Warm-up workshop

Once every few months (ok, so this one was long outstanding), I gather all my students together for a jam. The Rhythm Tappers @ Malaysia started this tradition in 2006 and we are now in our 5th year of jamming. Now, in the strictest sense, a jam would usually consists of tappers who come together to practise, show-off and just..jam. But in the effort to promote the awareness of rhythm tap in Malaysia and as a tiny goal for students to present their classwork, we open up the jam to include family, friends and whoever member of the public who’d like to join us for an evening of rhythm, taps, exercise and fun!

Opening Briefing

So our jam typically consists of students’ (informal) class presentations, mini-rhythm-simple-tap workshops for everyone and of course sections of improvisation (incl. non-tappers).

The wonderful thing about this jam was the STUDENTS. Everyone did a GREAT job with the informal student presentations. It was also the 1st time that all the student dances were complete songs – in the past, due to time restrictions, we often have to turn off the song mid-way in some presentations since it wasn’t possible to complete the entire song with the combination/steps/repeats. Also, everyone presented their stuff well (esp. given the practise/time limitations of a couple of the presentations) and danced hard!

Love that Rhythm Tap attracts all kinds - ages, occupations, personalities!

Another awesome thing was the chill-jam at the end. Starting with some intial testing and warming-up with some African drums that we brought (belonging to a teenage tapper Brandon), the tappers and a guest who drummed continued to experiment and gradually began to “click” (after all, the taps and drumbeats need to “talk” to each other). I stepped away for a drink and rest, and by the time I came back, there was a really nice groove going…plus a few of the advanced beginners’ really came out of their shell and were “hitting” some really nice steps & beats!

Drums, rhythm & taps!

Do join us for the next jam – it’s open to everyone and don’t shy shy if you’re not a tapper. It’s structured like a party with workshops for you or when you prefer you can just sit and observe. Keep posted for the next jam (likely to be in Feb 2011).

I love my performing life!

Indeed my modus operandi for 2010 is in focusing on performing – on all aspects. However, even as I discover and develop my other talents and interests, rhythm tap, of course, will always have a special place in my heart.

After “warming-up” with Jojo about 6 weeks ago in early May at Tugu Drum Circle’s anniversary bash – where we did a simple set that we threw together on the spot – I had my 1st proper gig for 2010 at a BAR. Uncle Chili’s @ PJ Hilton was looking at spicing up their theme night with a bit of tap, tap tap!

After some discussion, we decided to go with just me solo-ing…so on Sat June 19, I tapped during their “Construction Nite”. 1st time ever at a bar (we’ve only done cafes at the most casual) so not sure how it’d go but it was GREAT! The crowd was into it and keep asking for more. It was casual (like in a jazz bar) but more energetic! I was doing a cappella improv so it was easier to add stuff on as it went on.

My 2nd set was a bit challenging cuz i) it was past midnight ii) the crowd was rowdier then iii) the energy was a bit “wilder”. So it was quite an interesting experience balancing the material plus improv plus what the different “portions” of the crowd wanted. Towards the end, a group wanted more but another group heckled me a bit to get off! Can you imagine? But i guess it comes with the turf

All in all a great, new experience not just for me but also for planning for the group in future. Stay tuned for more RHYTHM TAP at Uncle Chili’s!

So many peeps have seen this ad & yet there are others who hv not (and asked about it!)….so here’s the link:

With the "missus" Jane

Kong Eu\’s Nescafe 3-in-1 TVC

 

At the village where i had only one scene

Under the tent at the airstrip

It’s been a long time since I blogged about the shoot (Pt 1) and it *feels* like a loooong time too. So much has happened since then…

Between the CNY celebrations/breaks and what-not, my scenes have moved and things have developed rapidly from a storyline standpoint. If prior to CNY my scenes were mainly at one location and with a single distinct “feel”, these changed dramatically with the development of my character and with the story.

The week after CNY I was shooting at the camp, village and airstrip. This was quite a nice time in general  -  the festive season with CNY dinners and the bit of merry-making I could squeeze in – cuz I also had to finish some writing work (plus some important appointments) - with close friends, Shueh Miin et al, metaphysics colleagues, peperred with interesting shoot days at various locations.

[With some effort, I also managed to squeeze in a very postponed shoot for a TV2 teenage programme (Inspirasi Remaja) where the host ties-up with an "IKON" of a relevant skill (eg. mountain biking, figure skating...and TAP!) to learn the ropes and share it with the young-oes out there.]

