Street Dancers "Diversity" Win "Britain's Got Talent" Final

Street dancers Diversity were the surprise winners of the Britain's Got Talent 2009 Final held in London, England on May 30. Formed in 2007, the group of 11 dancers hail from Dagenham, a suburban town in east London. The multi-ethnic troupe consists of three sets of brothers aged between 12 to 25 and they were the UK Street Dance Champions 2007. Diversity showcased a street dance routine choreographed by 20-year-old Ashley Banjo. Judge Simon Cowell described their performance as "utter perfection". "If I had to give marks on that, that is the only performance tonight I would want to give a 10 to" Cowell added. Diversity won the top prize money of 100,000 pounds (RM565,00) and an invitation to perform before Queen Elizabeth in the Royal Variety Performance in December.

Susan Boyle who was the favorite to win the competition came in second. For the final she reprised the song she had sung in the audition and which had made her famous - I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Miserables. Putting behind her jitters and less than perfect rendition of Memory in the semi-final last weekend, Boyle put on a polished and perfect performance this time. Judge Piers Morgan called it "the greatest performance I have seen in the history of Britain's Got Talent - you should win the competition, I loved it". Fellow judge Amanda Holden said, "I have never heard such powerful, confident vocals". Following her performance, a bashful Boyle who wore a modest grey sequined long dress said she wanted to thank people for all the support they had given her.

Britain's Got Talent has been seen by millions of viewers around the world. Besides actress Demi Moore and rock star Jon Bon Jovi who are fans of Susan Boyle, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson also watched this show. Jackson was so thrilled with the win by Diversity that he now wants them to join him on stage in his upcoming This It It UK shows. It means that Diversity could be dancing alongside the Thriller star who is set to play 50 live gigs at the O2 Arena in London beginning next month. Jackson's performances are as much about the dancing as they are his singing and Diversity could add to the magic and help pull in the crowds. Choreographer Kenny Ortega (who will be directing the remake of Footloose) who is putting together the This Is It show is also keen to include Diversity in Jackson's show.

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World Dance Academy To Organize 7th Crystal Dancesport Championships 2009

World Dance Academy of 25-2 Jalan SS23/11, Taman SEA, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor (telephone/fax nos. 603-78807112, 603-78807112) will be organizing the 7th Crystal Dancesport Championships 2009. This competition is opened to all WDC, WDC - Amateur League, IDSF and other world dancing bodies. The details of the competition is as follows:-


Date: August 30 2009 (Sunday)

Venue: Grand Ballroom, Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur

Events: Ballroom ~ Standard & Latin American - Professional Open, Pro-Amateur Open (Standard only), Amateur Open, SEA Amateur Closed, Malaysian Amateur Closed, Rising Star Under 21, Pre-Amateur, Novice, Senior Over 40, Senior Over 55, Grand Senior Over 60, Junior Under 16 Open, Juvenile Under 12 Open, Beginners (1 Dance), Ladies Event Open & WDA Events

Prize monies will be awarded to the finalists in the Professional Open, Pro-Amateur and Amateur Open Categories

Participation: Open to countries in the Asia Pacific region

Closing Date For Entries: July 31 2009

Tickets - Round table seating for 10 persons are priced at RM5000, RM3800, RM2500 and RM2000 per table. An eight-course Chinese halal dinner will be served.

The day-long event will start at 9.00 am and will see the contestants competing in the preliminary rounds till 5.00 pm. The finals will be held thereafter at 6.30 pm.

World Dance Academy was established in 2000 by John Lim and his wife Joanne Leong. Both were avid ballroom dance competitors and who are now actively involved in the promotion of dancesport as teachers, organizers of dance competitions and also as adjudicators. Their passion for dancing seems to have "rubbed off" on their 16 year old son Johnston Lim, an accomplished ballroom and Latin American dancer who has won many championships in Malaysia and abroad. For tickets to this event, kindly contact John Lim at 6012-2120326. To know more about the 7th Crystal Dancesport Championships 2009, visit www.worlddanceacademy.com.my.

Best Wishes As Usual,

Dance Aficionado
Dancesport Malaysia

Britain's Got Talent - Susan Boyle May Face-Off With 73 year Old Breakdancer Fred Bowers

The world seems to be going gaga over Susan Boyle, the 48 year old Scottish lass since she appeared on Britain's Got Talent TV show and crooned I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. Her sweet and melodious voice which is in sharp contrast to her dowdy and frumpy image has caught the imagination of viewers around the world. She has garnered a legion of fans including celebrities like Demi Moore and Bon Jovi. A guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the USA is in the pipeline and there are rumours she may be offered a recording contract. Boyle is seen as the favourite to win the crown but someone may just pip her to the title. And that person is none other than 73 year old breakdancer, Fred Bowers.

