Ballet

Stayed up till 3 in the morning watching ballet videos. Polina Semionova is amazing, i swear.

Oh, don't watch the video till it's done loading. Otherwise you'll just get all angsty, you know? Or maybe it's just me.. *grins* I love the video so much i actually deleted my blog song so you better watch it!! XD While you're waiting for the video to load, imma tell you a story.

I started ballet when i was 4 years old. There was this little ballet school right outside my house and kor kor used to send me on his bicycle. My first teacher was Ms Kim and she was kind and sweet like how you'd expect ballet teachers to be. But i just wasn't passionate about ballet yet. At that time, i was more fascinated with the little hole next to the piano which i could squeeze into. I spent my first 5 years of ballet at Ms Kim's studio. When i was 7, i took my Primary exam and i got a Commended which is like a C? The following year, i took my Grade 1 exam and got a Highly Commended which would be a B. Finally, i took my Grade 2 exam and got my first Distinction. That was the year Ms Kim decided to close down her ballet studio. She moved all her ballerinas to Puppetshoulder's Danceworks.

I think everything just happened at the right time for me. I was 10 at that time with my first Distinction and it was also the year i was selected into the elite rhythmic gymnastics squad under the National Sports Council. Gymnastics training were arranged everyday after school and it was really tough but i'd always look forward to my ballet lessons in the evening. My ballet teacher, Ms Ong was is a wonderful teacher and i think she sparked that passion for ballet in me. Since that year, i've been getting Distinction in all my ballet exams.

In 2005, she sent me for The Dance Society of Malaysia's Solo Ballet Competition. We spent 2 hours in the studio everyday for over a month working on one classical piece and one contemporary piece. Being a relatively new face in the competition, i was really surprised when i came in third. The following year, i took part in the same competition again. The marks for the top 2 ballerinas in my category were the same and there was a huge controversy in choosing the champion. Finally, the announced that i was the first runner-up. Despite not winning, Ms Ong encouraged me to apply for the Cecchetti Summer Ballet School.

January 2007, Cecchetti Summer Ballet School. From the moment i stepped into Ormond College, i knew it was going to be an experience of a lifetime. We spent one week there just dancing. The days started at 8 in the morning with stretching classes followed by ballet, repetoire, contemporary, production, jazz, flamenco, character and finally, choreography till around 10 at night. It was pratically eat sleep breathe dance and i loved every moment of it.