New Skill set picked up

Time is 10 June 2012. Well, I haf some spare time this week, so instead of doing nothing, I thought I shld pick up a new set of skills tt is relevant n perhaps beneficial to my future. So i took up video-editing n did up some choreography Reel of my past videos. I tried out a number of editing software n yup these are the results.

Honestly, I think they are v rough n Not well-done actually and I shld spend more time on trying out n understanding the video effects of the software's capability.

But I personally like my own Storyboard n the choice of song / video frames selected for these videos.
I will strive to improve alot in this set of new skills tt I acquired by trial & error... =)

(Scroll Down) Enjoy the clips n feel free to comment... =D Cheers!!
By order of Publishing, with the 1st video (TOP) as my v 1st try in video-editing, n 3rd (BOTTOM) as my latest works....



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Eternal Mythology

AHA 2010 + 2011(Compressed version)

WGS Dance Alumni Debut Performance (Behind the scene) - 2/6/2012

Contemporary Dance Choreography Reel by ZY

WGS Aesthetic Night 2012

WGS Aesthetic Night 2012

Time is now 5 Jun 2012.

The Aesthetic Night concert of WGS has just ended on 2 Jun 2012. It was one full of obstacles and one tt has shown me how my career down the roads these days would be tougher.

• 1st and foremost, the teachers in the sch have been sabotaging my items and arrangements in the overall setting. They claimed that there is not enough air-time and wanted to remove my items due to duration. 
• Next, they cut short my timing for tech-run on stage while I did not exceed the allocated timing to me. So out of goodwill, I gave in BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN TT I'M IN THE WRONG... I strictly followed the time slots allocated to my CCA, n I did not exceed the time. Cutting away my time for tech-run shows your poor time-mgmt / concert mgmt. U got it by because I gave in due to goodwill. They had poor runners who did not know the programme run-down n blamed my dancers for not appearing on stage for rehearsal when the music is played. When in actual fact, dancers were alr back-stage and were stopped by the runners from Entering the Stage cos they claimed it was not their time to be on stage yet.... -.-
• Last but not least, after numerous times of clarification & emphasis, I told them not to change my item synopsis, but when the prog booklet was printed out, it was changed... -.- Super Du Lan.... 小人搞小动作

Now back to e concert item and some thoughts over this whole new experience. Well, it was a good n enjoyable experience working with WGS Dance Alumni. I choreo-ed a long item - From Past to Present, which I used, Never Gonna give u up - Rick Astley, Pop - N Sync, Mad - Ne yo, Addicted - Stevie Hoang, Wedding Dress Instrumental - Tae Yang.

Something worth mentioning in this post would be a conversation with Vanessa. Well, over these few months, coaching & motivating the WGS current dancers was a toil 4 me. They were unappreciative n not hardworking to nail to the choreo. Through out e preparation, it keep dwelling on me whether I shld continue putting in so much effort for these ppl.

Words of encouragement from Vanessa came in an sms, which I thought I shld really Write it down here in my BLOG to remind me every now & then.

Me: Shld I put in so much effort to choreo nice items / just churn out items since the students of WGSS not appreciative?

Van: Of cos u shld put in effort to choreo nice items. Like I said, there r ppl who dun judge by dancers standards but by choreography. And besides, why waste time on something tt would be trashed-canned and not portfolio-worthy? Being an instructor is not only being an educator but also a creative individual (artist). Failing to educate ur students despite whatever reason dun mean tt u shld fail in choreo n suppress ur creativity. And Rembr tt Audience wont ask 4 reasons when they see a lousy item; they wouldn't care to ask if it's the students are CMI / unappreciative. But if your Choreo is good, there is a chance in audience appreciating it and saying: "Oh Man, the dancers can't execute the item well but the choreography is Sick yeah!!!" 

Well, because of this sms, I decided to Not remove the Wedding Dress Instrumental version from the entire item. So I guess, this item had the chance of seeing the light is because of this encouragement from a friend? Otherwise, this item would be aborted.....

