take over organising the competition. "No thanks! So much paperwork!"
Stuck with it!
You DanceArtians better get off your backsides and join. I am slaving away FOR YOU!

Which female dancer from ABT are you??

2006-02-17T21:06:00.000+08:00

I found this interesting quiz
http://quzilla.com/users/PrincessOdile/quizzes

Anyway I got Julie Kent :-P

peiwun's post

2006-02-11T23:10:00.000+08:00

owkay....nobody seems to be updating this blog for such a looong time. it seems that there are no activities in it. nothing interesting to write about. nothing exciting happens ...................... but wait!!! Interesting stuff did happen. The Advance foundation class is constantly celebrating everybody's birthday. We had Sue Jan and Amanda's.....who's next?? In fact, after all the chinese new year stuff and the birthday stuff, we are all becoming what teacher Katy said in her blog - glutton dancers :P
Then, time to start competition practises....gosh i do seem to miss them but when we really start that, i am sure that i am going to be sick of it. The first attempt to do my first variation - pas de trois 1st solo wasn't at all what i had expected. it was lousy. it seems that i have to really brush things up and regain my stamina. Even in my G8 dances i felt tired so easily. Should i pick up something like.....swimming or ......jogging?? Anyway, i have to lose some weight.....
For the 2nd variation, i had asked for help....Bee Hong's help. Yeap, Bee Hong seems to be helping me A LOT!!! She lent me her peasant dress, the nice black skirt, and is helping me in choreographing my 2nd variation. I owe her one. No, not one. I owe her a lot.

I do hope more i mean MORE people from our school is going to join the competition this year. Don't make me feel lonely by being the only one in category 2.

Groan

2006-01-12T00:46:00.000+08:00

That's the sound we've been hearing most of the time for the past 2 weeks, both from me and the students. We have had the whole of December off. Time to oil those creaking joints again. And I have been BAD! I seemed to have neglected this blog.
December have been pretty low-key, where dancing was concerned, both for me and DanceArt. Nothing much was happening, hence no updates.
When students came back, they were practically rolling in (do I hear shouts of protests?) Everybody, including yours truly have put on weight. And everybody turned up in black leoatard............LOL! (Black is slimming)
The 1st week was rather uneventful, meaning nothing dramatic happened etc. There were many blur parents and students calling to find out day and time of class. And quite a few have not turned up for classes yet too. Unfortunately, after only a few days back to school, it was a public holiday again. Malaysia should enter the Guinness Book of Records of a country to have the most public holidays in the world.
In 2 weeks time, it's holidays again - Chinese New Year. *sigh* The girls swore it's a lost cause to whip them into shape these few weeks only to get all out of shape during CNY
Busy year ahead, exams, competition, proposed concert.......................*double sigh* and all I want is rest :(

Passion Flower and Triple Bill

2006-01-09T11:48:00.000+08:00

PASSION FLOWER AND TRIPLE BILL DATE : 7th January(Gala nite) and 8th January 2006 TIME : 8.30pm MATINEE : 8th January 2006(3.00pm) VENUE : Securities Commission Auditorium, Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

yeap, the TDS premiere "Passion Flower and Triple Bill".
On the 7th of January 2006, teacher Katy, Sue Jan, Emily, and I were heading towards the Securities Commission located in Bukit Kiara, preparing to help out and wondering how would the show look like. Clad in our passion flower t-shirts(which were free of charge for ushers and programme sellers) we head into the auditorium and started directing the audiences to their seats.

The gala nite started late- it was about 9pm when the show really started. First off the programme was Act II, Swan Lake. Originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, it was restaged by Miss Carol Ainsworth. It included the "dance of the cygnets" which I always enjoy much. For those people who doesn't know what this is, it is a dance where four cygnets hold each other's hands crossed in front, doing steps like coupes and echappes.

After a ten minute break, Dreams of Green Pastures was next. It is a neo-classical piece choreographed by Zhou Gui Xin. I like its formations and it reminded me of the "Wild Zebra".

After another 10 minute break, there was an item called Earth, Wind & Fire, a ballet with a twist of Malaysian flavour, choreographed by Miss Too Cyn Dee. No offense, but I think most of us agree that it was the best of the Triple Bill. Then there was a 20 minute interval.

Next is Passion Flower!! The big thing that everybody had been waiting for. It was choreograph by Miss Ong Hooi Koon. A story of love and betrayal is the theme of this ballet.
This is how the story goes:
In a cafe, Maria and Elena meet to chat on a regular basis as good friends often do. Here, too, Maria and Joseph fall in love with Maria pledging her undying passion for him with the gift of a passion flower.
Unknown to Maria, Elena harbours the same passion for Joseph and makes a play for him. Maria's accidental discovery that Joseph has given Elena the passion flower, the consequences are tragic for the trio.
Casting Roles:
Joseph : Steve Goh Chen Fui
Maria : Lee Pei Nee/ Louise Yow Sing Hwa(understudy, dancing for matinee)
Elena : Chang Huey Sze
Friends : Annie Liew Kah Ann, Foo Siau Yin, Tan Ming Ni, Goh Siew Hong, Gan Yee Fen Jessica Ho Wai Yee, Carina Chan Pik Yee
Boyfriends: Tan Hong Lim, Wong Khai Hoong, Jonathan Fam Ngai Jiu, Keith Chin, Tang Yew Keat, Tay Thain Hon
Customer : James Quah
Waitress : Wong Yi Chian, June Soo, Caryn Chee, Carmen Choo, Ho Sim Lee

I guess everybody had really enjoyed this item. The audiences clapped and cheered, not to mention the sharp intake of breath during when three of the boyfriends rolled down Elena in a dance. Miss Hooi Koon really did a good job.

And that was the end of the show.

The programmes for the performance was sold RM 2 each, which we so hardworkingly sell on the 8th. Calenders and posters were also sold. And you couldn't imagine how quick the posters sold. I just managed to nicked the second last poster.

Alas, I really hope that there will be more of this performances to keep me inspired. (don't you think that watching these stuff makes you wanna dance and perform nicely onstage?? ;p)

Do you dread the first class of the year?

