BC37 and BJ46

One word to sum it all up - FUN!

I've known that BC37 is going to be really awesome, and it was my first time teaching any tracks from BC37 and I must say that I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to teach the entire release soon.

I took T7 to T10 today.

T7, Let The Beat Control Your Body, is just pure speed and exhilaration. Everything went off very well, including the performances which I came up with. I thought the stomp and the circular knees at the end went very well, and we even got a little applause from the members.

And T8, Sea Of Love, another of my favourites. This is one song that we can definitely let it all out. I'm definitely going to recycle these 2 tracks pretty often!

T9, Church, the conditioning track, was hilarious for one reason. Some were surprised by the push-ups at the end, and I even had someone asking me to stop the music halfway hahaha.

T10, I love the song so much. The kata is strong and the song is just powerful.

After the class, it was an option between BA62 and BJ46. BA62 was my training release and I did it several times already. Moreover, B wanted to do BJ46 so we ended up taking a cab to GWC to do it.

BJ46 was FUN! The class was enthusiastic and totally up for it. Unlike the regular classes where members typically don't like to stand in front, for BJ, it was the total opposite. Everyone was crowding the front!

Latin/Salsa - I personally don't really like Latin that much, so I'll remain neutral for this.

Tribal - This was HOT! I like blocks like these, just like the ROCK in BJ45 but this was challenging and great to do.

Aussie House - Before the class when I heard from Sebestian that it was going to be house again, I was wondering what Gandalf could come up with. But the combo was just amazing! I enjoyed myself so much!

I'll be the first one to put up my hand to say I can't dance. Till now, I still can't dance. But I just love Bodyjam just because it is Bodyjam. It's never ever the same. I just like a challenge. Now I'm aching all over from all the rolls and isolations...

Knackered

I've always relied on my intuition since young. It's served me pretty well all these years. Something strange happened today.

The plan for the day was to teach my 2 classes (at STC and Parkway) and subsequently go for the rehearsal for tmr's launch. So this morning, I packed 3 sets of clothing for today. Then just before I left the house, I went back and grabbed another set. I don't know why I did that, all I know is I did just that.

As usual, I gave my all for my 2 classes. As I ended my second class at about 230pm, I saw one of the counter staff trying to get my attention and then he passed me a slip - asking me to call Jean to urgently cover the 3pm class at GWC.

To cut a long story short, there was some cock-up and there was no instructor for GWC Sat class. I know for myself how difficult it is to get cover for a Sat class, so I did my 'corporate duty' and dashed my ass to GWC in a cab.

(Jean, if you are reading this, you owe me one hahaha)

Reached there about 5 mins late, and proceeded to conduct the class in the only way I know how. I was completely knackered after the class and felt like my legs were going to give way.

Somehow my intuition served me quite well. I seriously did not know what happened that led me to go back to grab that 4th set of clothing.

Back to STC for the rehearsal for the launch tomorrow. I'll be presenting T7 to T10 tomorrow, and I've come up with some 'performances' for my tracks tmr. A rarity for me eh, considering I seldom do performances for my tracks.

One of which is super my style and I crafted it way before today, in fact on the very first day when I got the music. We tested it and it worked very well.

Here's hoping to a great launch tomorrow!

Budgeting for Auckland

Some have asked me how much does it take to go Auckland. Here's how I did my budget. Assuming a 1 to 1 rate for NZDSGD, which is now at about 0.9750, and staying for 1 week.

Air tix on SQ - 2,000
Hotel accomodation (budget) - 900
Airport transfer - 50
Breakfast - 70
Lunch - 105
Dinner - 105
Snacks and misc - 50
Gym entrance - 90
Transport - 50
LM Clothing - 300
Others - 100
Casino (optional) - 500

Estimated Total = 4,320

Q1' 2009 releases filming

Something relevant to this blog, finally.

I came home and checked my email and got one from LM NZ.

"LMI filming -

These times are still subject to change by LMI.
RPM bookings required as soon as the decision is made to visit NZ.

1/2009 - November 2008:

Thursday 30th October 2008
BODYPUMP / BODYATTACK /BODYJAM / BODYVIVE

Monday 3rd November 2008
RPM / BODYCOMBAT / BODYSTEP / BODYBALANCE "

I've already ear-marked the 7 programs that I want to attend. The excitement is building up. I can't wait!

BC3601 - James Bond Theme

There is a difference between the 'ginga' and 'step-ginga'. The former steps back on the odd counts, while the latter steps away on the odd counts and steps behind on the even counts'.

Some of you have asked me about the lower body warm up in BC36 - James Bond Theme, because another instructor did it the 'step-ginga', differently from what we did earlier in the week.

It's ginga, not 'step-ginga'.

I'm With You

I was just leaving my playlist on when this song 'I'm With You' by Avril Lavigne came on. Till today, the song resonates strongly in me. It reminded me of my days working in the US as a lifeguard.

