M.A.D and SYF Open Rehearsal
Today was the SYF Open Rehearsal. Ok, I knew there were definitely some hiccups. Afterall, we're practicing on a stage two-thirds the size of the actual stage! So if for our rehearsal-performance today there were parts that seemed slightly problematic (with spacing and stuff), please forgive us! But I'm sure you still think it's good right? Wait till you see it with all the lightings! Then you'll probably just melt away together with us! Thanks for the many comments and support anyway! Really appreciate it!
Anyway, it's been such a long time since I've gotten so emotionally impacted. It's that feeling altogether that I experienced at the end of Huang Cheng. That moment when the audience gives their applause for your performance! How do I describe it? It's this ecstatic, happy mixed with melancholy kind of feeling. Maybe it's just feeling touched for the appreciation and recognition the audience has given you of your hard work. I'm glad I caught hold of that today since I've been feeling rather stale on the emotional aspect of artistic performances recently. It's like an emotional mental block that I'm glad in today's session, I've somehow managed to get through.
Thinking on what Meiling, Liu Qian, Clarice, Nicholas and Kelvin has said today, I can't help but think about how this whole M.A.D Modern thing started. I guess it all began on a particular rainy day in April? I remember I was just sitting at the class bench and then Liu Qian asked me whether I would be interested in joining SYF, since they needed guys. I didn't exactly know it was Modern at the start, so I was definitely ok about it! (All along I've wanted to join M.A.D, but being part of Huang Cheng for the first 3 months, you don't really have a choice on which CCA you want to join for that period of time anyway.)
To Liu Qian: I really want to thank you for having offered me that opportunity that day! For how far I've come to today, I guess I owe quite a lot of it to you! For giving me that opportunity to get started!
I don't think I'll ever forget the first practice session. This was when I first stepped into the PE dance studio and then subsequently, getting to know Ainan, Clarice, Alicia and Samantha! (Oh yar, and Liewqi too! Since she was watching us during practice!) "And then there were 8." I remembered I was in Macau for competition when Kelvin asked me to SMS my choice for who was going to be choreographer. Somehow, we came to the consensus that Dan was the best choice for us, in being able to clinch something for the school. In retrospect, everything just fell into place. I'm really glad we chose Dan, I don't know how else it would have turned out.
It was then pirouettes, jetés and lifts! Of which I recall one of them involved an accident between me and Meiling, of which she fell on her head! Ouch! But yup, flexibility wise, I see we've gone a long way. At the start, the guys were still rather reserved about the whole "modern/contemporary" thing, and there were SO MANY THINGS we couldn't do, of which we affectionately termed them W.C.D. (WE.CANNOT.DO). But moving back and fro the PE studio to the Alumni Studio, I guess the changes got increasingly drastic as time went by. This period marks the beginning of the actual dance choreography as well, not to mention those days when Clarice had to lead like 50 of us in warm ups!
When the Nanyang girls came, ratio of girls to guys was like 1:15! Simply overwhelming! I guess it was awkward at the initial phases! In fact, I don't think we were really performing together as a team until Dance Camp came about! That was when the ice totally broke and we finally got to know each other MUCH better! (It think it's an understatement to just use MUCH better, it's like A WHOLE LOT MUCH MORE better!)
When school reopened for a new year of 2007, this was when our Nanyang juniors officially became part of Hwa Chong and more importantly, Hwa Chong M.A.D! Not forgetting of course our juniors from other schools! Laming and nonsensical crapping between seniors and juniors necessarily ensues! I guess our dance truly fell into place at this period of time, when a large section of our choreography had been settled.
Somehow along the way though, with all the routines and trainings, I guess most of us lost our passion for dancing in a way. It had become more of an obligation, rather than something that we enjoyed doing. From the belief us J2s held in getting a "Gold with Honours", somehow, that vision we had became increasingly blurred. Today was all about putting those back into perspective.