The bombed airstrip!

Re Aki Nabalu, I loved how my character and storyline had developed at around this point and the scenes were challenging my acting chops (esp the ones against Craig Fong’s character).

The main thing i now had to “budget” for shooting at these other locations (plus the plentiful “jungle” ones that followed) was toilet breaks/trips! I think my sole ”diva” request during the entire shoot has been trips to proper toilets (and for decent coffee or hot water for 3-in-1 -which fell on deaf ears!)

As we moved to shoot at more dynamic locations (as in locations which change by the day or within the day) for the jungle scenes, I realised that B camp was starting to be quite a luxury! As it wasn’t possible to set up semi-permanent tents, we didn’t have any flat flooring that we could lay on to rest, and so the REAL ”hardship” began…plus the set-up for these scenes were much harder as they were outdoors with the exact shot determined usually right b4 on the spot (which usually had been just only scouted). On some of the scenes were didn’t even get to rehearse before the shot!

The weather around this time also become the dreaded Klang Valley “hot/humid from morning then super-heavy downpour in the evening” – which took out shoot time in the evening and sometimes affected the early night scenes as well.

My my leaches!

Honestly, there were a few days where it was hard to keep my spirits up just with these considerations… and when you get a bunch of artists together in these circumstances, you can imagine what happens, right

Setting up for a night scene

Captain Ishida

Kong Eu, the actor.

In 2008 I got bitten by the acting bug. This was of course started from my numerous castings for TVCs since 2007 (and the voice-over work which started earlier)  – which then led to reading scripts and castings for acting roles. In Jul 08, I was casted to play the lead in the pilot episode of a “kisah benar” series -  I found that the process of inner connection, characterisation and emoting provided me a depth of expression and artistry which was different, refreshing and really opened up what I could do as a artist overall.

After that, I sent my profile out to the production houses that I knew of (perhaps I started even b4 that?) and attended a bunch of castings but could never find the right role or get to the right person or get to know of suitable castings etc. So I eventually relegated acting (not because of interest, but more of having one too many things to focus on!) to “something I’d pursue if the right role just came along” (without me working so damn hard to even FIND a suitable opportunity!).

B Camp

In Jan, I was contacted byFilmscape, a production house that I’d been eye-ing to work with for many reasons. We’d had some close calls (a few small bit roles) but due to schedule/timing I’d yet to do anything for them. This time, I was asked to cast for a role of a Japanese captain during WWII in Sabah.

Lo and behold after some fine-tuning and a meeting with the director – the renowned Kabir Bhatia, the man behind the movies Setem/Cinta/Sepi, Frontpage on NTV7 and the super-hot Nur Kasih on TV3- I was cast!

More of B Camp - where my character helms

What followed was a whirlwind.. as it was one of the busiest period for my metaphysics work (with travel and working over wknds), what with my normal tap classes and script reading sessions for the shoot.

Shooting commenced around 24 Jan and so far it’s been a great experience! I’m working with a cool bunch of actors – from current hot celebrities, a few British actors all the way from London, Craig Fong (an awesome established actor) and Hansen, ex-Breakfast Show NTV7 host.  

Aki Nabalu will be an 8 part mini-series for Astro Citra (part of the Mustika package). Astro has been commissioning quite a lot of quality content for Citra since 2009 - currently focusing on Malaysian-historical based epics! So far, everything’s looking pretty damn good.

 

The story/writing is awesome, the visuals stunning, the direction great and as for the acting…you’ll have to see for yourself later

The crew setting-up a scene at my character's office

The make-up effect on one of our Mat Salleh characters

 

As the shoot is all outdoors or at sets constructed externally, wardrobe and the waiting/makan areas are all external and under tents.

 

Where we rest, hang-out and eat

The wardrobe/make-up tent

View from one of the poolside rooms at Sekeping Tenggiri

Courtesy of Sook Yee (our supreme architect, head “chef”), we found yet another wonderful hideaway right in Bangsar as the venue. Check out “exotic” Sekeping Tenggiri, right in the heart of Bangsar:

The Dipping Pool

Tenggiri by day

 

Off on on we also hold a video session potluck where students (esp.  newbies) get to watch some key documentaries and performance clips. In some years we had this session as a mid-year potluck but as the group has grown it’s rather difficult to have the video session as a party of its own. So I decided this time, to have it as a separate portion of the our year-end party; so we had the video session on the same day as a tea session prior to the night festivities!

