Saturday, January 30, 2016
saturday post
went up to the new house this morning to take a look at the furniture that has just been installed!
this is the most hipster room with the most hipster wall and the most hipster wardrobe.
the master bedroom!
master bedroom toilet, with the installed cabinet above the sink.
living room. that's the backdrop for the tv.
sliding door of the kitchen
kitchen! this is the side with all the 'fire' appliances, for example fire stove, oven, toaster, microwave. fengshui advice provided by my dad.
the other side of the kitchen for the 'water' appliances, for eg the kitchen tap and sink, the refrigerator.
Friday, January 29, 2016
malacca trip 2016
i have been to malacca a number of times.
the first time was with my family, when i was in primary school. parents brought us to a road trip to malaysia, where we drove from JB to malacca to KL to genting highlands and back to singapore. i remembered we ate this awesome bak kut teh from this roadside stall, and we stayed at this super grand hotel called hotel renaissance.
second time was with my army friends. one of them had an apartment at malacca, and had a trusted local guide, so we had a 3D2N food trip with free accommodation.
third time was with darling, xuehong and nzj. i contacted the same trusted local guide and we engaged his services.
fourth time was with jiepei, xuehong and nzj, when i dunno how this random trip to malacca came about, and ta da off we went there, and we stayed at this nice boutique hotel.
and the fifth time, was with my colleagues and students. a cultural immersion trip for 3D2N, covering places like maritime museum, cheng ho museum, peranakan museum (the place where mediacorp drama little nyonya was filmed), jonker street and school visits.
setting off with my form class 2E2! beside me is my FT partner miss ong. beside her is ms sheryl, the lower sec science level head, who is also 2E2's science teacher.
day 2, where we visited smk bukit baru. we were so overwhelmed by their warm hospitality.
wefie in front of their wall of friendship!
at the back alley of cheng ho museum.
dinner on the second night at this restaurant that serves delicious nyonya food!
group photo on the final day of the trip! the guy holding my selfie stick is the VP, Mr Steven Ng. a very soft spoken guy in front of the teachers, but he still got a loud commanding voice that he used it on my mischievous boys. never judge a book by its cover.
the 4 sec 2 classes who went from mon to wed came back to sg at about 730 pm. mr ng adjusted the itinerary by shifting an attraction on day 3 to day 2, that is really an ingenious move.
because of this strategic move, and we really pushed the kids on day 3 so that everything was according to schedule, we reached singapore at 5 pm.
but a small cock up happened.
a girl from my form class left her passport in the bus when we were clearing singapore customs. she panicked like mad and was so worried, and she cried. thank goodness mr ng was with her and so we had to wait for her to go to customs office to collect her passport. and the wait was very long. half an hour later she returned back to the bus with mr ng, and she was so guilty and so apologetic for holding us up.
so that's it about the malacca trip. the biggest take away from this trip is that i get to know my colleagues and students better. :)
the first time was with my family, when i was in primary school. parents brought us to a road trip to malaysia, where we drove from JB to malacca to KL to genting highlands and back to singapore. i remembered we ate this awesome bak kut teh from this roadside stall, and we stayed at this super grand hotel called hotel renaissance.
second time was with my army friends. one of them had an apartment at malacca, and had a trusted local guide, so we had a 3D2N food trip with free accommodation.
third time was with darling, xuehong and nzj. i contacted the same trusted local guide and we engaged his services.
fourth time was with jiepei, xuehong and nzj, when i dunno how this random trip to malacca came about, and ta da off we went there, and we stayed at this nice boutique hotel.
and the fifth time, was with my colleagues and students. a cultural immersion trip for 3D2N, covering places like maritime museum, cheng ho museum, peranakan museum (the place where mediacorp drama little nyonya was filmed), jonker street and school visits.
the 4 sec 2 classes who went from mon to wed came back to sg at about 730 pm. mr ng adjusted the itinerary by shifting an attraction on day 3 to day 2, that is really an ingenious move.
because of this strategic move, and we really pushed the kids on day 3 so that everything was according to schedule, we reached singapore at 5 pm.
but a small cock up happened.
a girl from my form class left her passport in the bus when we were clearing singapore customs. she panicked like mad and was so worried, and she cried. thank goodness mr ng was with her and so we had to wait for her to go to customs office to collect her passport. and the wait was very long. half an hour later she returned back to the bus with mr ng, and she was so guilty and so apologetic for holding us up.
