Alex Lim Shines At Gatsby Styling Dance Contest Finals

Alex Lim (pic), also known as Poppin' Rex was adjudged the winner of the Gatsby Styling Dance Contest Malaysia Finals in Kuala Lumpur on January 27 2010. At the event held in Mist Club, Bangsar; Alex put up a solid performance that combined street dance with out-of-the-box moves to impress the judges and beat four other finalists for the crown. The five finalists were chosen through online voting from fifteen shortlisted entries. The judges for the competition were Karisma Kantaro of Anomaly Japan, Fellest Yan of Royal Phantom Crew and Bojae of Floor Fever. Guest performers KoRock from Japan; the winners of the Gatsby Styling Dance Contest Asia Finals in 2009 thrilled the crowd with their beautiful and adrenaline-pumping routine.

Besides winning a trophy and a cash prize of RM2000, Alex also grabbed a chance to represent Malaysia in the Asia Finals which will be held in Tokyo on February 27. Runners-up Chris Ooi, Dennis Yin and Billy Yap of Elecoldxhot walked away with a trophy and RM1000 while Chua Jack Son of Max Identity who came in third, bagged a trophy and RM500. At the finals in Tokyo, Alex will battle it out with the winners from six other countries/regions namely Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Singapore. The champion will receive a 300,000 Yen (RM11,400) prize money and an all-expense-paid trip to participate in the Asian Dance Interchange Tour to any two of the seven Gatsby Styling Dance Contest participating Asian countries/regions.

The Gatsby Styling Dance Contest is organized by Mandom Corporation of Japan, the manufacturer and distributor of Gatsby personal care and hair styling products. This contest is specially for high school, college or university students who love to dance. The official theme of this competition is 'styling' and contestants are required to define 'styling' in their performances. Style dancing, a new genre created by Gatsby is based on street dance like hip hop, breaking and free style that incorporates styling moves in their routines. Elecoldxhot, who were the winners of the inaugural Gatsby Styling Dance Contest Malaysia Finals last year went on to compete in the Asia Finals in Tokyo where they managed to win a "Grooving Award".

KLDA To Organize "Rising Star Championship 2010"

The Kuala Lumpur Dancers' Association (KLDA) of Level 2, Indoor Sports Complex, Wisma OCM, Jalan Hang Jebat, 50150 Kuala Lumpur is organizing the KLDA Rising Star Championship 2010. Further information regarding this competition is as follows:-

Date: April 11 2009 (Sunday)

Venue: Level 3, Indoor Sports Complex, Wisma OCM, Jalan Hang Jebat, 50150 Kuala Lumpur

Events: Ballroom ~ Standard & Latin - Amateur, Rising Star Under 21, Pre-Amateur, Novice, Senior Over 40, Senior Over 50, Grand Senior Over 60, Junior Under 16, Juvenile Under 12, Ladies Under 16, Beginners 1 Dance

Participation: Open To All Malaysians

Closing Date For Entries: March 11 2010

Tickets: RM130 and RM100 per person (inclusive of dinner) for evening events. RM30 for day events

This is the first time the Kuala Lumpur Dancers' Association is organizing a dancesport competition since its inception in 1982. The KLDA is sparing no efforts to ensure that this inaugural championship will be a success. Alan Liew, the organizing chairman, as well as the Vice President of the KLDA said in an interview - "The objective of this competition is to foster friendship, peace and harmony among dancers through dancesport, and promote unity in the ballroom dance community. I extend my invitations to and encourage all aspiring dancers to participate in this competition". For more information regarding this event, kindly contact Alan Liew at 017-2829321, email: alanpritanis@yahoo.com; Kelly Cheah at 016-2319998, email: kelly_cheahss@yahoo.com or Chew Su Fen at 012-9116682, email: sufen_sufen_sufen_@hotmail.com.

