Report contributed by:
LIM HOCK BEE from The Sizzlers
For the first time in history, a line dance event was being held to honor the legendary Master In-Line (MIL) Choreographers/Instructors who are known for providing originality and inspiration through their choreography. They included such legends as Rob Fowler, Rachael McEnaney, Paul McAdam and Pedro Machado. The event was organized by Melody Yeo, who was also the DJ for this event that took place at Xenbar Dance Studio on Saturday, June 27, 2009.
Instead of following the normal format of a prepared dance playlist used in all line dance parties, Melody came up with the idea of the lucky draw where each of the Line Dance Instructors would draw 5 dance names from a can which was the basis for the order in which the dances were done. Line Dance instructors who participated in this event included Allen & Helen, Robin, BeeKhim, Robert & Yenny, and Sock Cheng who was the emcee.
The first dance selected from the lucky draw to kick off the event was ‘AM TO PM’. There was excitement in the air as the dancers would cheer out loud whenever their favorite dances were played. Such favorites (aka Evergreen dances) included ‘Mars Attack’, ‘La Chico’, ‘Doctor Doctor’ ‘Funkalicious’, ‘Guilty, ‘Hot Temptation’, to name only a few.
Even after being out for many years, many of the MIL dances are still very popular as they continue to receive rave reviews in the local Singaporean dance community as well as overseas. Such popularity has inspired Melody to conceive the theme “ONLY The Masters Line Dance Party” to dance specifically dances choreographed by the members of MIL NO split-floor allowed, dance request choreographed by others, NOT accepted. And the events that she organizes are always memorable because she adds a certain pizzaz and creativity which fun and refreshing. A good example is the event from September 2008 in which she came up with the theme “Waltz Is The Key - The Nite of 123456” where only the waltz line dances were played.
The turn-out was excellent with strong support from Allen & Helen of ‘A&H Dancing’, Robin Sin of ‘The Wild West’, Tey Bee Khim of ‘Dance of Joy’, Robert & Yenny of ‘Danztitude’, Melody Yeo of ‘The Sizzlers’, and friends of A&H from Indonesia. Everyone got to enjoy their favorites of the dances picked or requested for their styles/techniques and levels of execution whether it be funky, nightclub 2 steps, waltz etc… and the dance floor was filled up for most of the dances being called out.
Everyone was grateful to Allen for graciously teaching a recent beginner dance “Preacher Man” to many of his Indonesian friends who came to support him even though many of them were beginners and were not familiar with many of the dances being done. Still, they had a great time and enjoyed watching as well as participating in the event. Thanks to Allen as he made this a memorable event for his Indonesian friends.
The last dance for the party was ‘We’re Alive’, to remind us we are come back to sanity after bursting so much energies and enthusiasm practicing so hard for these unique party.
Without the fan base of MIL, this party would not have been a success. Thanks to friends, students and instructors, Allen & Helen, Robin Sin, Beekhim, Robert & Yenny and Neo Sock Cheng who gladly liven up the event with her cheerful announcements interspersed with good humor as our Emcee for the night.
To my surprise, we were also allowed free admission to the Salsa event taking place afterwards where we had a chance to enjoy performances of Salsa, Bachata and Hip-Hop. Performing Artists included those from the local studio and other countries such as China, USA and Russia.