there was a change in venue for the dance training today. instead of powerhouse dance studio where we had the training yesterday night, today was at a gym inside Shangrila Hotel *GASPS so high class!*
inside the gym there is a dance studio. not as big as the one yesterday, but it is good enough. the best thing about having our training here is that we have a personal locker to put our stuff, a towel is provided and we can even use the gym shower facilities! it was really great for us because we can bathe after each dance session. :)
the first dance session from 9 am to 11 am was a bit... sexy. we were taught sexy and sharp jazz moves. in reward for our sexiness, our lunch is buffet! we did not set our expectations too high for the buffet but when we reach there, we were amazed, awed and surprised! they have a wide variety of food and they also have sashimi! we were all very happy and ate alot... only to suffer later for the dance sessions in the afternoon. hahaha.
after going through the dance sessions, i really felt like a wasted person. i was disappointed with my dance technique, my flexibility, my stamina, my weight, my whole body. i look at derek, look at xuehong, look at bin ge ge. they are older than me and yet they are still so slim and so flexible. what have i been doing??!! so i tell myself, when i come back to singapore, i will go on a strict exercise regime to improve my body condition.
the final dance session was a folk dance session, taught by this local who was the Dean of physical education of some school. the credentials and portfolio sound awesome but throughout the dance session, inadequacies happen that make us really doubt his credentials as a teacher/instructor. derek's face was black and stern throughout the session. we also lost our focus and also slackened a bit because the previous 6 hours of dance sessions had drained all our energy.
finally we finished the folk dance session and it was time for a showcase from us and Powerhouse. unfortunately we did not prepare any items to showcase to them, and they prepared items for us. the atmosphere was really weird and embarassing for us. so we have to do it impromptu. the students did their examination dance routine. derek, myself, bin ge ge and willie did 'Shadows' from Labyrinth. xuehong and xiaoyun are the most power because they anyhow come up with a chinese dance routine and still look more than decent!
the showcase from the Powerhouse dancers were really fantastic. they dance to their fullest potential and to their most intense emotions. they dance for the pride of their country, for the pride of their choreographer, for the pride of their studio, and for the sole reason of why they love to dance.
if i can come up with four words to describe our situation, it will be 无地自容. because it really look bad on us. we cannot even compare to them in terms of technique. but we let ourselves down further by not putting in effort for this showcase. we are all guilty of this, even myself included. because when xuehong told me that training for the showcase was cancelled, i was overjoyed because i can rest and do my stuff.
after seeing their showcase, i was ashamed of myself, and i told myself that next time such a situation will never never happen again. :(
at the end of everything, we took a group photo. they even prepared certificates for us. so effort.
we went back to the hotel and we have a long long long debrief session for today. each one of us spoke our views. derek gave a long but meaningful lecture session. when i looked at the students, some of them had tears in their eyes. i was really wow-ed by that. derek's words really pierced them in the heart and they cried not because they only felt sorry or guilty, they also have a great sense of belonging to their troupe, and they have immense respect for derek.
this trip has really been an eye opener for me. i increased my knowledge of dance through the 10 hours of dance training. my body went through 10 hours of dance training for that 2 days, more than the number of hours of nuscd technique classes from 2007 to 2012. i saw with my own eyes the bonds and camaraderie in Rhythm N Moves. although i am a special guest, i felt a great sense of belonging.
the night ended with a 36 inch LED TV, sorry i mean a 36 inch monster pizza.
we actually finished the whole pizza! haha.
i am going to the philippines! pretty excited because i never go to this country before. pretty apprehensive because i am going for 10 hours of intensive dance training with a sprained ankle.
we gathered at the airport at 2330. derek was angry because some of us were late. and i am one of the latecomers. oops~
introducing to you the group of 14 pax:
consisting of derek (artistic director), wilson (managing director), xiaoyun (dunno what director), xuehong and bin ge ge (the choreographers), myself (the special guest), judy (the filipino liaison officer), and lastly yuying, desiree, belda, cheryl, gloria, clara, willie (the students).
we touched down philippines at 530 am. there was some cock up at the immigration counter because among us the youngest is gloria who is 14 years old. and the immigration officer said she has to pay 3000 pesos because she is a minor. and after paying the 3000 pesos the officer never issue her any receipt or official letter. corruption and conspiracy TTM!