2006-01-04T23:35:00.000+08:00

tonight marks the first class of the year for us advanced
*oooh i like!* girls
frankly speaking, i was half hoping my mum would
come back late so i wouldnt have to go.
do you know how horrible it is to drag those tight tights
* according to emily, ironic* and leotards up your legs.
mine felt like they were groaning due to the compulsive
eating style during the holidays

anyways, june and sweeling (left) did not come coz they had already
left for summer school in melbourne
so that leaves me pohlynn amanda pei wun and emily.
oh yeah. cannot forget teacher.

first exercise.
not at the bar thought. at the piano.
hahhaha yea, we had to move the piano from its original place coz of the nonstop rainy weather
and also because of the plumbing which teacher katy is so gonna kill the plumber
i think??!?! tat what i vaguely heard while dragging the wet chair outside

plie exercise as we all know is, and was, and always be the killer exercise on the bar
speshly since it the first time we've used our quad muskels in a month.
*groan* no joke i tell you.
no matter, we provided much entertainment for t katy coz she was laughin at our stiffness.

- ah, if only we dance as well as them-

at least we managed to pass some time by story telling.
its amazing how we link our stories from
ballet posters in time square to being harassed in sg.wang
to being stalked in london.

shamefully ia admit to you that i am the one who got them started
but hey, see we learned something dunt we?
dont' let old mens under the umbrella.
either that or just give it to him.

i think the latter will be safer.
with all these cases happening nowadays, who knows?

you would think that all the talkin would make our brains
improve throughout the entire class
*wrong answer buzzer*
nah.even the simplest exercises got out feet tangles up
yuck . double triple yuck.
so yeah.

Do you dread the first class of the year?

i know i do

My Dancing Adventure

2005-12-21T18:48:00.000+08:00

Wow... I don't know how many of you have heard, but these past 4 weeks have been a fun time for me as I have been dancing in a number of performances under the invitation of Ms. Aster, our beloved Modern Teacher at Dance Art itself. :)

The first week started somehwere in late November. Ms. Aster called up Amanda and myself and asked us if we were available for an upcoming concert during the nearing weekend and being free, we gladly agreed. Having learned ballet most of my 16 yrs of life, I found it rather challenging to change my style from balletic to a more funky/hip-hoppish/modern style.
We met other dancers at Zon Entertainment (Ms. Aster's dance company) who turned out to be really friendly and nice as possible seeing that they were probably at least 10yrs older than the two of us. :D But with the help from these dancers we managed in the end.
Our last rehearsal was held at Stadium Merdeka itself, where we were to be backup dancers to the artistes performing at the concert. I'm not sure if many of you heard of this concert; I don't know the name of the concert either but I do know that Jolin Tsai and Nicholas Teoh were two out of the 5 other artistes performing at this concert.
On the night of the concert itself, I somehow managed to make some mistakes:
First of all, when I danced my first no. which was to Lee Sen Jie (or however you spell his name)'s song he somehow didn't see me as we (dancers) were preparing for our ending pose and made a funny scene by treading over my dress by accident. :O He even looked back at the audience with a look that plainly said, "Oh, my... What a silly dancer! It's really all her fault you know!"
Not to mention that my head-piece flew off as well when I turn a couple of chenes in one of the dances. :( But it was fun all the same, it being a first time experience for me, dancing as a backup dancer in a concert full off screaming fans... :D

The 2nd performance took place at MV itself. If most of you have been visiting MV recently, I'm absolutely sure you would have already seen the stage in the picture on the left. I came across a no. of blogs who had shots of the very same stage and captions expressing "how beautiful" and things of the sort. :) It sure is a beautiful set-up with "White Xmas" screaming the theme. :D
I was definitely not expecting to be dancing so soon after the concert because this performance was exactly a week right after the concert. We (namely Amanda and myself) were to dance only for the opening act; A Cut Above and Melinda Looi Collection were also involved in this show and we were merely another act for this show.
It was really exciting in my part as haven't done a single pas de deux move in my 13yrs of dancing, this happened to be my first. :) It is perhaps Ms. Aster and company's custom to usually arrange for 6 ppl to be up on stage at each time - 4 girls and 2 guys most of the time. In the opening dance, there were many eights where we were required to free around and fortunately for me, I was asked to do a short pas de deux move with one of the young male dancers, Isaac was his name. :)
However short and simple the move may be, having not done any such moves as I have already mentioned made me excited not to mention nervous as the thought that I might screw it up easily. :p We had our hair done by A Cut Above and the show went well. And yet it was a whole different experienced when compared to the concert.

My 3rd performance this time was not with Amanda, but with Wan Tze however. :) We were to perform at this Xmas themed company dinner at JW Marriot. Wan Tze and I were asked to dance 3 outta the 5 no. and gladly we didn't experience much difficulty in learning the steps and moves. I, on my part thoroughly enjoyed myself on that night as most of the guests present with families and it was quite a bit of fun trying to get the kids up to the dance floor with us :D They were a friendly crowd and I hope they too had their bit of fun in watching us trying to cheer them up.
Oh, and for further "interesting" info on this performance, do refer to both Wan Tze's and my blog for it. ;)

The most recent performance was arranged by Holee instead of Ms. Aster this time around. Holee is Ms. Aster's partner and is a fairly experienced dancer who is also very nice and kindly. Amanda and I as well as the other 3 dancers and Holee were going to dance in the opening act at this grand dinner of a company called MRCB. It appeared to be very glamorous and with many performances lined up to entertain the "glamorously" dressed guests. ;)
This time around it was rather tiring although it was only one simple dance with a Moulin Rouge feel to it. Perhaps it was the very long wait as well as the heavy costumes which consisted of a tassle-filled bra-top, long white pants, fancy head gear which made my head ache so much, harnest full of feathers which made my back itch and ache, a nice glittery belt, silver heels, gloves and accessories for the wrists. Above all that though, I still am glad that I'm given the chance to don myself in all these however peculiar costumes :)
Thanks Holee!

