Post by uptowndragon on Mar 31, 2008 23:49:49 GMT 7
KL Auditions - Day 1 (Pre Auditions)
SYTYCD 2 KL auditions kicked off on the morning of 18th March 2008, and when I arrived at the venue close to 10am, there was already a small crowd stretched out along the road parallel to Dataran Merdeka making a bee line to the venue. The venue at Panggung Bandaraya had already been set up by the crew a day earlier and everything was gearing up to start. 8TV even had a mobile studio on hand in a container truck, prepared to capture all the action inside and within the vicinity of the venue. All the registration tables were just being set up and most of the production crew including executive producer Sunil, producers Tengku Firhad & Kit, & director Zeb, were scurrying about making sure everything was in order for the day's event to begin. Even Pat Ibrahim was in early, and was seen busy gulfing down a mean looking nasi lemak.
This year's auditions in KL was set on a Tuesday, so that more professionals (who normally work weekends) could turn up and compete for the RM 50,000 prize, a dance scholarship and the chance to be Malaysia's favourite dancer. As it turned out a large number of hopefuls were indeed professionals, trained dancers as well as dancers in training. The KL auditions also saw a lot of B-Boys turning up to compete in the hopes of repeating the success of last season's winner Alam. However, the total turnout at 317 was much lower than the previous year, but it also meant that only serious contenders were around, which made it less hectic for the pre judges to narrow down the qualifiers. Of the total who registered, only 123 made the cut for the main judging which was to be held on the very next 2 working days, along with the 7 pre qualifiers who made it in Kota Kinabalu a week plus earlier. They would then be trimmed down to 80, who will make it to Boot Camp. Of the 7 Sabahan qualifiers from a total of 106, only 4 turned up in KL for the main judging which will be conducted by the returning judges; Pat Ibrahim, Ramly Ibrahim & Judimar Hernandez..
On arrival at the registration counters, all participants were given application forms, which they had to return completed if they agreed with all the terms & conditions and intended to proceed with the competition. Once registered, they had to wait for their numbers to be called, for their pre auditions. Contestants were then ushered on stage in groups of 10 at a time, where they had to individually introduce themselves to the pre judges (Sunil & Pat Ibrahim). Once introductions were completed, each contestant was given around 30 seconds to show off their skills in their own dance styles with the standard music that was provided, followed by a group dance off, once all 10 had showcased themselves. They were then led out of the theatre, to await the judges¡¯decisions, informing them who would proceed to the main auditions which were scheduled for Wednesday 19th & Friday 21st
The first pre auditions for the day only commenced after 2pm, and so while waiting for it to start, I had a chance to meet and mingle with many of the contestants. First thing I noticed, these hopefuls, being professional or trained dancers, were a more disciplined & serious lot and as such were more reserved than season one's contenders. With the exception of the B-Boys who were constantly battling, most were very focused on the job on hand and went about preparing themselves on their own. Many of this year's contestants seemed to hail from various dance academies within the country, and the majority was from Akademi Seni Warisan Kebudayaan Negara (ASWARA), such as the 19 year old Mohd from Kampung Baru (who incidentally was celebrating his birthday). This year also saw many choreographers and dance champs in various genres trying their luck as well. Many have sound pedigrees in their various disciplines. Among them were, Indian classical dancer Vivek who is a proponent of the Bharata Natyam & Odisi styles with 11 years of schooling, and Ballroom & Latin dance champions Billy Yong & Cecilia Yong (not related), from William & Luisa Danceworld, one of the country's top dancesports academy. Also seen in the crowd were well known 28 year old local Salsa instructor Raimee who hails from Sabah, 22 year old hip hop Battle of The Year ¡¯07 winner, B-Boy Mon (Md Azhar), celebrity choreographer Becker who choreographs & dances back up for Adam AF, as well as another hip hop champ (can't remember his name) who won in last year's KL Dance Fest.
This year's contestants also turned up from various corners of the country and many seemed to arrive that morning from Penang including 30 year old breaker/popper Mamoo who made top 31 last year, and the ever smiling18 year old freestyling Eric Goh who is an Intel technician from Bukit Jambul. From Eric, I gathered that the best Hokien Mee in Penang is from the Green House in Burmah Road. So guys, take note of that bit of juicy info.
Of course, the auditions also saw a fare share of greenhorns such as BMW mechanic Elvis Senan who hip hops, and furniture salesman Amiruddin Zaki Isa, and returnees, such as the well remembered teary eyed Joshua who lost out to Dennis for the last slot last year, the ballet trained Vivian, and the drug peddling (legally that is) Justin Lewis, who works for a pharmaceutical firm. Even some of our regular Rentak forumers also gave it a shot this year, but they wished for their identities to be kept a secret, until further notice.