As what Meiling mentioned on her blog, I guess wording things out does help you get a better grasp of your thoughts. I really felt that we had the potential to get "Gold with Honours". Even though I had no idea exactly what a SYF dance was like, but you could just feel it when we were practicing together (in the past, simply as just 8 people), and with the inclusion of our juniors, I think the way Clarice put it was very apt. They were simply 'god-send' to M.A.D and to us seniors. Without them, it wouldn't even have been possible for us to even be part of SYF. Without them, M.A.D wouldn't be as vibrant in personalities as it is today.
When Liu Qian cried today, I don't know why but there was that part of me that awakened to the very fact that indeed, it was us, the 06/07 SYF batch that was going to bring home that glory (whatever it was) for the school and for M.A.D. It all boiled down to whether we trust in ourselves when others have placed their trust in us. Even though my commitment to M.A.D only mattered in this small (some might even say insignificant) way, but to be able to be offered this chance to clinch something for the school, I'm holding on tight to it, and I don't think I'm going to let it go that easily. I want to be more involved, I want to see M.A.D soar to greater heights and I want to see our Dance Night take place at Victoria Theatre or even the Esplanade! It's all about us locking onto the same vision and the same big dream we all have for M.A.D.
If there's something I want to say, I'll just say it. So here's giving a BIG SHOUT-OUT to Meiling, Clarice, Liu Qian, Kelvin, Nicholas, Ainan, Samantha and Priscilla! As batch mates, you people simply kickass. Just how do I put it? I guess at times I could have been left out, since anyway I wasn't there with you people through the first Dance Night, but all of you nonetheless didn't look at me as though I was some stranger but in a way, continued to place your trust in me. I guess I'm going to be eternally grateful for you guys to allow me this chance to join SYF with you all. Cliché as it might seem, it truly is an honour and privilege for me to be able to share the same stage as you people. No matter what happens, let's continue to push on for even greater heights for M.A.D and to get that "Gold with Honours"!
And here's another SHOUT-OUT to the juniors! I believe us seniors are so FREAKING PROUD of you people after today! The end is in sight, and I'm believing we'll be able to get our hands on that "Gold with Honours"! Yup, here's declaring that we WANT that "Gold with Honours", and although time is short, we're still going to continue to work hard for it! We're SO going to give it our full force, so just you watch out!
Yup, the only reason why school life can still be sweet for me, it's because I'm doing the things I love. M.A.D is one of them. :)
Anyway, it's been such a long time since I've gotten so emotionally impacted. It's that feeling altogether that I experienced at the end of Huang Cheng. That moment when the audience gives their applause for your performance! How do I describe it? It's this ecstatic, happy mixed with melancholy kind of feeling. Maybe it's just feeling touched for the appreciation and recognition the audience has given you of your hard work. I'm glad I caught hold of that today since I've been feeling rather stale on the emotional aspect of artistic performances recently. It's like an emotional mental block that I'm glad in today's session, I've somehow managed to get through.
Thinking on what Meiling, Liu Qian, Clarice, Nicholas and Kelvin has said today, I can't help but think about how this whole M.A.D Modern thing started. I guess it all began on a particular rainy day in April? I remember I was just sitting at the class bench and then Liu Qian asked me whether I would be interested in joining SYF, since they needed guys. I didn't exactly know it was Modern at the start, so I was definitely ok about it! (All along I've wanted to join M.A.D, but being part of Huang Cheng for the first 3 months, you don't really have a choice on which CCA you want to join for that period of time anyway.)
To Liu Qian: I really want to thank you for having offered me that opportunity that day! For how far I've come to today, I guess I owe quite a lot of it to you! For giving me that opportunity to get started!
I don't think I'll ever forget the first practice session. This was when I first stepped into the PE dance studio and then subsequently, getting to know Ainan, Clarice, Alicia and Samantha! (Oh yar, and Liewqi too! Since she was watching us during practice!) "And then there were 8." I remembered I was in Macau for competition when Kelvin asked me to SMS my choice for who was going to be choreographer. Somehow, we came to the consensus that Dan was the best choice for us, in being able to clinch something for the school. In retrospect, everything just fell into place. I'm really glad we chose Dan, I don't know how else it would have turned out.