our first destination is a chinese restaurant, for breakfast. the name of the restaurant sounds a bit vulgar:
it was a heavy breakfast. there's fried chicken, noodles, rice, spring rolls, sesame balls.
after breakfast we went to tour around the historical places of philippines.
save me darling~ save me!!!
we had lunch at jollibee, and there was a welcome party for us! we played kiddy games, and the jollibee mascot came to dance 'oppa gangnam style' for us. hahahaha.
this is the portion they gave us for lunch. for each person: spaghetti, fried chicken, rice, burger, hot dog bun, macaroni soup, coke, chocolate fudge sundae. HOW TO FINISH??!! :p
after lunch we check in at our accomodation, Orange Place Hotel. a budget hotel, that is not worth mentioning.
in the evening we went for our first dance session at Powerhouse Dance Studio. omg the dancers were really really good! we had a really intensive warm up led by Mr Danny, the associate artistic director. to me i felt that the session today was more of a contemporary style, and it made us perspire alot, which was really good because we really ate alot today!
all the powerhouse dancers dyed their hair blonde. it is their 'dress code'.
the next day is pretty scary because it is 8 hours of dance training!
let me show you the crazy time table for day 2:
9 am to 11 am: dance
11 am to 1230 pm: lunch
1 pm to 3 pm: dance
3 pm to 330 pm: rest
330 to 5 pm: dance
5 pm to 7 pm: rest + dinner
7 pm to 9 pm: dance
9 pm to 10 pm: RnM & Powerdance Showcase
really can die. hahahahaha.
six words to sum up what darling and i did for the final two days at hong kong: 买东西，吃东西
we ate dinner at satay king on the second last day.
we ate breakfast at 稻香 on the last day.
our most expensive meal of the whole trip is actually our lunch at itacho sushi at hong kong international airport terminal 2.
word of advice to travellers going to hong kong: please go inside the transit area early! after we went through the immigration counter, we have to take a skytrain to terminal one. and that is not the end. we also need to take a shuttle bus from terminal one to our boarding gate. and the shuttle bus ride takes about 5 minutes. imagine if you are late and you will definitely be super stressed up and have heart attack one after another when you realise you still have to go through so many ordeals just to get to your gate. zzzzz. hurray for singapore changi airport!
the final photo of the trip, taken at the boarding gate!
conclusion: hong kong is getting more and more crowded with tourists, especially those from mainland. if i will ever want to go to hong kong again, i will still stay at Bonnie's apartment because of its convenient location. and if i ever want to go to hong kong again, it will only be for two reasons: 稻香 and satay king.
and i want to go macau again to stay at galaxy hotel! :)
finally the weather is great on day 3! the sun has finally woke up from its slumber to illuminate hong kong with its sunrays!
the places that we went to are:
1) The Peak
2) Mdm Tussaud
3) 中环 - to eat atas soup and atas snake broth
4) Avenue of Stars??!!
without further ado, the pics!
we love each other in the past, still love each other in the present, and will love each other in the future! 传爱到未来！
24 Oct! significant date for the both of us!
4 April! darling's birthday!
11 Nov! birthday of yours truly. so coincidental that it has to be a taiji postcard. hahahaha.
*cue avatar music*
magnificient view of the Peak!
another rare couple shot!
the vampire jump
the typical yy jump
alot of girls will be super jealous of darling
你打十个，我打十一个！
darling cant even touch his armpit. hahahahaha.
if i am too overweight to be a pe teacher, i will change career to be sumo wrestler
avenue of stars??!!
why did i put two question marks and two exclamation marks? the answer is revealed below:
avenue of stars is overflooded with... (fill in the blank)
some inconsiderate tourist eat finish his/her cuttlefish and just anyhow throw the wrapper. see the "thing" in the sky? it is not a bird, it is not a plane, it is confirm not superman, it is the CUTTLEFISH WRAPPER!!!
the remaining hong kong trip will be blogged when i return back from philippines. the flight is at 145 am! going to philippines for dance training + sightseeing. hope i can survive from the dance training because of my swollen ankle. sprained it on sunday when playing soccer. haiz.
something random: i miss watching hong kong dramas (名媛望族 & 大太监) with darling in our one-room apartment.
darling i will miss you! take care of yourself when i am not around! see you on sunday morning! all the best for your 50 km walk!