so that's it about the malacca trip. the biggest take away from this trip is that i get to know my colleagues and students better. :)
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
malacca
i am blogging at 530 am from the staffroom. today i am bringing my sec 2 form class to malacca for 3D2N, the teachers have to be in the hall by 545 am to mark students' attendance and take their temperature.
the last time i brought students overseas was in 2013, to kota tinggi for the sec 3 cohort camp.
supposed to bring students to hong kong in 2014 but the trip was cancelled due to the yellow umbrella movement.
teachers bringing students overseas has come under alot of scrutiny, especially after last year's kota kinabalu incident.
hope that everything goes well from today to friday. everyone comes home safely, me included, and i am looking forward to saturday where i go to choose the lights for our new house with darling! :)
the last time i brought students overseas was in 2013, to kota tinggi for the sec 3 cohort camp.
supposed to bring students to hong kong in 2014 but the trip was cancelled due to the yellow umbrella movement.
teachers bringing students overseas has come under alot of scrutiny, especially after last year's kota kinabalu incident.
hope that everything goes well from today to friday. everyone comes home safely, me included, and i am looking forward to saturday where i go to choose the lights for our new house with darling! :)
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
a series of dance performances
last week was a series of dance performance from fri to sun, as an audience.
on friday evening i went to a black box performance at a very secluded area in woodlands to support my dance friend fionna. i can never imagine that there is a dance studio/black box in this bird dun lay egg place. and the cost is quite affordable! 15 dollars per hour to rent the dance studio! glad to meet kenneth, peter and angelene who were also watching on that day.
fionna is the one in white dress with paint stains. i first got to know her in 2014 when she came down to the previous workplace as a dance instructor for the mass dance programme. got to know her better in jan 2015 when we were involved in a performance at JB. on the day when we had to go to JB she was late for 2 hours because she took the wrong bus from eunos, and as a result we went into JB during the peak hour and was stuck in the car for more than 2 hours, so we had nothing to do but to TALK, TALK and TALK.
on saturday i painted the new house together with my in-laws. MIL can already be considered a professional painter because she always paint the house. i painted one of the bedrooms for our future child. darling wanted stripes so i spent at least half a day making measurements, drawing lines and pasting the masking tape, and finally doing the paint job.
here's the outcome!
not too bad for a first timer right? hahahaha.
and in the evening i travelled from the north back to the east to watch guofeng's dance performance at goodman arts centre. this performance was done by sigma contemporary dance, and guofeng is the artistic director. he collaborated with this lady from indonesia (who was formerly from T.H.E), and i must say this performance was very well done. one of the nicest modern contemp performances i have watched so far. i love the incorporation of the drone in the performance! super cool.
photos taken by jingkai, and this photo was featured in the straits times! congrats jingkai. :)
i know guofeng through 新艺. totally have no idea who was the one that invited guofeng to dance in the mongolian item (i am thinking that it was peter). from strangers initially to become beer brothers later on makes me realise how wonderful dance is in making new friends. guofeng look really good in dancing mongolian and i always look at him throughout the performance because of my poor memory in dance steps. hahahahaha.
finally, on sunday, went to hokkien huay kuan with darling to watch Emergence 2016. xuehong and michael choreographed for this performance. dancing in xuehong's item are sandra, regina and viv. dancing in michael's item are zhunian and bin gege.
love xuehong's concept in his item, in which the theme was the sense of hearing, and he used music from different eras and dancers wearing costumes from different eras to allow the audience travel to the past and back to the present.
as for michael's item, i will never forget this signature move that uses the palm. hahahahaha.
with the cast and audience from both NUSCD and 新艺。 i know i said this many times, but i am really thankful to xuehong for pulling me into NUSCD. if it wasnt for that, i wun have known so many friends, and wun have such an enriching experience as a performer.
sunday was also our 111th month anniversary! we got together on 24102006. that day was 24012016. we celebrated our anniversary by having a wonderful and filling lunch at carousel. :)
on friday evening i went to a black box performance at a very secluded area in woodlands to support my dance friend fionna. i can never imagine that there is a dance studio/black box in this bird dun lay egg place. and the cost is quite affordable! 15 dollars per hour to rent the dance studio! glad to meet kenneth, peter and angelene who were also watching on that day.
on saturday i painted the new house together with my in-laws. MIL can already be considered a professional painter because she always paint the house. i painted one of the bedrooms for our future child. darling wanted stripes so i spent at least half a day making measurements, drawing lines and pasting the masking tape, and finally doing the paint job.
here's the outcome!