It was quite clear immediately that a more technically proficient and experienced batch were vying for the grand prize this year, but unfortunately not many stood out from the crowd of many equals as opposed to the last. Missing was the vibrancy, camaraderie and the raw energy of their less heeled peers of last, who clearly stole the limelight with their individual personalities, charisma and antics right from the very start. Perhaps being a slightly more professional & disciplined lot, they may have been holding back and keeping their spirits & souls in reserve. But SYTYCD being a reality show, and with all similar reality shows, it's this spirit & soul that really needs to shine through, above all the technical hibee jibees one possesses, in order for them to gain entry into the program as well as into the hearts of the voters. Hopefully many will come to realize this in the next couple of audition days, hopefully sooner, in order for them to make the cut and have the opportunity to showcase themselves to the viewing public, this season.
The good news was many of the first season's finalists were on hand to lend moral support and provide guidance to those who wanted it. Dennis, Nikki, Jimmy, Becky & Shake were certainly mixing it up with all the newbies, and I am sure many would have found their presence, inspirational & motivating. Hopefully many of the positive values from these season one contenders will rub off on them.
This season, Rentak Sejuta, has the privilege of being able to follow the entire season 2 in detail, and will be providing more in depth, & insightful coverage to our viewers, so that all of our viewers are well informed and have a better understanding of what goes on in making a dance champ. For this, we have to thank 8TV CEO Ahmad Izham Omar & SYTYCD Executive Producer Sunil Kumar (both strong advocates of transparency), for giving us this opportunity, as well as the many wonderful & accommodating crew members who keep us updated and in touch, and always makes us feel as one of the gang.
Looking at the level of the production work committed by Sunil and his able team, we are quite certain that this is going to be a thrilling and sensational season, and we are waiting for it to go live with much anticipation. Rentak Sejuta, as usual, will try and bring you the best that we can, and will be absolutely fair, unbiased & complete with our reporting. Plus, every one of our viewers has the opportunity to voice out their opinions, comments or dissatisfactions here in our news forum, and we are certain that the producers will be quick to respond.
Although we would love to put up every single picture we took during the auditions, we are only putting up the ones that were taken outside the auditorium on pre audition day (with a few sneak peeks from inside), so that not too much is revealed before the show airs. The rest will be posted once the show has aired. We are also not putting up any pictures from Main Auditions, Boot Camp & Top 20 Eliminations until they air on TV sometime in May. To all who took part or who are still in the competition, please refrain from revealing too much from the show until it goes on air. For those who have made it please do not reveal your identities just yet. You will have plenty of time to promote yourselves once our season two Top 20 section goes up, after it is revealed on TV. Until then, cheers and happy foruming, and enjoy all our teasers here.
To the fans of the show, go and scream out to all and sundry about SYTYCD 2, so that they too can check out what the fuss is about and why we are all so excited about it, and also tell them to drop by here for all the best bits, the camaraderie & the healthy debates.
KL Auditions ¨C Day 1 pictures follow:
SYTYCD 2 KL auditions kicked off on the morning of 18th March 2008, and when I arrived at the venue close to 10am, there was already a small crowd stretched out along the road parallel to Dataran Merdeka making a bee line to the venue. The venue at Panggung Bandaraya had already been set up by the crew a day earlier and everything was gearing up to start. 8TV even had a mobile studio on hand in a container truck, prepared to capture all the action inside and within the vicinity of the venue. All the registration tables were just being set up and most of the production crew including executive producer Sunil, producers Tengku Firhad & Kit, & director Zeb, were scurrying about making sure everything was in order for the day's event to begin. Even Pat Ibrahim was in early, and was seen busy gulfing down a mean looking nasi lemak.
This year's auditions in KL was set on a Tuesday, so that more professionals (who normally work weekends) could turn up and compete for the RM 50,000 prize, a dance scholarship and the chance to be Malaysia's favourite dancer. As it turned out a large number of hopefuls were indeed professionals, trained dancers as well as dancers in training. The KL auditions also saw a lot of B-Boys turning up to compete in the hopes of repeating the success of last season's winner Alam. However, the total turnout at 317 was much lower than the previous year, but it also meant that only serious contenders were around, which made it less hectic for the pre judges to narrow down the qualifiers. Of the total who registered, only 123 made the cut for the main judging which was to be held on the very next 2 working days, along with the 7 pre qualifiers who made it in Kota Kinabalu a week plus earlier. They would then be trimmed down to 80, who will make it to Boot Camp. Of the 7 Sabahan qualifiers from a total of 106, only 4 turned up in KL for the main judging which will be conducted by the returning judges; Pat Ibrahim, Ramly Ibrahim & Judimar Hernandez..