Some people also arrived early to simply chill and relax…

Part 1: Tea & Videos

To “lighten” the mood of each attendee, I brought back the “welcome drink” concept from our party at the Brickhouse 2 yrs ago. This time, newbie Susan, helped with the “bartending” and i think we all agree she did a GREAT job haha!

We started eating/drinking about 3pm with the early birds and it was non-stop food, drinks and merriment til late night.

To add to the festivities, we even had a surprise Xmas carols performance by the SNL Singers! 2 tappers (senior Wen Li and newbie Renita) happened to be members of SNL who had carolling “duties” that night. They both came for the tea session but had to leave to carol….but Wen Li returned at the end of the night with the group! Such an awesome surprise..and of course such beautiful singing. With such a beautiful venue, spirited tappers and abundance of food & drink, all in all, this was definitely a party for the books!

The SNL Singers

And I thought Nov 09 was a busy month…what a hectic December it’s been!

First, Shueh Miin (who helms Rhythm Tappers @ Malaysia with me) and I were invited to be part of Rhythm In Bronze’s 12th anniversary concert, entitled “Hari Jadi”. RiB, as they are know, are Malaysia’s premiere gamelan ensemble. As these things go, turns out one of the seniors/directors is one of my own tap student! I didn’t realise this until a few months ago when she brought up the idea of tapping to a gamelan piece. Years ago I’d mention to a few senior tappers about doing a collaboration with a Malaysian twist (that time, I was thinking kompang) and now, it came true! I didn’t even realise it until one of my ex-students whose now abroad (Patrick), who manage to catch the show, brought it to my attention

Us as Doves

 It was a challenge indeed! Challenging cuz the artistic direction (it is gamelan afterall!) worked us in ways that we usually don’t as Rhythm Tappers. I mean, we’re like always groovin’ to like jazz, R&B, “black” grooves…And here we were transformed into doves (the piece is called Dovetail). The collaboration pushed up to move in ways that we usually don’t. And as you can see from the pics, it also dressed and presented us in ways out of norm. I personally had to digest (try out) some recommendations by Edwin Sumun before getting to understand the artistic point of view and yet as a Rhythm Tapper, keeping in mind the necessity of getting the TAP point across as well.

Us reacting to visiting Doveland

And when it came to the staging, there were the musical and sound considerations as well. As usual, lots of give and take involved. The artistic direction of the piece, the entire show had to be balanced with the usual limitations of staging, equipment, budget etc etc. The GIVE & TAKE concept, I was reminded is so crucial to the success of any project. Also, I was reminded again at how important it is to be mindful of each others roles: as artist, performer, director etc. How crucial it is to respect and stay WITHIN the boundaries of each others’ defined roles…otherwise there would be chaos and disorder!

Backstage

All in all the show was a great success. At final rehearsals, I started to see how great the show was (mind you, the tap piece was only 1 out of the 12- so I’m referring to the overall). The tap piece (Dovetail) had mostly positive reviews, with a couple of comments understandable due to the out-of-norm presentation of tap and..the usual limitations with staging, sound equipment and resources.

Dovetail's Musicians and Tappers

 Oh yeah, Hari Jadi ran from Dec 3-6 at PJ Live Arts.

With Pearly aka Lai Fong (composer of Dovetail) & Edwin Sumun (Artistic Director of Hari Jadi)

With musical director of Hari Jadi, Susan

Then it was Jojo Struys’ and myself tapping for Hannah Tan’s Xmas concert. I guess Hannah’s back in town! The show was in aid of a children’s home (guests come with a gift for a child). This time Jojo and I worked with not one, but TWO drummers on the djembe! It add such a different dynamic to the whole thing. At one point during the 1st rehearsal, one of the drummers, Jyothi, decided to sit away for Paul (the other drummer) with us tappers sandwiched in between. The “stereo” effect was like nothing I ever felt before.

In rehearsal with Jojo & Paul

Because we were using 2 drummers this time, we had to schedule in an extra rehearsal. Plus, our set with the breaks, entrances and solos were more complicated this time around…it was quite a challenge getting everything right I tell you.