These past few weeks have been such fun for me; it gave me a peek into the life of dancers such as Ms. Aster and the like in Malaysia and roughly the sort of lifestyle they lead. Not to mention I did earn a sum of money (however little or big doesn't matter) besides gaining all these extra knowledge in the world of dance. Although it may entirely differ from that of the world of classical ballet, I enjoy both equally the same and cannot express how glad and thankful I am to have been given this chance.

Go Japanese

2005-12-08T03:29:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, Cui Xin, Bee Hong, Su-Anne and I went for a Japanese buffet dinner. We got there about 8PM, got ourselves a table and proceeded to get it laden with FOOD!
We had sashimi, sushi, tepanyaki, lobster salad, teriyaki, fried chicken, cawan mushi, those green pea thingys that I love so much.
Every 15 minutes, they will serve fresh oysters and that is a VERY popular item. If you are late of even a few seconds, you'll miss it completely. We appointed Su-Anne to grab(literally) us some. She was not successful on her 1st try. On the 2nd round, she managed to get 3 and on the 3rd and final round, she got 6! Not bad, not bad at all. We stayed till nearly 10PM. By the time we walked out the restaurant, we were a good deal heavier. It was a miracle that my car could get us home :p
To the 3 of you, a big Thank You for 2005. Thank you for the love and dedication to teaching. Here's to 2006!

THE Result

2005-11-28T00:33:00.000+08:00

Ok. It's official. Everybody knows. Well, nearly everybody knows that EVERYBODY passed those dastardly Majors' Exams. All our DanceArtians lah. (Begitu HEBAT!)
Congrats to all - in no particular order; Abigail, Carin, Pei Wun, June, Amanda, Swee Ling, Sue Jan, Emily and Poh Lynn. And yes, Cui Xin too!
Yup, they worked hard. At some point, we got quite sick of each other. Even the CD player refused to play the Intermediate music during the last few classes.
Who cares what marks whom got! At least I DON'T! I am just glad all got through. Sue Jan has blogged about it. Poh Lynn has blogged about it. The others are just are probably feeling whoopie-daisy about it.
Looks like things are coming along fine. June and Amanda danced for Teacher Aster's show last Saturday in Bukit Jalil Stadium and she called me immediately after the show telling me how well they did. Boy! Feeling proud is an understatement. Way to go, girls!
This coming Wednesday is the last day of classes. After that, I have a month off. Zippety Do Dah! Today, someone mentioned Christmas. I didn't like that. If it's Christmas, it means my month is coming to an end. And I DON'T WANT IT TO END! Not just yet.

Teacher Yupin's Concert/Well Done, Cui Xin

2005-11-20T21:38:00.000+08:00

Text message to Ju at 10.30am yesterday morning,"I must have been semi-unconscious when I agreed to help Yupin with her school concert..........."
At that moment, I was backstage which was crawling with elves, fairies, big fiery red ants, trolls, dragonflies, ladybugs and yeah, butterflies too. So much commotion, so much chaos.........................HELP!
It was rehearsal time. We needed to get that over with, hand them back to parents to be fed and spruced up before the afternoon matinee.
At 1.30pm, nearly all of them were ready and waiting. "Ms Carol, how long more?" "What o'clock is it now?" "Why so long one"
Some of them amused themselves playing silly games.
Then, I realised it's too dark for me to read my announcement notes. "Anybody with a torch?" "Nope".
On to the walkie-talkie to Meei Tyng in AV control-room......."Got torch or not?" "Nope"
Panic! "Nobody with a torch?????"
Sylvia said, "My Nadine has one. Wait" (Relief)
Took the torch, walk over to my mike corner and gave the torch a tryout. Mmmmmmmmm, why are there lots of shadows? Oh No!!
Walked over to Sylvia and Carol who's busy discussing something.
"There's a bloody spaceship in the torch!"
Sylvia, in a swift movement (true to her dance teacher instinct ) removed a filter-like thingy from the front. "Nadine got that from the space centre"
Thankfully, things went smoothly with only minimal hiccups, with only a wing or two dropping off.

The major catastrophe was Cui Xin getting injured the day before. She was there on Friday for rehearsal, missed a step in the auditorium and injured her ankle. When she sent me the message that evening, my heart sank. "Oh dear, how is she going to dance? She is the soloist in Les Sylphide"
On Saturday morning, she hobbled into the auditorium, looking so depressed. Poor thing. She missed rehearsal, went to the chiropractor and came back in the afternoon with it bandaged up. She had torn some muscles.
Everybody thought it would be best for her to give the matinee a miss and try to make it for the evening performance. After the matinee, there was a last rehearsal for Les Sylphide and she tried it en pointe. She managed and all's set for the evening session.
Despite so much pain, she stayed on with minimal wobbles. I doubt anybody would have noticed. We were all holding our breathes during her solo bits. Well done, well done.
It showed courage and dedication to see it through. It also reflected on her professionalism. YES, I am very proud of her.

Opportunites - Juney's entry

2005-11-12T17:59:00.000+08:00

Opportunites.
Every dancer knows that opportunities just don't fall outta the sky like that. They know that they're hard to come by and whenever they do, somehow you always tend to hesitate and rethink it over before you really do grab it. What am I really trying to prove here?
Well, all I can say is, whenever you see an opportunity hovering above you leading you to more doors in the world of dance, grab it. Just take it and see how it turns out because you rarely find yourself regretting taking that path.
As for myself, I'm not a good dancer. Perhaps it's because I don't work hard enough, but that doesn't mean I'm a lazy one who slacks around all the time though. With a stiff body like mine and with flat feet that aren't cut out for ballet, slacking to me means missing out just one day of working with the therra-band, having no time or being too tired to just stretch those few extra times everyday. Slacking means even though I missed one class in a week, I come back the next week feeling terrible after dancing.
But well, that's why I tend to get excited whenever I'm offered a chance or an opportunity to particpate in some competition, a performance, or even attend a summer school or workshop. And that's probably why most of my ballet-mates tend to label me as "super-semangated June who loves coming for class and being the earliest almost everytime". HEhe, not like I mind though, I'm just glad that in a way they do recognize my effort to become better at what I love doing.
What's the point of my entry really? I don't really know I guess, just wanted to express myself here.

peiwun's entry

2005-10-29T17:15:00.000+08:00

I was "scanning" the web for something interesting to read until my eyes fell on this pointe shoe fitting guide~ here's the link- http://www.dance.net/read.html?postid=2802649&page=1

enjoy reading!!

