Post by uptowndragon on May 29, 2007 1:15:47 GMT 7
KL plays host to the inaugural International Dance Festival next month
By DEBBIE CHAN
Star Online (Saturday May 5, 2007)
Young talent: National Under-12 Juvenile Champions Vernon Choo and Cheah Yen Thing are sure to mesmerise the audience with their sleek and sexy moves.
DIFFERENT beats, rhythms and steps will colour the upcoming Kuala Lumpur International Dance Festival with the participation of at least 30 countries confirmed.
Organised by The Dance Space, the inaugural festival is aimed at creating awareness of different types of dances to the public.
The Dance Space founders Lavinie Thiruchelvam and Peter Ong started dancing competitively in England when they were pursuing their studies and fell in love with the sport.
¡§The standard and atmosphere in England is world class and we thought that there is no reason why we can¡¦t create the same platform here,¡¨ said Lavinie.
Driven by this passion, the dedicated pair decided to organise a festival to help spread the word about dancing.
¡§Dance sport is making waves all over the world and it¡¦s now competed in the SEA Games, Asian Games as well as the next Olympics,¡¨ she said.
The festival, to be held from June 4 to 10 at the concourse area of Berjaya Times Square, will feature 19 types of dances, including popular ones like hip hop, Latin and ballroom.
Admission to the festival is free to encourage the public to participate in the dance-related workshops and activities.
¡¨Once people learn about the dances, they might realise that they have the talent to pursue something further or they can just pick it up as a hobby,¡¨ Lavinie said.
Other than the workshops, the festival will also be host to the 1st Open World Ranking Dancesport Championship in Malaysia, 1st Malaysian International Middle Eastern Dancing Championship, and the 1st KL International Hip Hop Championship.
Ballroom pros: Alexa Yim and Chen Fong Tuan in their expensive formal wear for the ballroom dancing category.
¡§The world ranking championship will be a great learning experience for the local competitive dancers. World professionals will definitely be gracing our shores because they will be able to get points by participating in the competition,¡¨ Lavinie said.
¡§By bringing the professionals in, local dancers will get to see for themselves the skills of dancers from other countries. We have a lot of talents here and bringing in the pros will raise the local benchmark.¡¨
Three thousand dancers will be competing in the different competitions while the organisers are expecting 10,000 participants throughout the whole festival.
¡§This festival is a huge investment for us but we want to prove ourselves and that it will be a success in the long run. We only took six to seven months to plan the whole thing,¡¨ she added.
Berjaya Times Square & Hotels is the official venue and hotel for the festival while Astro is the official broadcaster and General Electrics the corporate responsibility partner.
¡§We are still trying to look for more sponsors to help strengthen the event. Astro has also indicated that they will turn the recording of the festival into a show,¡¨ Lavinie said.
Dancers who will be representing Malay- sia in the 1st Open World Ranking Dancesport Championship are the national under-12 juvenile champions Vernon Choo and Cheah Yen Thing, top Latin dancers in Malaysia Therese Tan and Jonathan Fam as well as ballroom dancers Chen Fong Tuan and Alexa Yim.
Chen and Yim hope to be able to put on the best show and win the opportunity to represent the country in other upcoming championships.
¡§It¡¦s also a good opportunity to test how we fare against all the international heavyweights,¡¨ Chen said.
For Latin dancer Fam, the competition will be a learning experience while his partner Tan is out for a great time on the dance floor.
¡§I want to enjoy myself on the floor and be able to relate to the audience during my dances,¡¨ said Tan who started off as a ballet dancer when she was younger.
The glittering and beautiful dance costume that Tan and Fam wears for their competition is a costly investment. Tan¡¦s dress is priced at RM2,900 while Fam¡¦s shirt costs close to RM1,000. The Swarovski crystals that adorn the clothes is the reason why they are so expensive.
By DEBBIE CHAN
Star Online (Saturday May 5, 2007)
Young talent: National Under-12 Juvenile Champions Vernon Choo and Cheah Yen Thing are sure to mesmerise the audience with their sleek and sexy moves.
DIFFERENT beats, rhythms and steps will colour the upcoming Kuala Lumpur International Dance Festival with the participation of at least 30 countries confirmed.
Organised by The Dance Space, the inaugural festival is aimed at creating awareness of different types of dances to the public.
The Dance Space founders Lavinie Thiruchelvam and Peter Ong started dancing competitively in England when they were pursuing their studies and fell in love with the sport.
¡§The standard and atmosphere in England is world class and we thought that there is no reason why we can¡¦t create the same platform here,¡¨ said Lavinie.
Driven by this passion, the dedicated pair decided to organise a festival to help spread the word about dancing.
¡§Dance sport is making waves all over the world and it¡¦s now competed in the SEA Games, Asian Games as well as the next Olympics,¡¨ she said.
The festival, to be held from June 4 to 10 at the concourse area of Berjaya Times Square, will feature 19 types of dances, including popular ones like hip hop, Latin and ballroom.
Admission to the festival is free to encourage the public to participate in the dance-related workshops and activities.
¡¨Once people learn about the dances, they might realise that they have the talent to pursue something further or they can just pick it up as a hobby,¡¨ Lavinie said.
Other than the workshops, the festival will also be host to the 1st Open World Ranking Dancesport Championship in Malaysia, 1st Malaysian International Middle Eastern Dancing Championship, and the 1st KL International Hip Hop Championship.
Ballroom pros: Alexa Yim and Chen Fong Tuan in their expensive formal wear for the ballroom dancing category.
¡§The world ranking championship will be a great learning experience for the local competitive dancers. World professionals will definitely be gracing our shores because they will be able to get points by participating in the competition,¡¨ Lavinie said.
¡§By bringing the professionals in, local dancers will get to see for themselves the skills of dancers from other countries. We have a lot of talents here and bringing in the pros will raise the local benchmark.¡¨
Three thousand dancers will be competing in the different competitions while the organisers are expecting 10,000 participants throughout the whole festival.
¡§This festival is a huge investment for us but we want to prove ourselves and that it will be a success in the long run. We only took six to seven months to plan the whole thing,¡¨ she added.
Berjaya Times Square & Hotels is the official venue and hotel for the festival while Astro is the official broadcaster and General Electrics the corporate responsibility partner.
¡§We are still trying to look for more sponsors to help strengthen the event. Astro has also indicated that they will turn the recording of the festival into a show,¡¨ Lavinie said.
Dancers who will be representing Malay- sia in the 1st Open World Ranking Dancesport Championship are the national under-12 juvenile champions Vernon Choo and Cheah Yen Thing, top Latin dancers in Malaysia Therese Tan and Jonathan Fam as well as ballroom dancers Chen Fong Tuan and Alexa Yim.
Chen and Yim hope to be able to put on the best show and win the opportunity to represent the country in other upcoming championships.
¡§It¡¦s also a good opportunity to test how we fare against all the international heavyweights,¡¨ Chen said.
For Latin dancer Fam, the competition will be a learning experience while his partner Tan is out for a great time on the dance floor.
¡§I want to enjoy myself on the floor and be able to relate to the audience during my dances,¡¨ said Tan who started off as a ballet dancer when she was younger.
The glittering and beautiful dance costume that Tan and Fam wears for their competition is a costly investment. Tan¡¦s dress is priced at RM2,900 while Fam¡¦s shirt costs close to RM1,000. The Swarovski crystals that adorn the clothes is the reason why they are so expensive.