Apart from dance steps n Choreo, I designed the new costumes for WD item and of course I plotted the lighting design for both my items. 1 of the most satisfying feedback I received from sophisticated audience is that the costumes & Lighting design both were very well done. =D Perhaps ppl may think tt hey whats the big deal sia? But hey, I plotted the lighting design for 2 items only in 1.5 hours. As I mentioned,  小人搞小动作, I only had 1.5 hrs to do my tech run, including running formations, try out stage, plus plot lighting. I think tt I'm really super efficient in getting all these done just in 1.5 hrs lor.... Damn those  小人....

I sincerely learnt much from this whole experience abt designing costumes / lights. Oh yah, Makeup concept was also by me... =) But of course, it was my students who did their makeup themselves...

Well, I didn't touch on the comments / reviews regarding the choreography because honestly, sometimes some of these feedback are just 客套话, so I'm still trying to source out more feedback / reviews from the more sophisticated audience b4 I write another post on the critique of the 2 dance items tt I choreo-ed. 

For now, please enjoy these few photos tt I ripped off randomly from FB, regarding the lightings =)

*I must really say tt no matter how good photos are, they cant really capture what the Human Eye can see. *Disclaimer: Tt day when I was in the Lighting control room, the color resolutions were more soothing to the eye compared to these photos. I guess these photos can only represent 70% of the REAL color / feel tt is seen Live tt day.

SOMETHING I WISH TO REMIND MYSELF ABT.....
〈最美丽的第七天〉

Time is 17 Aug 2011. Life is passing me by, time is not giving me any breathing space. I can feel memories failing me, health giving me way, body breaking apart....

Just wish to pen down something here which I think brought me some sweet memories... =)
Rembr watching this drama serial years ago, n somehow I remember tt the story touched me alot. Whats worth mentioning is tt this storyline resembles the works of 几米, the novelist/ artist that draws v interesting storylines. 〈向左走，向右走〉，〈你们我们他们〉are some of his renowned works that are turned into films/ drama。

Leave some clips here for future remembrance.... This story nv fails to remind me how Sweet it is to fall in Love with some1 who Loves u as well... =)

U.N.I 2011 - Choreography evaluation & Self-Reflection (PART II)

Now let's move on to PartII. Internal evaluation of the whole exp in U.N.I.
Honestly, wat m i doing all these for? Yes, i know e ans but then e issue is here. Who's there to receive wat I wish to give out? Sometimes its just 吃力不讨好.

Your Wedding is an item to my liking. But with it, it also brought abt some issues. Duh, =.= whats new? Which performing item didnt give me issue anw? Now I really gotta re-emphasize again, How much I really 敬佩 Lao Shi.

Its easy for certain ppl to come up with items n just talk cock all the while, n leech into ppl's productions. But honestly, having done AHA since 2007 till now n U.N.I 2011, I learnt tt having a BLAST in a concert ain't the most successful story. The MOST DIFF thing is CONTINUITY & SUSTAINABILITY. Link this to Soccer. Chelsea had some good seasons, but the one tt really sustained is Man U. N in this aspect, Im like Mgr of Arsenal, I always look out for unpolished diamonds, try to bring them in n groom them, but honestly I may not (may only, not definitely not) match up to those ppl who bring in established dancers into their items. Im happy with what Im doing, I like seeing ppl grown & improve. Tt's really a purpose in Life n more meaning in the item rather than just *COUGHING up an item to present.

Mr Low, my Lao Shi has sustained his SYF awards for the past 20 yrs n its how he managed to groom the students. Many students of the established schs may be MUCH better than his students, but truth be told, most of them gave up dancing later part of their life / they just cluster into a small cluster.

IMO, If u r a chef, n u r given v v v good ingredients to start with, it doesn't deserve as much applause as e chef who is given medicore ingredients yet able to whip up a dish tt's as good as yours.