Where is it? WHERE is it?

2005-10-27T23:19:00.000+08:00

A few days ago, a frantic call from June.............
"Teacher, I can't find my Intermediate Foundation result. Is it out yet? Have they sent it yet? Is it with you?"
"No, I gave it to you last year when I got it."
"Nolar, Teacher. I don't have it. My mum keeps all the certs and results in 1 place and it's not there"
"Oh dear, where can it be? I remember giving them all out. I don't keep them. It'll just add confusion in my life. Ok, don't worry 1st. Give me some time and I'll call the organiser to confirm she gave them out already."
"Ok, thanks Teacher."

Several hours later
"June, she said the cert went out together with the result, which means I have given them both to you. Check again."
"Don't have lah, Teacher. My mum checked. Don't have"
"When I get to studio, I'll look around again. All unclaimed results and certs are in the 2nd drawer"
"Ok"

That night - VERY late, text messages...............
"Katy, Catherine here (Catherine is June's mum). Eric and I have turned the whole house upside-down. We cannot find the cert or the result at all. June is very upset (understandably) Is there any way we can get a replacement cert?"
"Don't worry, these things have a way or turning up. Give it some more time. No need to act hastily. I think there will be no problems replacing it. We'll just have to pay. Let me look around the studio again, just in case."
"Right, please let me know and good night"

Next day..............
Katy - turning studio upside-down. Well, not really the whole studio, just the 2nd drawer and the filing cabinet. Nope, not in studio.

Today........................
June "So Teacher, I will have to send in my Grade 8 result instead of Inter. Found. for the summer school lor, right?"
"I am afraid so."
"So strange lah. Cannot find anywhere. My Grade 8 cert also not in the pile"
"What?! How come?"
When I asked the others, they confirmed that they got theirs. So how come??????

"June, I can understand that your parents and you are very upset about it because your family is very organised. But I am a very disorganised person and most of the time, when I can't find something, I just leave it for a bit and they turn up. Most probably the Grade 8 cert is together with the Inter. Found. ones"

About 2 hours ago, a call from Catherine..........
"Katy, we found it! It was in the file where I looked already. Even Eric looked through it also. I cannot understand how we could have missed it"
"There you are. I did tell you not to worry. It'll turn up somehow"

Things like these DO happen. They ALWAYS happen to me. That's why I was so cool about it. Then again, as I have said, I am a messy person so misplacing comes naturally to me. Poor June and family, to have gone through a harrowing few days.

Most Semangat-est

2005-10-24T00:41:00.000+08:00

Last Thursday, only June and Swee Ling turned up for class. The others, for some reason or other went MIA (missing in action, not Malaysian Institute of Art)
June has always been the 1st to arrive for class. One day, she deliberately come a little later than normal (her normal is 20 minutes before class) and she was STILL the 1st! Sue Jan has mentioned before about her dainty little dangling earrings. Although earrings are not allowed in class but those tiny ones are not about the endanger her or anybody around her, so I have allowed them. Seems dangly earrings run in her family. Julie, her sister wears them and now Grace, her cousin in the Grade 5 class also wears them.
Swee Ling is usually very quiet but when she does say anything, and sometimes at the oddest moments, it's very profound. Her father owns a stationary shop nearby. It used to be just next door from the studio. When she was younger, she will come upstairs to the studio and hang out for hours, watching classes.
But even though there were 2 in class, we had a great time. And since they were so 'semangat', I thought they should be credited. I had a great time, working them to the bone. I don't know if They had a great time. Incidently, June and Swee Ling will be going to the Australian Summer School in Melbourne in January. Yay!

Juney's entry - Adv????

2005-10-18T13:23:00.000+08:00

My goodness... whoever would've guessed the leap from Inter to Adv would be so... vast???? Lol, i guess i might be the only one not prepared for such a thing huh? But well, T. Cuixin gave us a somewhat intro to Adv yesterday n boy-o-boy did i realize my technique was down the drain! I've so gotta buck up in EVERYTHING really! From my turn out to be twisted hips to my stiff papan feet - looks like i've got a looong way to go before i ever get into the finals for comp!
Hehehe, well just wanna wish T.Cuixin best of luck for her exams today!

Happy Birthday Teacher Katy

2005-10-14T00:30:00.000+08:00

A very Happy Birthday to our
beloved Teacher Katy.

Teacher We Love You

Teacher we love you,
For all the kind things you do,
using your teaching tools and talents,
Keeping everything in balance,
Bringing out the student's very best,
So they will always pass the test,

We know for you, it is essential,
For them to reach their potential,
In teaching, a teacher goes out of her way,
By bringing in items to aid, day after day,
At times, we know, that there is stress,
Hoping the stress is over shadowed with success,

A teacher has patience unending,
Unselfishly of the time spending,
Teachers, we all hope that you know,
That we do care and love you so,
With our love and appreciation,

Jane L. Nance

yesh, we did have a ball of a time.
eating as always.
what's a party without food right?
its seemed to be a jelly-ish night yesterday.

HuiAnn brought mango & orange jelly
PeiWun brought konyaku
(no wonder I was so jellified during today's class)
and PohLynn brought her specialty
as usualthe cake.
this time it was a
strawberry-Oreo-biscuit cake.
*slurps* yummy-licious!!!

since i was the only one taking pictures
i have to post this blog up right?

see those orange and yellow circles???
thats the jelly Hui Ann brought.
we arranged it in the shape of KT
as in teacher katy la...
aiyoh who so blur dunno.
*smack them*
and right in the middle was the cake.

So sweet right?

