Saturday, June 7, 2008

EVENTS - JUNE 2008

6th & 20th
Royal Selangor Golf Club - Social Dance Workshop Series
Dance : Off Beat Cha Cha
Organizer : RSGC Sports Division

7th
Daniel & Cindy Leong's Line Dance Farewell Party
Location : KGNS (Subang Golf Club), 4 pm
Organizer : Daniel Leong (012-386 0611)

7th
Sai Min's Social & Line Dance Party
Location : OUG Club, 5 pm
Organizer : Lim Sai Min

21st
Studio 33 Annual Line Dance Party
Location : Genting Highlands
Organizer : Teressa Liu (012-388 0135)

Line Dance Workshop - Kota Kinabalu, 3rd May
















I was invited by a lovely lady named Beeda to conduct a technique & styling workshop for Line Dancers in Kota Kinabalu in Dec 2007. However, due to committments and festivities we only managed to get a date together this year and I'm sooooooo glad we did.

First of all Beeday herself is a wonderfully warm lady and a really keen dancer. Together with another teacher, Annie, they met me at the KK airport and gave me a light breakfast overlooking the Marina. What a beautiful place to enjoy breakfast.

I was then taken to the workshop venue and introduced to my first group of wonderfully enthusiastic dancers. They had already learnt the steps for the dances that I was going to elaborate on and we raring to learn how to make it technically sound and master some great styling. What a PLEASURE it was to have such a like minded crowd. I enjoyed every hot, sweaty second I had with them. With the first group I managed to cover a cuban (Guajira by Sebastian Holtland) and a funky (Dont Need a Man by Darren Bailey & Lana Williams). The second group covered a cuban too (Going All The Way by Teresa Lawrence & Vera Fisher) and a lilt (Cherry Poppin' by Neville Fitzgerald & Julie Harris).

We had a total of more then 60 people which was the reason we broke the workshop into two groups so I could give more attention to individuals. There was some real talent in the groups too. Unfortunately I had only managed to allocate one day for the workshop and therefore did not have time to socialize with the attendees. Never fear!!! Because I had such great fun with you all, I promise to make more time during my next visit. That way we'll all be able to chat a bit and possibly shake backsides more together.

Thank you ALL, especially Beeda and Annie for your efforts and warm welcome and keeping me hydrated :) I'm so looking forward to going back again.

Friday, June 6, 2008

RSGC Social Dance Workshop Series - Middle Eastern Dancing

There was a good turn out of ladies eager to learn how to shake their bodies. Sadly I couldn't get any of the men to join us in the workshop. I think this was due to the fact that the event was publicised as 'belly dancing' instead of 'middle eastern dancing' which would have been more neutral.

Anyway, we all had a great time. We spent the first day trying to tame our hips and get them to do our bidding. I worked in a simple routine which helped teach the ladies how to move while accenting the thrusts, rolls and lifts of the hips.

On our second day I worked the ladies' upper bodies, teaching them basic movements with the shoulders, arms, fingers and chest. Utilising the simple routine we had used on the first day, we added in the arms and had a great time laughing at the difficulty some had trying to make our stubborn bodies adhere to our directions.

It was a great introduction to the art of middle eastern dancing and we had quite a few new faces in this workshop series. Hope we'll see them back during the month of June too.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Events in May 2008

Here's whats happening in May. Check it out.

Royal Selangor Golf Club, Kuala Lumpur
2nd & 16th
Social Dance Workshop Series - Middle Eastern Dancing
Organizer : RSGC Sports Division

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
3rd
Technique & Characterization for Line Dance - Cuban, Lilt & Funky
Organizer : Beeda Gautier

Royal Lake Club, Kuala Lumpur
10th
Social Dance Dinner with Demonstrations
Organizer : RLC Dancesport Committee

Kuala Lumpur Dance Association, OCM, Kuala Lumpur
24th
Social Dance Night with Local Buffet Dinner

The Singapore Millennium 2008 - 27th April 2008

It was great being back in Singapore and working with John & Josephine Tan, the organizers of the championship. This was their 9th championship in a row despite the many problems they've had in the history of the championship e.g. SARS etc.

There were a great number of couples this year (almost 250) and a panel of 21 international adjudicators led by Chief Adjudicator - Mr David Roberts (UK). Together with the scrutineers, which were led by Ms Agnes Ang, it was a tightly run championship which ran smack on time with few problems as we had a well seasoned team.