At the end of the day, Its the CONTINUITY & SUSTAINABILITY tt really determines. Its a reminder to me, nv be contented with just a BLAST in 1 concert, showing tt I can sustain in the LR is definitely more impt. 虚怀若谷


I didnt comment on my own Choreo for the whole of this post is becos, I dun really know how to start. I dun really know HOW well I could haf re-coooked the dish to make it better given the ingredients I haf. I believed in terms of optimising the ingredients, Lao Shi would have done a better job than me.

Now the qtn lies: Did my Dancers LEARN things from me? Did they improve? Similarly to as a Choreographer, my work is subjected to the comments / decision by audience, My role as an Instructor is also subjected to the decision by my dancers, only they will know whether they learnt anything or not.... Im not in e position to comment....

At the end of this item, instead of the usual critiques, I only wish to thank my dancers/ Actors; its becos of u all, tt's y I cld stage this item... To me, being able to stage this item is then the most impt fruit I have reaped in this whole exp. THANK U V MUCH, MICHELLE TAN. Girl, your acceptance of the role as Female lead really meant alot to me (otherwise I wld haf to re-choreo everything with an imaginery fig).... So did the Ring.... =)

Your Wedding 你的婚礼
Dedicated to you...
On your Wedding Day...
You moved on, and I'm still Waiting...

Ever wonder what it feels like when u have to attend a wedding as the best man n even play the Wedding March for e couple when the one getting married is e Love of ur Life?

See you in your Wedding Dress......

U.N.I 2011 - Choreography evaluation & Self-Reflection (PART I)

Time is June 2011. I ended the journey with U.N.I 2011, choreo-ed a piece tt I really wanted to express. Your Wedding, 你的婚礼. The synopsis is as follows: Dedicated to you... On your Wedding day... You moved on, and I'm still Waiting....

This Choreo experience with this new batch of students didnt turn out as wat i expected. Some things were missing n of cos I was faced with disappointment. But wat can i do? I know e concert is not their priority, but yet sch performances is. So its quite a bit diaozz.... =( Outside events shld be more fun than sch perf? I rembr when I was a student, It was so fun doing outside perf, cos back then it meant ----> U were good enough to be presented OUTSIDE, n not just in SCH to (ur frenz) a Safe & Comfortable audience.

Anw, Your Wedding, this item consisted of an acting segment with Sam & Michelle, a Lyrical Contem (The Face), a Solo part (Without You - X Japan), an acting segment Sam & Michelle, wrapped up with a Lyrical Hip Hop (Wedding Dress). Thats the full structure of my piece in U.N.I 2011.
(Performers: Sam, Michelle, Vanessa, Siqi, Misa, Yoke Kay, Si Ning, Sin Zhi, Eugene, Xuan Hao, Myself)

Choreo-wise, this was the 1st time I presented something I wanted. Perhaps in terms of dance steps, I simplified a little due to the customization for e dancers, but in terms of idea, it was exactly what I wanna do. So this time rd, I shall not comment on my own Choreo. Instead, I will drop some comments tt r given to me by Audience.

(N/B: There r always 2 schs of thots.
1) Jeff Chen once taught me: 你做你自己要做的东西，不要管观众的意见。观众是今天会把你捧上天，明天会把你摔下来的.
2) Last yr when Cloud Gate Dance Theatre was in SG, During the post-perf talk, 云门舞集 - 林怀民 said of their item: Wind Shadows is a new work, n he himself as e Artistic Director cld not know wat Audience's response is as this work Defers from the usual works of Cloud Gate. He said: U r the Audience, U be the judge & decide whether we did a good job or not. If its not, It means we Failed for this proj.)

This means even Cloud Gate is v mindful of the audience's comments, & accepts e audience's response when tt they r demned to haf failed. As for Jeff's idealogy, he disregards what the audience thinks at all, even if audienceship is cui, he oso bo chap... These r the 2 schs of thots.