*waits for everyone to go awwwwww*

and yesh the cake didnt melt!!
u can see the happiness in

pohlynn's face.
success brings great joy indeed.

after a few of them left,
we just sat down and

pigged out on the food.

then we started comparing who had the sharpest nose...
wanna guesss????
hehehehhee take a peek!

(L-R)Beehong T.Katy HuiAnn PohLynn Su-Anne
and i can definitely tell you
i dunt even qualify for this contest.
tee hee* whut to do...
so flat the nose.

and thats all for now...
blogger is irritating me too much.
can seem to post anymore pics.

who's birthday is up next????

*SueJan(Babeebutterfliez)*

Announcement!

2005-10-01T02:56:00.000+08:00

Teacher Katy
We were talking about a sort of file sharing thingy mainly for pictures and the name Multiply kept popping up, remember? So I went ahead and got ourselves an account.
DanceArtKL.multiply.com

Go ahead and browse. And of course all you tech savvy people, see what other areas can be improved. When I learn how, I want to include video clips ( like Uncle James. I so jealous. His blog got video clips)

Clock Day

2005-09-28T12:48:00.001+08:00

Decided to try again with the picture insertion thingy. I Have to figure out why all the inserted pictures go on top :(
From Left to Right on the above;(on top of the food)
Hui Ann, Swee Ling, Amanda, Pei Wun, Sue Jan, Cui Xin, Emily, June and Poh Lynn.

As you would have read on the previous post, we had a Supercallifragilisticespiilidous time. ( Emily, if you correct the spelling of the word, I shall boink you on the head) Lots of good food, fun and laughter.

I have taught the girls well, even the food was beautifully aligned. But, hey, have you forgotten in Choreography class I said a little unbalance adds colour?

Next pig out will probably be a salad pig out. After all, Poh Lynn needs guinea pigs to try out all those scrumptious salad recipes on, right? *snigger, snigger*

Juney's Entry - Yuuummmmy Post-Exam Celeb!!!

2005-09-27T19:36:00.000+08:00

Heyya guys! Hmm, lemme tell u, the food last night was GRREAT!!! Serious, not exaggerating in the veyr least bit! :D P. Lynn's cheesecake was a blast even though she kept insisiting it was a disaster (which it SO wasn't!) :) It was very moist, with every bit of yummylicious ingredients set inside. Well the food fest was actually meant to celebrate both P.Lynn n Emily's belated bdays as well as celebrating the completion of all Intermediate exams.
Everyone contributed with foods of their own n as for myself I brought this Phillipino desert - Buku Salad. There was Tuna Pasta Salad, Fruit Salad, Milk Agar-agar all provided by T. Katy, Swee n Hui Ann respectively. Then there was the clock ceremony n all that.. Had fun snapping pics as well. :D
Hmmm, I miss class! I miss DAILY class... already! Oh... Heheh, now i can't wait till results r out!

Begitu Semangat

2005-09-24T02:56:00.000+08:00

Wednesday came. Yet another Intermediate class. Surprisingly, I had full attendance. Those who's taken exam could very well ask for permission to miss class for the day and I would have granted it. After all, finished exam already mah. But they came, to give their friends moral support and encouragement.

Read more from here.

Official "Turn the Clock back on day"

2005-09-22T00:51:00.000+08:00

Ok, it's official. Sue Jan, Emily and Pei Wun goes for their Intermediate exams this Sunday and technically it's winding down time for me after that. I mean, classes will still be on and there's syllabus to finish up but no more exams for the rest of the year!
Official "Turn the Clock back on day"? What is that? Well, the clock in the studio had been frozen in time for the past few months. Repeated pleadings from students to get new batteries fell on deaf ears. I then told them the clock will begin to move again once the last Major candidate finishes her exam.
Monday, September 26th 2005 will be that day!
To celebrate the occasion, Poh Lynn might make a cheesecake. I said might because she told me she need to reconfirm. I will think of something else too. Yup, we're having another party. We are always having a party.
Sue Jan insists on ribbon cutting and all that jazz. Sure, why not?
Maybe everybody will bring their tap shoes and we'll make a lot of noise. Maybe we'll have a water-gun fight. Haven't had that for years. But most likely we'll just pig out.
Yeah, I think that's probably what we'll be doing.

Major Exams are here!

2005-09-20T00:20:00.000+08:00

Today, 6 of our girls summoned up all their courage and walked into the exam room. Well, they actually temp leved and ran but who's being technical?
Abigail was the 1st lamb to the slaughter this morning. Ok, perhaps, that's the wrong term to use, lamb to slaughter. But if you were there outside observing the nervousness these girls displayed, one can very well think they were lambs to slaughter.
Anyway, Abigail's dad took her there early, to warm up and prepare. I told her I will be a little later. It turned out to be much, much later. The crawl of the traffic was so bad it took me an hour to move 6km! By the time I got there it was already 9.20am. Abi's exam was scheduled for 9.30am
I jumped out of the car, proceeded to the parking meter. I tried to put coins in, it won't go in. "Typical! It's not working", I thought. So I walked to another meter and the same thing happened. By then it was 9.25. No time to lose, I hurried to the building. I figured, I'll just see Abi into the exam room at 9.30 and rush down to sort out the stupid meter thing.
9.35, no sign of examiner. Worried about my parked car. Samuel, Abi's dad offered to get the display ticket for me. Great!
940, examiner walked in. Sent Abi into the gas chamber, oops, exam room. Called Samuel. Too late! By the time he got there, there was a parking summon on my wind-screen. @#$%^
They are SO efficient.
So much for my mini parking adventure. Turned out that those meters were working. They were just different from those I have used before. These needed the car license numbers entered in 1st before slotting the money whereas the ones I have used before were the opposite. Snide remarks on how I cannot read, have I ever been to school, etc, etc, rained on me. In all honesty, I was too worried about not getting to Abi on time to see her in to make any sense out of those stupid meters. But if they are stupid meters, I must be dumber not to be able to use them.