Back in 2003, I ventured out to a foreign land all alone to work. I met fellow Singaporeans there and six of us shared an apartment. Due to the nature of our work, I was usually the first to knock off, and there were many times when I explored the little town alone, and by foot. There were many times I felt lonely and away from all my friends and family in a distant land.

This song was hitting the airwaves then and I remembered distinctly how I felt each time I listened to it. It was poignant and endearing and I thought Avril Lavigne expressed the song very well, bringing out the emotions within. It may be a song, but I honestly felt like she meant what she sang.

Fast forward to 2008. This song still touches my heart every time I listen to it.

I'm standing on the bridge
I'm waiting in the dark
I thought that you'd be here by now
There's nothing but the rain
No footsteps on the ground
I'm listening but there's no sound

Isn't anyone tryin’ to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?

(Chorus)
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I... I'm with you
I'm with you

I'm looking for a place
I'm searching for a face
Is anybody here I know?
'Cause nothing's going right
And everything’s a mess
And no one likes to be alone

Isn't anyone tryin’ to find me?
Won't somebody come take me home?

(CHORUS)

Oh!

Why is everything so confusing?
Maybe I'm just out of my mind
Yeah.. yeah.. yeah!..yeah.. yeah,
yeah.. yeah, yeah yeah,YEAH...
It's a damn cold night
Trying to figure out this life
Won't you take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I....!
I'm with YOU...
I'm with YOU...
Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I!

I'm with you...
I'm with you...

Take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are
But I
I'm with you
I'm with you

I'm with you

Les Mills Launch At Cali

Today is the launch of BB, BC and BP at Cali. Very soon they will have BJ too. I decided to attend the launch in preparation for our launch next week.

I went for two - the first 1030 at Republic Plaza II and the second 1210 at Bugis Junction. After the two classes, I've come to the conclusion that BC37 is an awesome release and I'm going to love it lots.

The atmosphere was electrifying. Goodness knows how many people can wake up and attend a 1030 class on Sunday. I literally had to drag my ass up for this. And they had a team of instructors for the class too, 3 for RP, 4 for Bugis, and each team dressed up really well. I think they probably have a creative director or something.

For the first class, there were some delays due to technical error. The transmitter sets didn't work. I've attended several classes at Cali before and seriously this is the first time I'm seeing this. It was amusing (to me) seeing the instructors sweating, looking flustered, and running up and down to sort the problem.

I guess they dont get much practice on this, unlike me, it used to be a regular practice for me every Wed at FES and CSQ, and occasionally CHV too.

Of cos, I can't say that the classes were perfect. No class is ever perfect, but there were a few things which I found a little annoying.

The first is the space constraint. As both the classes were filled to the brim, there was hardly any space to move around or kick. The inability to shuffle or execute kicks fully does take plenty away from the workout.

Choreo mistakes. There were so many choreo mistakes in the 2 classes that it was unbelievable. A little too much for me to bear. The first class had mistakes in 8 out of the 10 tracks - T1, T2, T3, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10. I'm not talking about minor mistakes but rather major ones. Wrong moves, wrong timing, wrong kata, wrong type of skips.

The second class at Bugis was better. There were mistakes in only 4 tracks - T1, T2, T3, T4, T10.

Maybe the first class was suffering from nerves after the frantic 15mins when they were trying to sort out the technical error, or maybe they had too little time to learn the 3 or 4 tracks that they were each allocated. But their experience showed as they covered up some of the errors brilliantly. As this was the launch, most of the participants probably didn't know the moves anyway so they just followed suit.

I guess I'm just being a little anal about this cos nobody is perfect. I make mistakes too. I can tolerate mistakes but mistakes in 8 out of 10 is perhaps a little overwhelming. Choreography is first key element (out of 5) of LM programs and as my trainer for BA, Kylie Gates, put it. "I need your choreo to be 100%, not 90%, otherwise I will fail you".

The third thing which annoyed me was quite a number of the participants at RP tended to be half a beat faster than the music. They quickly execute their moves then spend extra time pulsing. It's a common phenomenon I witnessed at RP. There wasn't such a problem at Bugis though.

I must have sounded like I hated the class because I have been quite negative so far. But in actual fact, I really enjoyed the classes. Here's what I really liked.

Theme/Outfits. It's remarkable how much effort both teams put in to coordinate on the dressing, which fitted the Blade/Underworld theme in BC37 perfectly. Not to mention all those little accessories and make up on the faces. Full marks for effort.

The crowd is just awesome. Turned up in full force and lent their voices to the cause. Most of the members don't even need to be prompted before they start to holler.

Other than the minor glitch, the sound system was actually really good. The music was loud and clear, and the mic came through well.

All in all, I enjoyed my BC37. Already I'm liking it more than BC35 and BC36. Can't wait to launch it!