and in the evening i travelled from the north back to the east to watch guofeng's dance performance at goodman arts centre. this performance was done by sigma contemporary dance, and guofeng is the artistic director. he collaborated with this lady from indonesia (who was formerly from T.H.E), and i must say this performance was very well done. one of the nicest modern contemp performances i have watched so far. i love the incorporation of the drone in the performance! super cool.
i know guofeng through 新艺. totally have no idea who was the one that invited guofeng to dance in the mongolian item (i am thinking that it was peter). from strangers initially to become beer brothers later on makes me realise how wonderful dance is in making new friends. guofeng look really good in dancing mongolian and i always look at him throughout the performance because of my poor memory in dance steps. hahahahaha.
finally, on sunday, went to hokkien huay kuan with darling to watch Emergence 2016. xuehong and michael choreographed for this performance. dancing in xuehong's item are sandra, regina and viv. dancing in michael's item are zhunian and bin gege.
love xuehong's concept in his item, in which the theme was the sense of hearing, and he used music from different eras and dancers wearing costumes from different eras to allow the audience travel to the past and back to the present.
as for michael's item, i will never forget this signature move that uses the palm. hahahahaha.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
nuscd photoshoot
this will most probably be my final photoshoot with nuscd.
my first photoshoot with nuscd was in 2008, for the performance 'A Chasse Across Time'.
let me bring you back to 2008.
#那些年 sia. hahahahahahaha.
and in 2016, i am wearing the same costume again. -.-'''
thank goodness i still can fit into the costume.
my first photoshoot with nuscd was in 2008, for the performance 'A Chasse Across Time'.
let me bring you back to 2008.
and in 2016, i am wearing the same costume again. -.-'''
thank goodness i still can fit into the costume.
DATE(S)
Friday, 11 March 2016
8.00 PM - 9.30 PM
8.00 PM - 9.30 PM
VENUE
University Cultural Centre Hall
50 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119279
50 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119279
PRICE(S)*
Priority Sales (NUS Student) - till 31 Jan
Category 1: S$19
Category 2: S$19
Category 3: S$19
Standard Sales - from 15 Jan onwards
Category 1: S$29
Category 2: S$25
Category 3: S$22
Concessions** - from 15 Jan onwards
10% discount on ticket price
For group booking of 20 tickets and more, please call our hotline at +65 66029900.
* Excludes $3 processing fee per ticket for prices above $20 and $1 for prices $20 and below.
** Applicable for any full time students, NUS students, NUS staff, AlumNUS, NUSS members, NSF and senior citizens.
Priority Sales (NUS Student) - till 31 Jan
Category 1: S$19
Category 2: S$19
Category 3: S$19
Standard Sales - from 15 Jan onwards
Category 1: S$29
Category 2: S$25
Category 3: S$22
Concessions** - from 15 Jan onwards
10% discount on ticket price
For group booking of 20 tickets and more, please call our hotline at +65 66029900.
* Excludes $3 processing fee per ticket for prices above $20 and $1 for prices $20 and below.
** Applicable for any full time students, NUS students, NUS staff, AlumNUS, NUSS members, NSF and senior citizens.
Friday, January 22, 2016
#throwback 新艺· Post Production Party
life has been good ever since i move to woodlands. i get to play with the niece every night, and also sleep early at 10 pm every night. i wake up at 6 am every day and so i have 8 hours of sleep which is really good. this explains why i have not been blogging.
xuehong shared some more photos of the post production party. these photos are really hilarious, because at the party we are divided into 3 groups, then each group has to do a similar pose as certain dance photos that xuehong showed us. i actually played this game a few years ago during NUSCD's 10th anniversary celebration.
let the pictures do the talking!
good job yokekay for imitating me so well!
no one can ever imitate bin gege's expression.
nice butt by both viv and me. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
i still prefer the original version. HAHAHAHAHAHA.
xuehong shared some more photos of the post production party. these photos are really hilarious, because at the party we are divided into 3 groups, then each group has to do a similar pose as certain dance photos that xuehong showed us. i actually played this game a few years ago during NUSCD's 10th anniversary celebration.
let the pictures do the talking!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
o levels results
i didn't know how well did my previous workplace fare for the o levels results. some of my students messaged me to tell me their results. happy for those who did well, and for those who didnt do so well, dun be discouraged, remain positive, and i am sure you will pick yourself up and succeed in the near future.
saw on the news that my alma mater did very well for the o level results, achieving an all time high in number of percentage passes.