The couples in the Amatuer levels were incredible with many very evenly matched couples on the floor at the same time. Here are the results -

Latin Grand Senior - Tommy Gunawan & Krista, Indonesia
Latin Senior - Vincent Law & Lydia Yung, Singapore
Latin Novice - Karrent TAsman & Barita Sinesa, Indonesia
Latin Amateur Rising Star Closed - Jefferson Pimentel & Virgianie Oyao, Philippines
Latin Pre-Amateur - Jack Goh & Aurelia Hong, Singapore
Latin Teacher/Student 4 dance - Denis Kozinov & Viktoryia Bogucharskaia, Russia
Latin Amateur Closed Asia-Pac - Arkady Bakenow & Rosa Filippello, New Zealand
Latin Amateur Open - Anton Karpov & Khrystyna Moshenska, Russia
Latin Juvenile Open - Huen Tak Kin & Mak Tsz Kwan, Hong Kong
Latin Teacher/Student 3 dance - Larry Iguidez Jr & Anna Periquet, Philippines
Latin Teacher/Student 2 dance - Denis Tsarev & Elena Dobashina, Russia
Latin Junior Open - Chan Hing Wei & Chan Chui Mei, China
Latin Youth Open - Jefferson Pimentel & Virgianie Oyao, Philippines
Latin Junior Closed SEA - Karrent Hasman & Narita Sinesa, Indonesia

Std. Junior Open - Roman Ishutin & Yuliya Motygina, Russia
Std. Pre-Amateur - Eric Labita & Lim Eng Ai, Singapore
Std. Grand Senior - Jaap & Marianne Willemstein, Netherlands
Std. Novice - Jonas Napoli & Carol Cheng, Philippines
Std. Senior - Leodegario Marante & Michelle Liem, Indonesia
Std. Amateur Closed Asia Pac - Li Wei Ping & Sun Jia, China
Std. Teacher/Student 3 dance - Antonio Micheli & Ong Lu Yi, Singapore
Std. Youth Open - Dariusz Mycka & Hanna Zudziewicz, Poland
Std. Teacher/Student 2 dance - Andrzej Sadecki & Catherine Kasim, Indonesia
Std. Teacher/Student 4 dance - Livanne Jo & Bianca Tonizzo, Australia
Std. Amateur Rising Star Closed SEA - Leodegario Marante & Michelle Liem, Indonesia
Std. Amateur Open - Benedetto Ferruggia & Cludia Koehler, Germany

Congratulations to all the winners and all the best in your next championship.

Friday, May 2, 2008

I'm Still in the Loop

Hi everyone,

Just a brief note to say I'm still committed to this blog and will be giving you an update on the comps in Johor and Singapore as well as the schedule for May. I've been swamped with work, children and survival but I have got lots to share with you.

I'm in the midst of preparing for a couple of workshops - 2nd May Intro to Middle Eastern Dancing at RSGC 8:30pm and 3rd May Cuban, Funky & Lilt Technique workshop in Kota Kinabalu 11am & 3pm. I'll tell you more when i get back. It's going to be an absolutely hectic weekend but I'm sure it's going to be a blast!

Come back to this spot next week.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Raintree Club Social Dance Night

Hmmmmmm......what can I say. It was definately not as charged as I was expecting it to be but then again I think my expectations may have been a bit high.

The event started at 9pm and my partners and I were among the first to arrive. We were greeted at the door by Jessie, a former student of mine and a member of the club, and ushered to our hostess, Margie Kok, who had invited us to the event.

As we settled down at our table, several line dancers from the club's own class (conducted by Lily Chin) were already on the floor going through a few dances. Once we'd gotten our dance shoes on and ordered our drinks and said our hello's, a lovely cha cha came on and Michael and I hit the floor to give it a try. Unfortunately no other couples joined us, I think they were still doing their hello's, so we left the floor when the song ended.

Soon after they played a string of social pieces so Michael and I took my students onto the floor to put them thru their paces and use what they've spent months learning. A couple of line dances were played in between the social pieces so there was a fair share of the floor. A bit of disco was attempted too but it didn't seem to take off with the younger crowd and music soon returned to social and line dance stuff. The club's resident social dance teacher also took to the floor together with his partner and encouraged his students to join him.

I guess for a first attempt, it was good that people did show up to support the event. Hopefully the club will help the Dancesport committee to put on a more attractive event the next time. A good dose of embiance would really help together with a professional sound system. Let's hope Betty and Margie, of the committee, will strive ahead with the next event. Good attempt Ladies.

NOTE : The workshop scheduled for the 18th at SMASH has been called off due to poor response. I believe the studio will attempt to promote another sometime in the near future. Stay tuned.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Asia Pacific Dance Xplosion Workshop - 6th April 2008

Well well, a day filled with dance has ended, phew!!!