So with all the commotion, I forgot to take both Abi and Carin's pictures in the morning. But I did manage to capture the rest of the girls in the afternoon. If you look closely at these pictures, you will notice the girls smiling a 'nervous' smile. The girl in between June and Swee Ling is an unidentified girl from another school. In Major exams, candidates go in groups of 4. Most of the time, the other 3 girls are from other schools, but this year, only 3 girls are going in with 3 other complete strangers. The others have a friend with them.

So here it is;
Get there, sign in, warm up, touch up the hair, check shoe ribbons, put on a little makeup, wrap up those blister prone piggies, pin on the identification number, more warm up.
Grab all the stuff to take in, i.e pointe shoes, towel, water, a pair of sissors. Line up and wait for the bell. Hugz, all the best wishes.
Bell rings, one more shudder and all run in to display in culmination, months, no years of blood, sweat and tears.

Conclusion: They tell me it's a lot easier than the classes they have to endure with me. Of course. Pi-shah! (crack of the whip) I am a slave driver! Results? Will have to wait. Meantime, it's done. Time to move on to greater and more fantastic things.
As for the 3 more girls on Sunday. Hang in there, it'll soon be over.

Major Exams coming?

2005-09-15T11:53:00.000+08:00

Next week 9 of our girls will be sitting for their Majors exam. 2 for Intermediate Foundation and the others for Intermediate.
For them at the moment, feeling nervous is probably an understatement. It's pointless for me to tell you girls not to be because you'll still go on feeling it. In fact, a little nervousness is good because it helps to jack up the andreneline. (Am I right, Emily?)
Just remember to eat right, sleep right and workout right. Also remember to be there EARLY
Do not think "I need to have more classes, more, more, MORE". We are at the end of the line now, we just need to cruise into exam hall.
By the way, make a checklist for all the things you need to bring for THE day. Check it twice.
When all these are done, just go in there and enjoy yourselves. After all, when will you ever get a class where you won't get scolding or lecturing at all???

Teacher Katy

TDS Blog

2005-09-13T12:58:00.000+08:00

Check this out. Uncle James has started a TDS Blog
There's some really cool articles for reads. So if you are bored with hours of sticking your head in your books, pop your head up and head over there and have a good read.
T. Katy

Ballerinas

2005-09-12T15:25:00.000+08:00

MS.Kang aka Ms.Lets-Have-Ballet-Class-Lets!-Lets!.

She's the semangat-test girl.
Never miss a single class unless something
important comes up.
June is usually the earliest in class
& is always seen streching and massaging her legs
her massive amount of NIKE togs are just too amazing

Oooh.. and u know whut?
She collects bottles and earrings!
I've never seen June without a pair of earrings during class
Oh so pretty and dainty!!!

Thank god for her spirit that keeps us all going.
I duno whut would happen if we didn’t have her
Calling us and asking for extra classes all the time.

Ms Han @ Ms.So-Darn-Long-Legs-&-Arms-
You-Can-Wrap-Them-Around-her-waist

I am serious. No kidding. I measured.
If you ever need to know what a ballerina looks like. Please take a good look at Pei Wun.
One look and u'll know.*gosh*
She even looks balletic in her school uniform!!!

The baby in our class, yes she is.
Pei Wun stretches like elasty girl.
Legs at either side of her, torso flat on the floor
Without wincing.

I love the way PeiWun dances.
Extremely graceful and gentle.
Yes we know u've got it in you girl.

Ms. Ng aka Ms.Principle-Of-Adage-School

When teacher goes.."im gonna do adage today"
Pohlynn is only starting to get all hyped up
while the rest of us groan in agony

Can u imagine?? And she complains
"Too little exercises for adage lar…"
crazy I tell you.
Im halfdying doing all the exercises
and she says not enough?
Too mmuch man.

All the same, Pohlynn really brightens up our classes
With her funnysilly episodes of life

Combine that with outrageously funny expressions & mimics of other people and u'll get the whole class in hysterical laughs.
But besides that, Pohlynn is a great person to be counted on
Always offering to drive ppl around
Initiating celebrations and sensible advice.

Ps: Ask her for the AngelinaJolie pout.

Ms.Liew aka Ms.She's-Getting-More-Curvy
*Whistles*-By-the-Day

She doesn’t talk as much.She listens more.
Amanda is one sweet gal who would kill ppl
With her nice-ness.Honestly!!!
Even when she's angry, u cant tell that she is.

This girl is great at pointing toes.
I tell you, look at her arch.
Can die wey…. *deadjealous*
She's also another one of those
Sit down in a spilt with no feelings whatsoever

I didnt remember until a few weeks back
that I used to sit with amanda
everyday in the bus after school.
My Bus mate
* beams proudly*
Poor her, always kena bullied by guys.
Shamefully. I couldn’t remember her name the first few days

Always had to ask
" ermmm… whuts ur name again ah?"
*malunyer* sorry amanda

Ms Yoon aka Ms.Get-Started-On-Anything-Related-
to-Bio-&-She'll-Never-Stop

She's that passionate about every else too.
Her music. MPO this. MPO that.
And currently, her HTML-ed blog & new found camera

She towers over everyone in class.
With Emily's laugh echoing, u know she's nearby somewhere.
Oh yeah, and this girl happens to know be our
Bio dictionary. Yesh.
And animal-ist(I dunno whether got such word anot)

Dogs.Snails without shells.how to burst a wateryblister.
Watever u need to know.
U should go refer to emily.

I should really thank this girl
Coz actually dared to let me drive her home after ballet.
After what everyone said bout my driving.
my faithful companion in the car.

Ms.Tan @ Ms.When-She-Jumps-There's-Hardly-a-Sound

Yes SweeLing does the quietest Grand Jete.
Everyone else goes 1 & a 2 *boom* bish**crash*
And she goes…. 1 & a 2 *tiny sound* in comparison to us
U'll realise that this girl always something witty to say.
And the way she says it. Like so slamber only.
Makes me laugh.