i still remember how troublesome it was to put on the metal buttons, metal badge and nametag to my uniform every night, and of course to remove everything right after school.
but still i wear my secondary school uniform with pride. chung cheng high school main has her own school identity and we are all proud of it.
does students from neighbourhood schools feel proud of their own school? some thing we have to ponder about, and when every student are proud of where they come from, then we can say that every school is a good school.
saw on the news that my alma mater did very well for the o level results, achieving an all time high in number of percentage passes.
i still remember how troublesome it was to put on the metal buttons, metal badge and nametag to my uniform every night, and of course to remove everything right after school.
but still i wear my secondary school uniform with pride. chung cheng high school main has her own school identity and we are all proud of it.
does students from neighbourhood schools feel proud of their own school? some thing we have to ponder about, and when every student are proud of where they come from, then we can say that every school is a good school.
Thursday, January 07, 2016
thursday post
it has been 4 days in the new workplace. i think is so far so good. i am happy here.
the first thing that struck me is their discipline. for example the first bell for morning assembly is at 730 am. at 720 am, majority of the students are already seated in the parade square, and taking out their books to read. at the previous workplace, when the first bell went off, majority of the students are slowly strolling into the parade square. *shakes head*
second thing that struck me is the temperature taking exercise. it was done in a very regimental manner. temperature taking was today. tue and wed the school instructed all students to bring their thermometers. tue morning we checked their thermometers at the parade square. those who didnt bring were asked to stand, and the FTs have to call their parents. wed morning we checked their thermometers again at the parade square. those who didnt bring were escorted to the foyer outside general office, and they were given a "bua-ing" session by the Year Managers/Year Heads. and today, the number of students in the whole school that didnt have thermometer is less than 5. at the previous workplace, number of students that are queuing up at the workshop on temperature taking day is at least 20.
and the most impressive part was how the temperature taking exercise was being carried out. it was announced through the PA system. every step, every instruction, were all followed closely by the teachers and students.
for example:
"Teachers, please distribute the individual temperature log forms to the students."
"Students, please stand up."
"Students, please switch on your thermometers, and place it under the tongue of your mouth."
"Once your temperature is recorded on the individual temperature log form, you can sit down."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
yesterday i just had induction with all the new teachers, by my Principal. from his presentation, i was very impressed by what he had done to bring the school to where it is right now.
and the Principal also mentioned that this team of new teachers that he brought in is of very high calibre.
yesterday i also met my dancers for the very first time. and i spoke to them about my experiences and expectations for them. hope that they can become stronger as a dance club. :)
the first thing that struck me is their discipline. for example the first bell for morning assembly is at 730 am. at 720 am, majority of the students are already seated in the parade square, and taking out their books to read. at the previous workplace, when the first bell went off, majority of the students are slowly strolling into the parade square. *shakes head*
second thing that struck me is the temperature taking exercise. it was done in a very regimental manner. temperature taking was today. tue and wed the school instructed all students to bring their thermometers. tue morning we checked their thermometers at the parade square. those who didnt bring were asked to stand, and the FTs have to call their parents. wed morning we checked their thermometers again at the parade square. those who didnt bring were escorted to the foyer outside general office, and they were given a "bua-ing" session by the Year Managers/Year Heads. and today, the number of students in the whole school that didnt have thermometer is less than 5. at the previous workplace, number of students that are queuing up at the workshop on temperature taking day is at least 20.
and the most impressive part was how the temperature taking exercise was being carried out. it was announced through the PA system. every step, every instruction, were all followed closely by the teachers and students.
for example:
"Teachers, please distribute the individual temperature log forms to the students."
"Students, please stand up."
"Students, please switch on your thermometers, and place it under the tongue of your mouth."
"Once your temperature is recorded on the individual temperature log form, you can sit down."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
yesterday i just had induction with all the new teachers, by my Principal. from his presentation, i was very impressed by what he had done to bring the school to where it is right now.
and the Principal also mentioned that this team of new teachers that he brought in is of very high calibre.
yesterday i also met my dancers for the very first time. and i spoke to them about my experiences and expectations for them. hope that they can become stronger as a dance club. :)
Sunday, January 03, 2016
新。东方舞集 Post Production Party
and then after that we played a bonding game that was played a few years ago at NUSCD's 10th anniversary celebration. i will post the pics once xuehong got the pics from the photographer.
now let me share some of the performance photos!
firstly, 和亲公主, choreographed by xuehong.
next, 归, choreographed by 白老师.