I was an inviated instructor at the first APDX workshop and was the first of 5 instructors in the workshop section. The day started at 9am and I had a really enjoyable hour teaching two of the dances that will be featured in the actual competition on July 20th (Soul Sister & Do Dat Dance). The crowd was responsive and eager to get started, something that certainly makes teaching a much more enjoyable experience. After I passed off to Lily Chin to continue, I had to rush off to conduct my Freestyle Jazz class in Kota Damansara so was unable to stay on for the rest of the workshop but I'm sure I left everything in capable hands with the other instructors - Lily Chin, Lim Sai Min, Susan and Joanne.

I returned just before 3pm to see Alvin giving the guest details of the upcoming competition and all it had to offer. After that the party continued with everyone enjoying themselves with the general dancing. Showtime followed soon with an opening performance by Rebecca and two incredibly talented male hip hop/breakdancers. There were also performances by the 5 instructors. Lily Chin performed a medley during which her youngest son joined her on the floor, adding some hip hop favour to her performance. Sai Min and myself performed solo with Sai Min giving us a beautiful waltz and lively cha cha. I pulled together a quick medley of 4 of my class peices which I hope was well received :) Susan and Joanne both performed with teams of their students and gave us all a good show. Later on the Joyclub students added to the showtime with some lively performances from the juveniles and juniors - good show everyone!

After more general dancing and some tea, during which I took the opportunity to catch up with some of the many other teachers that were there to support the event, the organizing committee encouraged dancers who were first time competitors to come to the floor for a mini competition and a good number hit the floor enthusiastically. The dance chosen was Part Time Lover which is a lively Jive styled dance. After a semi-final, 6 finalist were selected by the 5 judges and the finals commenced which much support from the crowd. The top 3 were clear winners with most of the judges decision being unanimous. Congratulations to the 3 winners!!!!!

I had to leave soon after that to collect my sons and to celebrate my eldest son's birthday. It certainly was a successful event by all accounts. The prizes presented to the 3 winners were certainly generous with values ranging from RM500-RM1500 I believe. As I left I also saw many more lovely big hampers for the luckly draws so the guest were certainly going to be well taken care off. It was a good start to their nationwide tour that will lead up to their Championship in July. I wish Joyclub all the best in their endevours and look forward to their July event.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Good golly gosh - Bron's got a blog!

Wow! Who would have thought it's be this easy to make a blog. I guess the days of needing major nerd genes to create one of these things is long gone. Thought I do have a computer nerd on hand (I love you Sze) I'm glad I managed this without her :)



Well then, now that I've got this up and running I think I'll use it to keep the Dance watchers & competitors of Malaysia updated with the going on's in my world of dance.



Some of you may know that I'm a professional Dance Emcee / Compere / Adjudicator / Choreographer / Coach & Teacher in 6 dicipline - Freestyle In Line (FIL), Freestyle Jazz, Cardio Dance, Social Dance, Line Dance & Adult Ballet. I specialize in the competitive side of most of these diciplines and many people ask about the events lined up here in Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia.



I'll try and keep you updated here and also on my website http://www.bronyabishorek.com/. Here's whats happening in April 2008.

APRIL 2008

6th - Asia Pacific Dance Xplosion 2008 - Workshop Tour
'This is the first of their workshops that will teach selected competition pieces to prepare
competitors for the APDX on 20th July 2008 in ShangriLa Hotel, KL.'
Time : 9:00 am Venue : TTDI Community Hall Organizer : Joyclub Dance Academy
(012-2096487)

12th - Social Night - Raintree Club, KL
'The Raintree Club is holding a social night for their members and guest. The night will
have social dancing of all forms - couple dancing, disco/retro, line dance etc.'
Time : 9:00 pm Venue : Raintree Club, Ampang, KL

18th - Line Dance Workshop @ SMASH, Kota Damansara
'SMASH is a studio that i rent space from and where I teach the majority of my classes.
They have asked me to conduct an introductory workshop for those interested to
discover the world of Line Dance. I'll be covering several different music styles to show
you how far it has come from the day of Country Western Line/Barn Dancing.'
Time : 7:30 pm Venue : SMASH studio, Kota Damansara, Dataran Sunway
(016-2132666)

26th - 1st Johor Dancesport Championship
'This is the first championship being held in Johor under the umbrella of the Professional
Dancers Malaysia Berhad (PDMB)."
Time : 7:00-11:00 pm Venue : Johor Organizer : Raymond Tee (012-7415795)

27th - Singapore Millenium 2008
Time : 9:00 am - midnight Venue : Suntec Convention Center Organizer : John &
Josephine Dance Creative, Singapore (02-63346230)

"Go where the rhythm comes alive"