COMMENTS / REACTIONS
1) Night 1 : So sad.... =p (This audience commented at my ending when I dropped the ring & Michelle walked away in darkness, I felt so happy, knowing tt they think its sad.... Haha)
2) Night 2: OMG! Your item is so Tragic...
3) The WD routine is damn hard leh...
4) Wah the WD routine how to do one? Tt part, the hands hands one (refering to e precision part) So fast?
5) When WD music came on, Audience started to talk among themselves n anticipated e MTV dance. (Nv did they expect a faster / more complicated dance.. =p)
6) Crazy dance, squeezed so many things in 2 min, (quoted by a fellow dancer) =)
7) Ur dance item itself is worth the Ticket px liao
8) Can see that ur item dancers r more Disciplined n professional
9) Ur item & 童趣 r the only items that is understandable
10) 'The WD choreo was the best choreo she ever saw....' =)
11) U chose the correct Female Lead, she's so pretty..... So pretty that my dance steps not impt liao.... -.- Hahahaah
12) Ur Female lead is so Pretty, u chose the Correct Person, It beautifies the entire storyline...
13) Congrats on last night's wonderful performance. Could see Liu Lao Shi's shadow in many of the students' choreography. Yours dont really see any, rather original
14) The WD dance Beats were COOL... (IKR, otherwise why wld i choose tt song? LOL)
15) Hey, didnt know tt U can choreo Modern Dance piece, thot u Hip hop all along... -.- IKR
16) Impressive dance, Very COOL.....

How come Audiences always like to use the Word - COOL ??

Harsher Comments/ Learning pts:
1) Ur item a little shallow, v much in the face to tell the audience.
2) Ur item a little empty, could fill in more movement language, no ups & downs (not enough) in the whole emotional ride.
3) Candles can be put to better usage

U.N.I 2011 - Production evaluation

Time is June 2011. U.N.I 2011 has just ended on 10 & 12 Jun 2011 at PA Black Box Studio, with a total audienceship of 240 pax, rather close to my estimation. With a total working crew (includ dancers) of abt 50 pax, i wonder if the production can be considered a success.

The interesting issue here is, Ever since I was "unplugged" by Jeff Chen back in 2004/05, I nv go to Sch productions anymore. On 30 May, I decided to go for 1 with Vanessa n it was an interesting night for us. Both of us agreed that "Heng ah, Lucky we came to watch a production tt is so near our own date of perf, so tt we can really experience e grd n abosrb alot alot more learning points w/o banging the wall....". =p

So, based on the audienceship of say 1000 pax, a working committe crew of 40 pax, plus 3 CCAs worth of dancers, I sincerely wonder which Project yielded a better return in terms of working capital investment. Comparing both projects, which one wld haf given a better yield?

It wld deinitely been better for DI to stage 3 shows instead of 2. If it staged all the way from Fri-Sun, I believed this proj wld be a better yield in terms of working capital return.

This Journey was definitely a tiring one. I pushed for it to go thru, w/o the cooperation of many; There r some leeches always hindering e progress of e project. Somehow, these ppl really dun understand. They behave like leech n just wanna hop on the bandwidth of the project n yet nv contribute. =( Sianz...

Im personally a little glad tt this proj pulled thru n I think there r some success points in this whole proj.
1) We injected new energy into the Space in Obox. Previously no one wld take it as a performing space, but we r now the precedent who energized the space.
2) We knew our limits, strengths, weaknesses; We targeted a reasonable amt of audience of the correct audience grp
3) We re-introduced the Idea of U.N.I to the new batch of young ppl. Hopefully it will spark off more proj & interests in e future
4) We completed the proj Fast & Furious (within 4 mths), w/o all the procrastination

Well, Wat im really displeased abt this proj wld be the audienceship honestly. Ideally, I would hope in future, we can charge up a total audienceship of 450-500 pax over 3 shows.