The Kuala Lumpur Dancers' Association was founded in 1982 by a group of dance enthusiasts in 1982 and had its initial headquarters at the Eastern Hotel & Nite Club in Jalan Ampang (where Capital Square is now). Over the years, the KLDA has shifted several times: to Jalan Galloway, Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Sungai Besi and Cheras Utama before relocating to its present premises in Wisma OCM in 2008. The KLDA is situated directly behind the YWCA, adjacent to the Olympic Sports Hotel and is about 600 metres or a 10-minute stroll from the Hang Tuah LRT and monorail stations. It is also a stone's throw away from Petaling Street and Chinatown. The KLDA is open for dance practices from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm every Sundays and from 8.00 pm to 10.30 pm every Mondays to Fridays. It is closed on Saturdays and certain public holidays.

Amalgamations And Their Nicknames

In ballroom dancing, a brief term or nickname is often used for a certain popular sequence of dance figures or what is known as an amalgamation. The nicknames are quite useful in a way because, instead of naming all the figures in the amalgamation, a few words would convey the message just as well. Brevity is the soul of wit, so they say. Recently I happened to read an interesting forum discussion regarding a foxtrot amalgamation known as the Prince of Wales in dance-forums.com. Unfortunately there was no discussion on how this amalgamation came to be known as the Prince of Wales. I also could not find any information regarding this amalgamation in the internet.

According to what was discussed in the forum, the Prince of Wales is a Curved Feather to a Back Feather followed by a Feather Finish. This is a beautiful routine and is one of my favourites but the footwork can be a bit tricky and has to be properly executed. Another popular Foxtrot amalgamation which was discussed in the forum was a Feather Step to a Reverse Turn (incorporating Feather Finish) followed by a Three Step. One observant forum participant mentioned that he has seen this combination used often by beginners as well as by professionals. He has even christened this amalgamation The Three Impossibles. Another participant calls it the Golden Variation.

Two Walks And A Link is a well known amalgamation used in the Tango. The amalgamation consists of 1) Walk on LF, 2) Walk On RF, and 3) Progressive Link. In the Waltz there is an amalgamation known as the Eighteen Steps. As the name suggests, the amalgamation consists of eighteen steps and is made up of 1) LF Closed Change [three steps], 2) Natural Turn [six steps], 3) Reverse Turn [six steps], and 4) RF Closed Change [three steps]. The term Eighteen Steps is popularly used in Malaysia and this amalgamation is great for practising the fundamental steps of the Waltz. I do not know whether this amalgamation is similarly named as such in other countries.

Related Posts

> Dancing the Foxtrot - Mastering The Feather Step And Three Step

> Dancing The Waltz With Style And Technique

Countdown To "Showdown 2010"

A new reality TV dance show - Showdown 2010 will premiere over 8TV on March 31 2010 at 9.30 p.m. Auditions to select the Top 14 crews (consisting of between five to seven members each) for this street dance competition were held in Johor Baru, George Town, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Petaling Jaya last month. The Top 14 will have to challenge each other to gain a place in the Top 12 when the show begins next month. During each round of the competition, the bottom four crews, that is, those with the lowest votes will have to do a "dance off" to see which two of them will be eliminated. The Final Four crews will then battle it out in the "Final Showdown" on July 13 to determine who becomes the champion.

The host of Showdown 2010 will be Hafiz Hatim, a popular deejay with Fly FM. Hafiz will give viewers a peek at behind-the-scenes footage: from the rehearsals to the actual performances. Well-known rapper Joe Flizzow of Too Phat, and pole dance instructor Maple Loo are the permanent judges and will be joined by an invited judge during each round of the competition. The winner of the Final Showdown will be determined by a combination of the judges' scores and viewers' votes. A cash prize of RM50,000 will be awarded to the winning crew. I guess this show Showdown 2010 sort of makes up for the disappointment over the cancellation of So You Think You Can Dance Malaysia just after only two seasons.

Street dance is a generic term used to describe dance styles that have evolved outside of the dance studios and on to open spaces such as streets, parks, school courtyards, etc. They are often social in nature and involves improvisation with the other dancers and spectators. Generally, a street dance is based on a unique feel or style that is expressed through the dance, usually tied to a certain musical genre. The street dances include hip hop, breakdance, krumping, punking, reggae and house dance. Street dance competitions are getting increasingly popular and international events are held around the world each year. These competitions focus not only on judged battles but choreographed shows as well.