On arrival at the registration counters, all participants were given application forms, which they had to return completed if they agreed with all the terms & conditions and intended to proceed with the competition. Once registered, they had to wait for their numbers to be called, for their pre auditions. Contestants were then ushered on stage in groups of 10 at a time, where they had to individually introduce themselves to the pre judges (Sunil & Pat Ibrahim). Once introductions were completed, each contestant was given around 30 seconds to show off their skills in their own dance styles with the standard music that was provided, followed by a group dance off, once all 10 had showcased themselves. They were then led out of the theatre, to await the judges¡¯decisions, informing them who would proceed to the main auditions which were scheduled for Wednesday 19th & Friday 21st
The first pre auditions for the day only commenced after 2pm, and so while waiting for it to start, I had a chance to meet and mingle with many of the contestants. First thing I noticed, these hopefuls, being professional or trained dancers, were a more disciplined & serious lot and as such were more reserved than season one's contenders. With the exception of the B-Boys who were constantly battling, most were very focused on the job on hand and went about preparing themselves on their own. Many of this year's contestants seemed to hail from various dance academies within the country, and the majority was from Akademi Seni Warisan Kebudayaan Negara (ASWARA), such as the 19 year old Mohd from Kampung Baru (who incidentally was celebrating his birthday). This year also saw many choreographers and dance champs in various genres trying their luck as well. Many have sound pedigrees in their various disciplines. Among them were, Indian classical dancer Vivek who is a proponent of the Bharata Natyam & Odisi styles with 11 years of schooling, and Ballroom & Latin dance champions Billy Yong & Cecilia Yong (not related), from William & Luisa Danceworld, one of the country's top dancesports academy. Also seen in the crowd were well known 28 year old local Salsa instructor Raimee who hails from Sabah, 22 year old hip hop Battle of The Year ¡¯07 winner, B-Boy Mon (Md Azhar), celebrity choreographer Becker who choreographs & dances back up for Adam AF, as well as another hip hop champ (can't remember his name) who won in last year's KL Dance Fest.
This year's contestants also turned up from various corners of the country and many seemed to arrive that morning from Penang including 30 year old breaker/popper Mamoo who made top 31 last year, and the ever smiling18 year old freestyling Eric Goh who is an Intel technician from Bukit Jambul. From Eric, I gathered that the best Hokien Mee in Penang is from the Green House in Burmah Road. So guys, take note of that bit of juicy info.
Of course, the auditions also saw a fare share of greenhorns such as BMW mechanic Elvis Senan who hip hops, and furniture salesman Amiruddin Zaki Isa, and returnees, such as the well remembered teary eyed Joshua who lost out to Dennis for the last slot last year, the ballet trained Vivian, and the drug peddling (legally that is) Justin Lewis, who works for a pharmaceutical firm. Even some of our regular Rentak forumers also gave it a shot this year, but they wished for their identities to be kept a secret, until further notice.
It was quite clear immediately that a more technically proficient and experienced batch were vying for the grand prize this year, but unfortunately not many stood out from the crowd of many equals as opposed to the last. Missing was the vibrancy, camaraderie and the raw energy of their less heeled peers of last, who clearly stole the limelight with their individual personalities, charisma and antics right from the very start. Perhaps being a slightly more professional & disciplined lot, they may have been holding back and keeping their spirits & souls in reserve. But SYTYCD being a reality show, and with all similar reality shows, it's this spirit & soul that really needs to shine through, above all the technical hibee jibees one possesses, in order for them to gain entry into the program as well as into the hearts of the voters. Hopefully many will come to realize this in the next couple of audition days, hopefully sooner, in order for them to make the cut and have the opportunity to showcase themselves to the viewing public, this season.
The good news was many of the first season's finalists were on hand to lend moral support and provide guidance to those who wanted it. Dennis, Nikki, Jimmy, Becky & Shake were certainly mixing it up with all the newbies, and I am sure many would have found their presence, inspirational & motivating. Hopefully many of the positive values from these season one contenders will rub off on them.
This season, Rentak Sejuta, has the privilege of being able to follow the entire season 2 in detail, and will be providing more in depth, & insightful coverage to our viewers, so that all of our viewers are well informed and have a better understanding of what goes on in making a dance champ. For this, we have to thank 8TV CEO Ahmad Izham Omar & SYTYCD Executive Producer Sunil Kumar (both strong advocates of transparency), for giving us this opportunity, as well as the many wonderful & accommodating crew members who keep us updated and in touch, and always makes us feel as one of the gang.
Looking at the level of the production work committed by Sunil and his able team, we are quite certain that this is going to be a thrilling and sensational season, and we are waiting for it to go live with much anticipation. Rentak Sejuta, as usual, will try and bring you the best that we can, and will be absolutely fair, unbiased & complete with our reporting. Plus, every one of our viewers has the opportunity to voice out their opinions, comments or dissatisfactions here in our news forum, and we are certain that the producers will be quick to respond.
Although we would love to put up every single picture we took during the auditions, we are only putting up the ones that were taken outside the auditorium on pre audition day (with a few sneak peeks from inside), so that not too much is revealed before the show airs. The rest will be posted once the show has aired. We are also not putting up any pictures from Main Auditions, Boot Camp & Top 20 Eliminations until they air on TV sometime in May. To all who took part or who are still in the competition, please refrain from revealing too much from the show until it goes on air. For those who have made it please do not reveal your identities just yet. You will have plenty of time to promote yourselves once our season two Top 20 section goes up, after it is revealed on TV. Until then, cheers and happy foruming, and enjoy all our teasers here.
To the fans of the show, go and scream out to all and sundry about SYTYCD 2, so that they too can check out what the fuss is about and why we are all so excited about it, and also tell them to drop by here for all the best bits, the camaraderie & the healthy debates.
KL Auditions ¨C Day 1 pictures follow: