If you are in the performing arts, you'd have to get used to a few uncomfortable things.

1. The mirror.  It should be your friend. No, not so you can preen all the time but so you can see yourself and how totally retarded you look as you attempt various moves. Just try not to stare too hard or laugh too loudly at other people or yourself as you attempt your moves. The good part about having that mirror is so that you can correct all your retardation to make it somewhat smooth.
2. Criticism. Everyone will get it. Most importantly, you  have to hear what is being said and put it into your performance to enhance it. Over the years, I've gotten my fair share of tough love and while it is never easy to deal with, once you address your issues and work on them, you will find that progress will come much easier.
3. Solos. A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to teach my fellow dancers a short choreo as part of our musicality training. No matter how long you've been dancing, sometimes the best way to learn about the music and how to listen is to come up with your own little masterpiece. I have to admit that even a 30sec piece was tough as I had to execute not only the moves for the girls but for the boys. I have new respect for choreographers and so do not want to be in their shoes!
4. Competition. Sometimes the competition for a dancer is not with everyone else but with themselves. Because there will always be someone better, faster and more agile than you. But the onus is on yourself to push as hard as you can in order to get to the next level. You just have to know that blood, sweat and tears are part of this shindig. The rewards are immeasurable but extremely satisfying at the end.   

Last week, I completed the Intermediate 3 class for Belly Dancing. Ana Dana was an interesting little choreo because for the first time, I had to do a choreo which relied on its coyness and sensuality. Watching this video and listening to my instructor's critique, I know that I still have much to work not only in terms of technicality and movement.

Despite it's exotic roots, Belly Dancing is not about being sexual...it's about sensuality and celebrating the female form. Hence, there are no movements where the performers touch themselves unlike in exotic or burlesque. Watching this video and others over the course of a year's worth of lessons, I'm pleased that there has been some improvement in terms of my movements. Now to work on refinement!


As always, there is always an aspiration. This time it is Sadie. She may be American but she also has the moves and the spirit of the dance down. Working my way towards moving like that!

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How old is this song? Regardless of its age, it still sounds great today and is one of my all time favourites :o)



In case you are wondering, its by Dan Hartman and no, he is not a black guy. The song's taken off the soundtrack of the film, Streets of Fire. I'm sure you'll recognize a few familiar faces in this movie.

I just came across the Reuters review for the musical "Lestat" and it is, pardon the pun, bloody hilarious :o)

Just how musical can a vampire get? Well, from this review - not very. My take is that if you have to do a vampire musical - go camp and aim for the funny bone. Otherwise, it should be left as it is. But that said, something seems to be missing from the musical. Everything looked great in the beginning; a promising cast, rich adaptation material and legendary songwriters. So how could it go wrong? Maybe it's missing some heart. I've seen Hedwig and the Angry Inch and although I am in no way a man with a botched operation, I could still identify with the characters - they came across as human - no matter outlandish and flamboyant they appear to be.

As literature, The Vampire Lestat book had enough material to satiate the hungry reader but once it's turned into a musical, it seems that it was just overwhelmed by the too many details in the original material and simply not enough time to cram everything in a 2-hour show. The book should've been left alone! Alone!

However, I don't agree with the comment in the article that read, "Bad reviews don't always spell doom, particularly for a show aimed at tourists rather than elitist New Yorkers". Regardless of whether it was targeted at jaded New Yorkers, wide-eyed tourists or even liberalists from the moon, audiences should be able to at least relate to a small part of the story.

So at the end of the day it looks like - back to the drawing board, guys! Try harder and well, if you can't make a decent musical, well, you could've passed it off as a modern contemporary piece of performance art or highbrow art. And everyone loves art, don't they ;o)