And then Jojo had to go off for a shoot in Borneo until the day before the concert (which was Sun, Dec 20). The official sound-check was on Sun morning – which I couldn’t make cuz of class- so it was all crazy hectic when I arrived at about 1230pm to rehearse. Thank goodness, we managed to squeeze in another sound check later. I mean, this concert was a rather huge deal with the staging, lighting, press attendance etc so we were lucky to get another onstage rehearsal/sound-check that very afternoon (show start time 4pm can you believe??)

To be honest, even during our last soundcheck we still were not HITTING our set 100%…but..I guess it’s always better to have a rough rehearsal then a good show…WHICH WE DID!  The audience was fantastic, our efforts at getting the sound levels right (with the help of the good sound people) and the fact that we peaked during the performance itself really made up for things. The other performers were really supportive and it was even more exciting because of the whole set-up with a great stage, lighting and everything else. Even though the preparation was rather stressful, I was coming out of a very busy period…and…had to rush off to immediately to a dinner, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this gig!

Me & Jojo rockin' Hannah Tan's concert 20 Dec 2009

A client of Jojo’s saw us perform at Stand Up! and liked it so much that we were asked to do a set at the launch of Playboy fragrance at Heritage!

This time around we worked with Justin, who served up mega doses of slappin’ rhythm! I’d not tapped with Justin before (though he had a couple of times prior with Jojo) and it was ultra cool….everyone of us brings such a different feel to the table (or in our case floor and drums!); so it was great and inspiring to tap with him.

Man & Woman in Black!

Despite some initial hiccups with the event organiser, at the end it all pretty much worked out. We managed to get pretty good logistics for our performance. They built nice platforms which had great sound (though the surface was a bit slippery..and too small for me) . The miking and levels were pretty good. I’d had a looooooong day that day (a full day doing “office time”, then my corporate class in Sri Kembangan in the early night) and was late and had to rush to the event. Had to maneuvre through a jam, change my shirt at a petrol station and arrived late at 10+pm (guests had arrived since 8am).

The energy of the crowd (mind you, it’s a invited crowd for a launch so while sizable it wasn’t that many people) was really good and supportive. Felt good. Due to the slippery-ness of the platform, I missed some taps BUT the overall dynamics and energy with Jojo and Justin were really awesome!

J & KE

After that it was party time! It was great talking to the guests, VIPs and who-nots (and ahem, of course, the Bunnies were present!). Besides meeting new people, it was nice to *party* (which sadly i don’t do much these days) with those who I know and some I’d met but not chatted to for a long time…Once again, its uncanny that some groups of people are just  simply interlinked and connected. It’s an affinity thing

One of the America’s Next Top Model winners dropped by for a short while - Jaslene – I guess she was in town for some show or something la…

Towards the end of the night a friend invited us to a friend’s  restaurant off Jln Tun Razak (can’t recall the name but it served Thai cuisine) for some snacks and drinks. Had great conversation with people that I’d just met. By that time I was so hungry!

With 2 gorgeous babes: pretty lass Vanessa Chong and fit and sweet Lina Teoh

All in all Nov has been a pretty tappy month for me (a nice change from the quiet previous many months – in terms of tap performance) esp. when you add up rehearsals and prep. Most of this year I’d been focussing on student training and also developing my other skills.

Oh yeah, if you read this in time, do check out Hari Jadi presented by Rhythm in Bronze which runs at PJ Live Arts, Jaya 1 from Dec 3-6. An awesome production of gamelan, chinese drums, guitar, vocals, percussion and….tap!

Oct 09 had been a month of ups and downs…a couple of very high ups but also some related disappointments and pressure from a few different sources. But what better way to cap up Oct and to welcome in the Pig month (which officially started Nov 7) than this charity event that Jojo invited me to be a part of…

Stand Up! was basically a well, stand up comedy night (featuring Papi Zack, Andrew Netto and the one and only Harith Iskandar) peperred with music and…rhythm tap! When Jojo asked me to contribute to the cause, I jumped at it! But let me tell you about the cause it was for:

“Shambala for kids is a place where we nurture children from challenged backgrounds in love & affection through our creative mentoring programs” – Lina Sutton.

Lina is an incredible pranic healer and the founder of the programme which nurtures  these children in life, creative, performing and communciation skills and well as self-healing. The volunteer mentors are a hosts of awesome people -including 2 of my friends, Hannah Lo and of course Jojo Struys. (those of you wanting to find out more about Shambala for Kids pls contact Lina at 012-633-1994 or email shambalaforkids@gmail.com.

