cny dance

just now, a friend of mine started me all sorts of questions about my chinese dance background. she had never shown any interest towards this before, so i was perplexed.

then she revealed that she had suggested to her fellowship that a CNY dance be performed. and she wanted my help in choreographing and performing it. i was initially apprehensive because i hadnt danced for so long, and i dont practice at all, but the more i thought about it, the more attractive the idea seemed.

ok la, maybe its the performer in me craving some sorely missed limelight. wtf

so i agreed.

sounds simple? what u think just choreographing and teaching the dance is the end of the story? then u my friend have never been in this field.

the 1st hurdle is music.
only with music will i be able to choreograph appropriately.
so i need to find an appropriate song. one that is preferably not too fast because im afraid that if the music is too fast, the dancers (whom i presumed to be inexperienced) will be unable to keep up with the steps or the music. plus, i dont want a song that will result in a childish dance. u know how all CNY songs are "gong xi gong xi" and stuff like that. i wanna find a song thats justs instruments and no lyrics.
then comes the problem of playing the song. if i download it over the internet, we may practice by playing the song on my laptop, but when the performance date comes, how do i play the song? i'll have to burn it into a cd or someting.

second is the props.

in chinese dance, the common props are fans, ribbons and handkerchiefs. but i dont know where i can get a supply of these here. sure we could make our own, but that will consume time and i'll still need to find what we need to make them. oh ya, did i mention that the performance is on the 31st? o.0
we could do without props, but that means i'll need to teach them moves utilising their hands, which will be harder for them.

the third problem is a practice space.
my friend suggested her church, but i havent seen it, so i dont know if it will do. but its not like there's much choice -_-"
and i preferably want a place with mirrors so that they can see what their dancing looks like and how to improve, but i doubt there's anywhere with mirrors available for free

then we have the problem of practice times.
we'll need to arrange times that are suitable for everyone (and im still working). and i wanna squeeze in at least 5 sessions of 3 hours before the performance. otherwise, i doubt everyone will have enough practice with the formations (they can practice the moves at home themselves).

lastly, we'll have to sort out some costume.

damn, if we had costumes like this, i'd have so much fun choreographing with the sleeves!
obviously nothing too elaborate, since we have no funds. but i'd still like what we wear to be uniform.


ok la, thats it. i think i've covered all the bases. let me know if there's anything i missed out!

but actually i talk so much when she hasnt even confirmed about the performance yet. HAHA! =p