Fred Bowers (pic) has breakdanced himself into the hearts of millions of viewers and is seen as a serious contender for the 100,000 Pounds (RM650,000) top prize. Bowers said he had been breakdancing for about 5 years and now performs regularly in nightclubs. "It all started when I fell down, and when I got back up I found myself spinning on one knee. It's mostly my back, neck and head that I move so I don't see what the problem is because it is my leg that's bad", he said in an interview. See Bowers on YouTube where he showcases his robotic dance moves before dropping to the floor and spinning on his head. While his peers are pill popping, Bowers is body popping! Hail the grandaddy of breakdance!

Five semi-final rounds of Britain's Got Talent will be held this week. Only two acts will be selected from each semi-final for the grand final to be held on May 30. The acts who have confirmed a place in the final are Susan Boyle who sang Memory and dance troupe Diversity from the first semi-final. In the second semi-final, dance troupe Flawless lived up to their name by giving a flawless performance to secure a berth in the final. The other finalist was Shaun Smith who mesmerized the judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden with his rendition of the U2 classic With Or Without You. The winner of Britain's Got Talent may get the chance to perform before the royal family in the Royal Variety Show.

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> Shawn Johnson Wins "Dancing With The Stars" Season 8 Crown

Shawn Johnson Wins "Dancing With The Stars" Season 8 Crown

Shawn Johnson, an Olympic gold medallist gymnast, won the Dancing With The Stars Season 8 crown on May 19 and added the mirror ball trophy to her collection of Olympic medals. With her partner Mark Ballas, they performed a group Paso Doble as well as a Freestyle dance on the first night and a Cha Cha Cha on the second night. The judges Len Goodman, Bruno Toniolo and Carri Ann Inaba were impressed enough to award them 58 points out of a possible 60. Sex And The City actor Gilles Marini dancing the Argentine Tango with Cheryl Burke also obtained 58 points for a tie. Johnson and Ballas however pipped Marini and Burke to the trophy by a majority of just 1% of the viewers' votes. The favorite, Melissa Rycroft, a former cheerleader who danced the Samba with her partner Tony Dovolani came in third.

Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) Season 8 premiered on ABC television network in the USA on March 9. The 13 celebrities who participated in this season's show included Holly Madison, former Playboy model and ex-girlfriend of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, New York Giants footballer Lawrence Taylor, singer Jewel and her rodeo star husband Ty Murray. Among the well known professional dancers were Karina Smirnoff, Mark Ballas (son of dance legend Corky Ballas), Julian Hough and Cheryl Burke. Two new dances, the Argentine Tango and Lindy Hop were introduced this season. As well as being remembered for the finale with the tightest competition since its inception, this season's show will also probably be remembered as the show with the most number of injuries suffered by the contestants.

Jewel fractured both her shin bones, while Nancy O' Dell tore the meniscus in her knees during rehearsals. Both were forced to withdraw from the competition and were replaced by Holly Madision and Melissa Rycroft. Gilles Marini suffered tendonitis in the shoulder and Steve Woznaik the co-founder of Apple Computer sprained his foot during training. Jackass actor Steve-O injured his back while practising the Salsa. Season 9 of DWTS is expected to be aired in the fall of this year. The Americans are so fortunate in that they are able to watch really fantastic TV dance reality shows like DWTS and So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). It looks like there won't be a SYTYCD Malaysia Season 3 this year. Seems the global financial crisis is taking its toll. We can only pray for the storm to blow over soon!

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Show Off Your Moves At The "F&N Freestylz Show Ur Moves" Street Dance Competition.

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 improvisations and interactions 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, jazz and house dance. Street dance competitions are getting increasingly popular and several international events are held around the world every year. These competitions focus not only on judged battles but choreographed shows as well.

Fraser & Neave Sdn Bhd is organizing a F&N Freestylz Show Ur Moves Street Dance Competition and is inviting all budding street dancers to sign up for this competition. The top prize for this competition includes a trip to South Korea to train with Gamblerz Crew who are reportedly one of the best B-boys dance crews in the world. B-boy stands for breakdancing-boy but the style is different from the 1980s breakdancing in that it fuses traditional moves with a more modern hip hop style. The second and third place winners will receive cash prizes of RM8000 and RM5000 respectively. At the event launch held by F&N in Kuala Lumpur recently, there were street dance performances by Floor Fever Crew, Alex Ng and Mohd Naim Mohd Fauzi.

The F&N Freestylz Show Ur Moves Street Dance Competition is open to all Malaysians between the ages of 15 and 25. Participants may only enter as a team, with a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 crew members. The preliminary rounds will be held from now till July 12 and which will culminate in the grand final scheduled for August 15 2009 in Kuala Lumpur. Judging will be based on choreography, technique, execution, creativity, rhythm and showmanship. To promote this competition, F&N will be taking to the roads and conducting roadshows in 140 locations in Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak. Be sure to be there when they visit your hometown. To know more about this event, check out www.fnfreestylz.com.

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