Saturday, January 02, 2016
为本地新舞团点赞
the first post of 2016 is dedicated to 新艺 Dance Troupe.
finally the review is out! the review was written by 沈芷华, a local dance educator.
here's the link:
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/culture/arts/story20160102-566423
and the article:
finally the review is out! the review was written by 沈芷华, a local dance educator.
here's the link:
http://www.zaobao.com.sg/culture/arts/story20160102-566423
and the article:
2015年12月20日晚在维多利亚剧场观看了2015年初成立的“新艺”华族舞团上演的“新·东方舞集”。
这舞团对我来说很陌生，是由三个30出头的青年人张万成、梁斌、张学泓创办。我很好奇，在本地华族舞蹈走下坡时期竟有人还在创立新舞团。不过演出的特邀编导白映文我是熟悉的。他来新加坡已快20年，先后在多个艺术学院担任华族舞讲师，也活跃于会馆、社团、学校、艺术节，参与教学、编排、推广华族舞活动。而他早年编排的《走进西藏》大型风土民情舞蹈深受好评，所以想看看他这个反映蒙古大草原的舞蹈史诗。
看到了年轻人的坚守
晚会分两部分，上半场是30分钟的舞剧《和亲公主》，下半场是45分钟的大型舞蹈史诗《归》，都分成八个段落呈现。
喜欢华族文化历史的张学泓编导的《和亲公主》，勇气可嘉。据说他被四大美人之一王昭君和亲大爱的故事所感动，自己也喜欢弹琵琶，所以将之改编为舞剧。舞台的大场面调度、背景、灯光设计都不错，不过在呈现中国汉代舞风方面有欠缺。汉代舞蹈有其特点，有些出土文物上有舞蹈人物形象，舞袖和舞腰是两大特征。汉代著名长袖善舞的艺人赵飞燕就是一例，“身轻若燕，能作掌上舞”。另外汉高祖宠妃戚夫人擅长“翘袖折腰之舞”，都有绕身若环、柔若无背的柔美曲线。在这次的和亲公主舞蹈中没体现出这韵律，见到的是宽松短袖，长巾舞也较生硬，变化少不够和谐。印象深刻的是第四段“画笔一挥定前程”，六女行贿画师一段舞有看头。
搞舞剧是不容易的，三个创办人化了妆还在台前台后忙碌，开幕前上台向艺术家前辈和观众致谢，看出他们用心良苦，在新加坡搞艺术团是辛苦的，搞华族舞更艰辛。舞团9男25女大部分是业余舞者，作为编导要安排日程、场地，面临很多挑战，他们只准备了三个月就上演一台舞蹈专场很不容易。当然可以看出基本功训练、舞蹈风格掌握、人物塑造等都还不够完善，尤其在演员缺乏选择的条件下。演王昭君的女演员表演熟练沉稳，但因身形较娇小，缺乏“鹤立鸡群”抓住观众视线的吸引力。不过我还是为他们喊赞，看到了年青人对华族文化的坚守和凝聚力，给舞者多一点时间，相信会更好！
抓住时代变迁的意念
《归》的舞蹈主题突出，塑造了一位蒙古母亲的形象，比喻成草原大地之母十分适当。大草原、敖包、童年、河流、大雁、牧马、醉酒……随着马头琴声背景中鸿雁飞翔，一下子把观众带入蒙古大草原。八段体舞蹈呈现史诗般画卷，尤其母子三人舞、男子双人舞、男子牧马群舞都体现了蒙古舞豪放英姿和奔放洒脱气质。白映文对民族民间舞蹈的掌握是全面的，他根据本地舞者程度量身设计，其中一部分风格尝试基本体现了，不过由于有45分钟长度，音乐选择上应更大胆，现在风格较为类同，限制了风格各异的蒙古舞蹈的体现，感觉抒情有余粗犷不够。如盅碗舞可加上牧马醉酒一段，母子三人舞和男子双人摔跤舞可以结合起来，牧马舞蹈再奔腾咆哮点，发挥不同韵味的蒙古舞特色会更添魅力。而大地母亲这一虚拟角色可贯穿于各个段落之间，使作品更完整。
值得一提的是白映文抓住了时代变迁的意念，人们离乡背井到世界各地打拼越来越多，归字代表了无论离开家乡多久多远，但心牵亲人情归家乡的感情是不变的。
“新艺”顾名思义是新的艺术，希望舞团再接再厉，更深入研究发展华族文化，同时注入新加坡本土的艺术人文气息。殷切期待他们创作出更多好作品。