Let me tell you….the event was awesome! Besides the incredible performances by the stand up-ers, the night also featured an up-and-coming young band, The Ramanados, Ash Nair accompanied on guitar by Yuri Wong and violin by Dennis Lau and tap. Watch out for the Ramanados (one of them i found out is like 15 yrs old..!); such an incredibly talented band with great potential.

As for my & Jojo’s tap portion, in whole it went pretty good too. We did 2 separate, short bits- the 1st was a bit chaotic and a bit too *short* but we made it up with the jazzy 2nd bit which went really well. The crowd (squeezed into tiny No Black Tie) was awesome and such good sports. Besides ticket sales, the crowd contributed to over RM 20, 000 through bids for the auction items (either donations by generous souls or art work created by the Shambala kids).

My personal surprise for the evening was after  the whole thing ended, when we adjourned to a restaurant across the street to finish up dinner (generously sponsored by a friend of the event). Most of us performers had earlier started dinner there earlier but because of rehearsal or prepping for performance didn’t/couldn’t stay for the entire course. So supper was sorta like “Dinner Pt 2″, with drinks, chit-chat, chilling etc. 

Now, lo and behold turns out that after the show, at No Black Tie itself, Jothi (who accompanies Jojo/myself a lot on these gigs) had started a jam session with a visiting world-class drummer/percussionist ( Valtinho Anastacio). Long story short– somehow Jothi managed to get him to join us at Delucca where we were chillin’ and before I knew it there was a jam session on the djembe and taps!

Jammin\’ with Valtinho Anastacio & Jothi

Valtinho was so kind to not only jam with Jothi, Jojo and me but also pretty much gave me and Jojo an impromptu lesson on rhythm and improv. The wonderful thing is that this is the kind of experience that is difficult to come across here at home in Malaysia. There’s very few outlets (except for the ones we create ourselves) for me to challenge myself in tap (unlike at places like in the US). I constantly learn and improve on teaching, choreographing and performing but really it’s difficult to push and polish my OWN tap chops. So this experience, though short (we jammed for about 15 min then I was too tired and took off my tap shoes LOL–hey it was like 2am and after the actual show, ok) was really a much, much needed breath of fresh air!  

So Valtinho, it was great to meet you (I regret that we hardly got to talk hehe) and tks so much for your generosity. Also, to the (mainly) ladies who put the entire event together, what an incredible job done!

PS. Sorry for the “ghostly” youtube clip of the jam. Captured in night mode la :)

Day: Fri, Oct 16, 2009 (night).

presenting...Ms Carrie Underwood!

A close-up...but from the screen LOL!Pipes of steel!

Pipes of steel!

Ok here’s the deal about Carrie: i) GREAT voice ii) has blossomed into a good performer (miles from her robotic American Idol days) iii) she’s HOT… but you know not just that but also attractive in that (blonde) girl-next-door type way. She comes across as a humble and nice person… While the audience was decent, I felt that she deserved more energy/appplause cuz she really sang and performed all out. Most of the “boring-ness” of course came from the VIP section…but I guess Carrie & gang didn’t mind since it is a paid gig anyway (and not like the usual concert). 

By 9+pm I was tired and severely hungry…My 2 friends had finished dinner already and one said we needed to meet 2 of her ex-colleagues from drinks at the Conrad but they said they would accompany me to eat at Orchard 1st. We, new Carrie U. fans, of course had to be let out systematically so I rushed out asap &  grabbed a Red Bull on the way to meet my friends at Centrepoint. I had dinner at TCC (since it was the only thing nearby still serving food at that hour). We caught up, found out that friend #1 (Leng Sim) was now based in Singapore and that friend #2 Karen was STILL busy flying all over the world this year (which she’s been doing allllll yr round). After that, we went to meet 2 of Karen’s ex-colleagues at the Conrad for drinks.

The next day, I had a lunch appointment with my ex-gf, Alicia, at Bakerzin, Paragorn (which I was supposed to hv done the night b4 with Leng Sim and Karen). Then, cuz I was too tired to walk everywhere, just hung out at Centerpoint while waiting for my usual Singapore massage. The shop was sooo busy (it was Deepavali) and i ended up with a shorter session than planned. That night we went to out to a Jap buffet to have my niece’s bday dinner. Fun place…esp. for families and children! On Sun, I left on the Aeroline after having brekkie at a McDonalds

Here’s to Singapore! Til the next time…

Celebration