It was then pirouettes, jetés and lifts! Of which I recall one of them involved an accident between me and Meiling, of which she fell on her head! Ouch! But yup, flexibility wise, I see we've gone a long way. At the start, the guys were still rather reserved about the whole "modern/contemporary" thing, and there were SO MANY THINGS we couldn't do, of which we affectionately termed them W.C.D. (WE.CANNOT.DO). But moving back and fro the PE studio to the Alumni Studio, I guess the changes got increasingly drastic as time went by. This period marks the beginning of the actual dance choreography as well, not to mention those days when Clarice had to lead like 50 of us in warm ups!
When the Nanyang girls came, ratio of girls to guys was like 1:15! Simply overwhelming! I guess it was awkward at the initial phases! In fact, I don't think we were really performing together as a team until Dance Camp came about! That was when the ice totally broke and we finally got to know each other MUCH better! (It think it's an understatement to just use MUCH better, it's like A WHOLE LOT MUCH MORE better!)
When school reopened for a new year of 2007, this was when our Nanyang juniors officially became part of Hwa Chong and more importantly, Hwa Chong M.A.D! Not forgetting of course our juniors from other schools! Laming and nonsensical crapping between seniors and juniors necessarily ensues! I guess our dance truly fell into place at this period of time, when a large section of our choreography had been settled.
Somehow along the way though, with all the routines and trainings, I guess most of us lost our passion for dancing in a way. It had become more of an obligation, rather than something that we enjoyed doing. From the belief us J2s held in getting a "Gold with Honours", somehow, that vision we had became increasingly blurred. Today was all about putting those back into perspective.
As what Meiling mentioned on her blog, I guess wording things out does help you get a better grasp of your thoughts. I really felt that we had the potential to get "Gold with Honours". Even though I had no idea exactly what a SYF dance was like, but you could just feel it when we were practicing together (in the past, simply as just 8 people), and with the inclusion of our juniors, I think the way Clarice put it was very apt. They were simply 'god-send' to M.A.D and to us seniors. Without them, it wouldn't even have been possible for us to even be part of SYF. Without them, M.A.D wouldn't be as vibrant in personalities as it is today.
When Liu Qian cried today, I don't know why but there was that part of me that awakened to the very fact that indeed, it was us, the 06/07 SYF batch that was going to bring home that glory (whatever it was) for the school and for M.A.D. It all boiled down to whether we trust in ourselves when others have placed their trust in us. Even though my commitment to M.A.D only mattered in this small (some might even say insignificant) way, but to be able to be offered this chance to clinch something for the school, I'm holding on tight to it, and I don't think I'm going to let it go that easily. I want to be more involved, I want to see M.A.D soar to greater heights and I want to see our Dance Night take place at Victoria Theatre or even the Esplanade! It's all about us locking onto the same vision and the same big dream we all have for M.A.D.
If there's something I want to say, I'll just say it. So here's giving a BIG SHOUT-OUT to Meiling, Clarice, Liu Qian, Kelvin, Nicholas, Ainan, Samantha and Priscilla! As batch mates, you people simply kickass. Just how do I put it? I guess at times I could have been left out, since anyway I wasn't there with you people through the first Dance Night, but all of you nonetheless didn't look at me as though I was some stranger but in a way, continued to place your trust in me. I guess I'm going to be eternally grateful for you guys to allow me this chance to join SYF with you all. Cliché as it might seem, it truly is an honour and privilege for me to be able to share the same stage as you people. No matter what happens, let's continue to push on for even greater heights for M.A.D and to get that "Gold with Honours"!
And here's another SHOUT-OUT to the juniors! I believe us seniors are so FREAKING PROUD of you people after today! The end is in sight, and I'm believing we'll be able to get our hands on that "Gold with Honours"! Yup, here's declaring that we WANT that "Gold with Honours", and although time is short, we're still going to continue to work hard for it! We're SO going to give it our full force, so just you watch out!
Yup, the only reason why school life can still be sweet for me, it's because I'm doing the things I love. M.A.D is one of them. :)