Oooh yeah… I love love love her phone.
And so does everyone else.
*Tee hee*
this girl is an angel.
Hear her on the phone(yes nice phone) talking
Woweee… so polite…..
I think everyone lurves her.
The form 1s go "sweeling!!!!" everytime they see her
And we go "sweeling…"
everytime we need to buy a piece of stationary.

*Phew*
What a long blog this has been
I really do enjoy our family of danceart.
So much shared, taught, experienced.
Funny moments.Bitter ones too.

Like pohlynn said.

The 'sour' face, muscle aching, painful blister, adage..
Bitter? What so bitter? Nothing bitter. We don't fight.
We correct each other.We look out for one another.

That’s what u call the danceart family

+Babeebutterfliez+

5 Common Dance Injuries & How To Treat Them

2005-09-12T02:12:00.000+08:00

: Ouch! Five common dance injuries & how to treat them.
Dance Magazine, April, 2005 by Linda Hamilton

DOCTORS, PHYSICAL THERAPISTS AND DANCERS SHARE THEIR HEALING TIPS.

WITH OVER 600 MUSCLES, 206 bones and countless nerves, ligaments, and tendons in the body, it's almost impossible for dancers to escape getting injured. Acute injuries, such as a sudden sprain or muscle pull, seem to happen out of the blue. One minute you're dancing, the next minute you've hit the floor. Chronic problems, like tendonitis, develop from repetitive stress over time. The dance community is paying mare attention, with companies like New York City Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre providing cross-training, pre-season screenings, and educational seminars to reduce injuries. In today's fast-paced, competitive world of dance, the new catch phrase is injury prevention. Though there are many types of injuries, some are more common among dancers than others. DANCE MAGAZINE interviewed health care specialists and performers about five of the most prevalent injuries.

ANKLE SPRAINS
Few dancers manage to perform without ever spraining an ankle. According to Dr. William Hamilton, orthopedic consultant to the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the School of American Ballet (and my husband), ankle sprains are the most common acute injury in dance. Less well-known is that they also tend to happen more than once. Megan LeCrone, a promising young corps dancer, has had three sprains since joining New York City Ballet three years ago. Her most recent ankle injury occurred in a late afternoon rehearsal of The Nutcracker when she says she felt a "pop after slipping in a pile of snow."

Fatigue may have been a factor. LeCrone recalls feeling tired before she slipped, due to back-to-back rehearsals. It was impossible to tell if the injury was serious because her "ankle looked like a balloon!" Luckily the swelling went down after she began the standard treatment for all acute injuries: RICE, an acronym for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

The next step in rehabilitating a dance injury is to grade the severity. According to Marika Molnar, director of Westside Dance Physical Therapy in Manhattan, a Grade 1 ankle sprain could be a microtear or excessive stretching of the ligament with no looseness, while a Grade 2 involves a more severe tear, at times with a noticeable pop, and some instability. Grade 3 is a complete tear of the ligament with significant instability. LeCrone remembers, "My first sprain was so bad my foot was just hanging off the end of my leg." This time it wasn't that serious, most likely because she had kept her ankle strong with daily physical therapy exercises. If the ankle is still weak, painful, or swollen in spite of time and rehab, you may need surgery. Dr. Hamilton believes that operating on torn ligaments in professionals with Grade 3 sprains can allow for a faster and more solid recovery.

KNEE INJURIES
The knee is vulnerable to injuries that range from mild to severe, including meniscal or cartilage tears. Apart from the usual wearing out of cartilage from loading the joint, Dr. Douglas Padgett, who practices at the Hip and Knee Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, believes that some of these knee problems may occur in dancers with limited hip rotation. Twisting your knees to improve turnout may place you at risk for meniscal damage.

Choreography that involves deep squats or sudden grand plies can also damage knee cartilage. "It's like pinching your finger in a door hinge," says Katy Keller, clinical director of physical therapy service at the Juilliard School. Johary Ramos, a former dancer in the Fosse national tour, remembers performing a somewhat brutal number where he had to jump from a ladder backstage onto a trampoline and land in a squatting position on the stage. In one performance, Ramos says, "I felt a weakness but didn't know anything was structurally wrong. I did nine more performances until my bad knee was so swollen that I couldn't walk."

At first, it may be difficult to tell if an injury is mild, moderate, or severe, especially if you're like most dancers, who rarely give in to pain. So, unless your physical evaluation indicates that you need surgery because your knee is locked, you follow the same procedure for ankle sprains: RICE and rehab, including hands-on therapy and exercises. You may also try other modalities like electric stimulation to speed up the healing process. If your knee continues to catch or cause swelling and pain, your doctor may order an MRI for a more accurate diagnosis. Dancers who require surgery usually have it performed with an arthroscope, which is an instrument about the size of a drinking straw that can remove bone fragments and trim the meniscus.

HAMSTRING INJURIES
Muscle pulls are rarely serious, unless they occur in a vulnerable area, such as the hamstring. According to Dr. Hamilton, this muscle spans two joints (the knee and hip), with "a large blood supply that causes inflammation and scar tissue when it's torn." Dancers use the hamstring in almost every movement of the lower body, making it easy to overload. Tightness is the main cause of these injuries, although Keller believes that other factors include structural asymmetries, like a crooked pelvis, and muscle strength imbalances. Many young dancers experience these imbalances during growth spurts, when they temporarily lose flexibility, strength, and balance. What to do? Like most good dancers, they work harder.

This scenario happened to Sylvie Rood, a student at the School of American Ballet who began to lose her technique as her bones lengthened, leaving her muscles and tendons lagging behind. Rood said she was determined to "get my passe level with my hip, and it started to hurt. I thought stretching would help but it only made things worse." She now realizes that, until her growth stabilizes, she needs to back off, rather than work harder. As for her pulled hamstring, rest followed by a progressive stretching and strengthening program has helped her recover. Dancing yourself back into shape with this muscle pull is not recommended.

