Out of the so many routines, I will now make it a point to share with all of you a few of my favourites every now and then. And so I present my shortlisted ones over the last three weeks...
FIRST,
Sara & Jesus. (Btw, Jesus is pronounced as "A-sus"). They did krumping, a form of hip-hop.
0.10 - 0.13: note how Sara krumps onto stage and pushes Jesus away with such attitude!!!
1.08 - 1.11: they did the throw-themselves around turn so effortlessly and so to-the-beat of the music.
A little write-up on Krumping:
"Krump is an acronym for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise. It is a relatively new dance form pioneered by Tight Eyez & Lil C. Krump is an aggressive and spiritual form of dance with christian roots; characterized by free, expressive, and highly energetic moves involving the arms and chest, and has become a major part of hip hop dance culture. Krump has to be distingushed from clowning and "stripper dance"--two stylistically similar forms--by its seriousness of purpose. Among the "don'ts" of Krump, are the exaggerated bent-knee wobble-walks of clowning and the buttocks-bouncing of stripper dance. In one instructional video, Tight Eyez speaks of the 3 levels of Krump, those being "bucking" (making aggressive-looking movements), "amping" (becoming genuinely filled with the emotions one is portraying through choreography), and "spirit" dancing (in which the dancer moves beyond choreography and is lifted into a religious dance "in the spirit")"
Krumping's not easy, mainly because you got to do the movement with force yet control the backlash. Eg. I tried the chest-popping and hand thumping thing,.. had to slice the air with your arm very quickly,... with force so that it looks super-duber attitude yet control where the punch end. Very hard lei. You try? I hear my elbow crick after 3 tries.
Next up,
Anya & Danny. Simply beautiful and stunning. Yes, Anya & Danny! I've mentioned them before previously under "100th Post".
0.32 - 0.38: Danny holds Anya's head and both swirl their heads gracefully, WHILE the feet are also making turns round the stage. Very difficult!!! You try? Giddy boh?
0.51 - 0.56: Anya looks like a swan doing the spinning but observe and you will see Danny's the one doing the harder bit. His feet got to step around very fast. In comparison, Anya only has to spin on the spot. A duet's all about teamwork.
Finally,
Sabra & Dominic. A rhumba number. Considering what you see on taiwanese variety shows, this is refreshing. Instead of Latin songs, they dance to PCD's Stickwithu. A pop song, unusual choice but a smart one!
0.36: Okie, this is funny to me. Because during their practice, Dom's wearing a sleeveless top and Sabra's gotta plaster her hand on his armpit. Wahaha! Get my point? To perfect routines, you have to sacrifice.
0.39 - 0.41: Sabra slicks down onto the floor and slithers up between Dom's legs. Not easy to make it look graceful but they did.
1.21 - 1.23: They fell many times practising this move. Observe and you will find Dom puts most of his weight on his right while having to support Sabra's right leg. The amazing part? Sabra leans her FULL weight onto her left without losing balance. To find the equilibrium is the key and thus lies the tough part. You try? Bet you would fall down countless times too!
With such two individuals pouring their souls into each move, what fault would you lay upon them? Absolutely nothing!!! It takes sheer discipline to do what they do. Even when you don't see it live, you can still see that they danced with their life, with all they've got, with everything possible to create that perfect snapshot no matter which minute of the video you stop them at.
*APPLAUSE & SALUTE*
A little sidetrack to talk about one of my favourite choreographers on the show - Mia Michaels. She has worked alongside celebrities such as Celine Dion, Madonna and with Cirque Du Soleil. Her choreos are simply stunning. The one I posted before on Lacey & Kameron where Lacey jumped onto Kameron was choreographed by Mia Michaels.
To me, a good choreo accentuate the song/ music. It makes you much more aware of that certain beat/ accent that you normally won't take note of if you are just listening to it in your car. To illustrate, look at the below video to the song "Hide & Seek" by Imogen Heap. Choreo courtesy of Mia Michaels of course. The starting of the song:" Where are we?"
"What the hell is going on?"
All 6 dancers turn their heads to their right at the word "ON", making you so much more aware of this note in the song. You have to admit that you won't really take note of this beat in the music if you are just simply listening to the song with your eyes closed - these 2 lines would just be lyrics to you. Same theory goes for the chorus part where they formed a circle and stamped their feet to the lyrics.
"Mm,what you say?
Mm, that you only meant well? (Well, of course you did.)
Mm, whay you say?
Mm, that it's all for the best? (Ah of course it is.)
Mm, what you say?
Mm, that it's just what we need? (And you decided this.)
Mm, what you say?
What did she say?"
"Hide and Seek" is the first single by Imogen Heap from her album Speak for yourself. The song is performed with the sole accompaniment being the sound produced by a harmonizer (DigiTech Vocalist Workstation), creating an altered a-capella sound.
I adore the lyrics. It's like Mm what you say? Mm that you only meant well when you asked your kid to go for piano / swimming / ballet / acting, etc. Well of cos you did meant well. Mm, that its all for the best when you decide that your parents should stay in an old folk's home. Ah of course it is for the best. Mm, that it's just what we need when you tell your he/ she that yes, it's time to break up. And you decided this. When there's you and he/ she in a relationship. Mm, what you say?
Mmmmmm, What you say about who gives you the right to take away his/ her childhood, his/ her environment to live out old age, his/ her right to decide together the outcome of the relationship? What you say? What he say? What they say? What she say? What we say?
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I forgot to mention that BKK has the funniest English language. I bought stockings and on the plastic cover, the words are: "Craning neck to look into the distance advance guard's trend, you is given in the best design to the taste fashion life." I think what it meant is if you are "craning your neck" searching high & low or trying to anticipate what the "future trend" of stockings would be in fashion... then fret not, "look no farther" as this brand would be the trendiest of all.
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Why I hurt my ankle the other week was because of this tie-leg event during our department retreat!
We also built a 3-D sand dragon on the beach. We "treasure Hunt-ed" around the house. We had to be up-close with different colleagues... Don't pass gas in my face, Chris! *Yicks!*
Before the retreat, we were all asked to write our individual fantasies in confidence. At that time, I remembered I just watched 'Hancock' and so I chin-chai wrote:" My Fantasy is... To be a good-looking super hero. Because... How nice to have others to look up to me & depend on my superpowers in times of emergency?"
During the retreat, we were asked to guess which fantasy belonged to whom. It was funny in a warped kind of way. Kok Pang's so good with photoshop that he fulfilled each of our fantasy and here's mine..... *drum roll please*
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Dun LAUGH HOR!!!!!!!
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TA-DAH!!!!
You burst out laughing??? Ah dui! Heh heh.
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