As for the unhappy parts during this proj in DI, I guess it cant really be changed since the working culture there is lidat n there's ppl always there to disrupt the working process flow, guess I can only face it n yet complain abt it every single proj lor. Perhaps till the leeches disappear ba... Shan't chock up this entry with more unhappy stuff...

Next up; U.N.I 2011 - Choreography evaluation =)

The Woman behind the Successful Man

I believe this quote is not new to anyone. I happened to watch an episode of <<美人心计>>
on SCV n I found it v interesting. I went to Wiki to read up on the show since I dun haf time to sit in front of the TV. Its basically revolves ard the empress of Han Wen Di, the emperor in Eastern Han Dynasty.

As usual, this show revolves n exihibits the difficulties a woman faces esp when she has to juggle family, career, status, power struggle, love etc. Its quite informative n gives a number of diff perspectives. However, what caught my attention was the lyrics of the ending theme song <<椒房殿>>. Quite interesting that the song is named as such. Cos actually 椒房殿 is the name of the Empress Palace in Han Dynasty. Wherever the empress stays, her palace will be named as such. Thus, this song actually has a hint of the power struggles n e route towards being an empress.
It also shows tt every concubine wants to become empress so tt they can Move into tt particular palace.

The lyrics of the song is super nice. Pls refer to them below. =)
最初的那一眼 最缠绵
擦肩而过的 岂止是誓言
温柔地贴烫着 我的脸
忘记了所有 的时间

昨夜的梦里面 太缱绻
黄花飘落的 岂止是衣边
纠缠在一起 不想成仙
最爱的人 不在身边

椒房殿 长门怨 落花吹满天
寂寞的春蚕 苦作茧
岁岁又年年 太眷恋太疯颠
扯不断的线 残破的书记不下一个个红颜

Anyhow ARTS 2010 (Part 2)

Thoughts on AHA overall in the past 5 yrs. I participated in the past 4 yrs n made an impact on some students, made some grew, some left, some still stagnant. Which exact yr was the 1 i enjoyed most?? Well, i sincerely dunno, n i dun even know how to rank them. Of cos i shldnt in e 1st place. Lets just recap my happy moments. =)

2007 - A relatively simple item but it was hassle free, the dancers Jun Cheng & Joanne were totally independent n can master what was given to them =)
Stress lvl - Zero. Disappointment lvl - Zero. Enjoyment lvl - High

2008 - A nice item n glad tt the students improved so much, literally to another level =)
Stress lvl - Close to Zero. Disappointment lvl - Zero. Enjoyment lvl - High

2009 - A nice item n get to work with wonderful ppl who practise v hard. V happy tt Joanne & Yiyang improved so much during this item, perhaps cos they 1st time working with me, so like wat he said earlier, the Gap super big. The Gap for Vanessa & Vivian not so big in this yr liao.
Stress lvl - High. Disappointment lvl - Ok. Enjoyment lvl - High

2010 - A new challenge to work with TOTALLY new additions to the team, which made me doubt my 眼光. Really gotta look more carefully next time. Overall Happy cos Si Qi joined e team, 1st time working with her, a v pleasant experience. Happy becos Siqi & Vanessa tried out e piano precision part; allowed me to play e choreography for e 1st time with such music. (Didnt dare to try out this type of things at all with previous yrs' cast) Unhappy cos some Dancers left, n becos the remaining dancers mostly remained at the same lvl, didnt improve.

Stress lvl - High till I give up, just told them to enjoy themselves, didnt dare to put expectations.
Disappointment lvl - Similar as above.
Enjoyment lvl - Low (So Low tt I didnt come out for Curtain call, only enjoyed during post-concert Supper time, Diaozz......)


SO Honestly, I dunno did i succeed as an instructor in grooming new talent? As a choreographer I definitely learnt alot more n learnt much much more how to work with students. But tt is my personal development, in terms of helping Dance Inspiration, I dunno did i make any results at all... Sigh... It's over anw, so I shall move on... Look forward to the next DI production. =)

CHEERS TO ALL MY MEMORIES OF AHA!!!!!!

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