HIP INJURIES
Some dancers are born with perfect turnout--the envy of every ballet dancer. But in some instances, says Dr. Padgett, this large degree of rotation may be due to shallow hip sockets (acetabular dysplasia), which the body attempts to stabilize with a very large acetabular labrum--the supporting rim of hip cartilage. "It's terrific when you're 16, terrific when you're 23, not so good when you're 35," says Dr. Padgett. Why? Because in some cases symptomatic labral tears may represent the first step toward degenerative arthritis and, perhaps, even a hip replacement. So much for great turnout!

Most doctors diagnosed hip pain as tendonitis until 10 years ago, when new MRIs revealed meniscal-like tears in the labrum. This tear, according to Dr. Padgett, is similar to tears in the knee with "catching or intermittent locking after a violent maneuver, like a Broadway performer doing a big fan kick." A more common symptom is a gradual increase in groin pain, causing the dancer to avoid certain movements, like developpe a la second.

Stephanie Walz, a principal dancer with the contemporary Maximum Dance Company in Miami who was initially blessed with excellent turnout, remembers the feeling. "It was like a growing, nagging pain, like when you've overdone things but it doesn't go away." Still, labral tears that heal or become asymptomatic within three months require monitoring rather than surgery. American Ballet Theatre physical therapist Peter Marshall usually advises relative rest along with strengthening exercises. He also recommends avoiding turnout and staying away from anti-inflammatory medication that could mask the pain.

BACK INJURIES
Chiropractor Dr. Lawrence DeMann Jr. in New York says, "The most common problem is when the dancer says 'My back is out!' from joint fixation." Simply put, the back freezes up, causing a localized aching pain over a specific joint that limits movement (rather than nerve pain that radiates down an arm or a leg from a ruptured or degenerative disc.) While it's hard to pinpoint the reason, possible causes for back problems include fatigue, hypermobility (where you can wrap your legs around your head), scoliosis, leg length inequalities, and emotional stress. The most severe cases involve intense spasms in which the muscles contract to protect the joint.

Dr. DeMann treats spasms by freeing up the joint. Marika Molnar recommends physical therapy to reduce inflammation, using alternating heat and cold, which speeds up the exchange of fluids and brings a fresh blood supply to the area. She also gives exercises for the deep abdominal muscles to stabilize the back and pelvic girdle. She counsels against crunches and sit-ups during the acute phase.

Movin' Out's leading dancer John Selya has had only a couple of back injuries during his varied career in ballet and on Broadway. One time his back went out after he landed from a jump and was suddenly, he recalls, "completely crooked. I couldn't straighten up for two days." While performing a variety of dance styles over the last two years in the show, Selya doesn't believe that any particular movement pushed his back over the edge. Instead, he says, "There's probably a huge emotional component to nay back going out. Personal things were happening that I'm sure contributed to the tension and my back problem." Hormones that flood the body in times of stress cause the muscles to tighten in an effort to form a protective body armor. Under these circumstances, stress reduction strategies, from massage to counseling, can help.

While dance injuries are a fact of life, there is a lot you can do to reduce their severity. These treatments include decreasing fatigue, backing off during growth spurts, getting a correct diagnosis, and rehabilitating residual problems to prevent re-injury. Your body will thank you!

Linda Hamilton, Ph. D., a senior advising editor of DM, is a clinical psychologist in private practice and the wellness consultant for the New York City Ballet.

Sunday Classes

2005-09-12T01:28:00.000+08:00

Teacher Katy

I really, really, REALLY HATE Sunday classes. This is all due to some mash potato brains who has decided that there should be extra number of holidays for the Deepavalli and Hari Raya break.
So they are taking the last school week off but the number of days have to be replaced with Saturday schools. Here's where it begans to irritate me. ALL MY SATURDAYS CLASSES ARE AFFECTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hence, I HAVE to postpone all Saturday classes in September and October to Sundays. As if it's not enough to suffer the fact that I have my Sundays gone now, students come in with long-ish faces because they cannot go 'gai gai' ( out, shopping etc) with their family. Hey, I too want to go 'gai gai'! I also have quite a number of parents grumbling to me for the fact that classes have to be on Sundays. DO I HAVE A CHOICE????????
Am I shouting quite a fair bit? You would too if you know that for the next two months you will not be able to atttend Sunday church services, go out for breakfast and lunch with the family, spend quality time with husband, take a Sunday nap and do all those lazy Sunday stuff.
So for those who has to attend my Sunday classes, spare me a thought and give me a huge grin. Better yet, dance beautifully and make me feel that the sacrifice is worth it.

Point-tee Work - Teacher Katy

2005-09-08T15:04:00.000+08:00

Ya, ya, ya, it IS easier than the other place but I am still fumbling about. Spent the whole last night (actually early hours of the morning) trying to upload pictures but could not log in. A few hours later and hair much greyer, I found out that I typed danceartkl instead of DanceArt_KL for username. Sister, Jasmine, in Canada was trying to help me out. So you can imagine the lovely and colourful keys she typed on the chat screen when I told her that.
But it was all for nothing, because today I uploaded the pix on the left of this screen the same way as I always have done in my personal blog
Anyway, don't matter, just as long as it gets done.
Why the nice picture with the 'point-tee' shoe? Well, because this past week, both the Intermediate Foundation and the Intermediate class have been giving me *censored* work en pointe. Why lah? You people think that I am gonna live too long, izzit? So you want to shorten my life? Gimme a break, please? DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
If it's blister-prone, then plaster it or something. Shoes too hard - soften them, shoes too soft - get new ones. If, ok get this, toenails are too long, CUT THEM! (This excuse tops it all)
I hope classes this evening will go better. I deserve it!

2005-09-08T09:46:00.000+08:00

Happy Family

Rumah Baru - Teacher Katy

2005-09-08T02:14:00.000+08:00

Due to popular demand, we have moved house, to Blogger. The other one posed to many problems. This lah, that lah. And hear this, those who requested for this, you gotta contribute. This blog is for all of us to hang out in, not just me and me alone. If I want to do that, I might just as well stay in my own blog.
Meantime, for those taking exams in a week's time. Stay healthy. Make sure you cut your toenails way before the examination day. Oh boy! I can't wait for exams to finish.............and you thought you are the only ones? Yes, yes, yes, get it over with.