Sorry I haven’t been writing in here for a while! I’ve been busy with my dance life and school life (late assignments tend to stack up, hehe).

Since a few weeks now, my Swing dance club at school (MSDC: Marianopolis Swing Dance Club) and I have been intensively practicing for our upcoming show. Anyone who’s interested is welcomed to come see probably Montreal’s youngest Swing dance troupe perform!

Swing Fiesta!
Friday, April 11, 2008 at 6:30 PM.
Marianopolis College (room F-105)
4873 Westmount Avenue
Westmount, Quebec
Metros: Vendôme, Villa Maria
Buses: 66, 124, 138

Tickets: $8.00 in advance ($10.00 at the door)
Money goes to help our teacher Alain Wong for his 7-week bike ride from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico “promoting micro-credit as a tool to fight poverty”. Current amount raised: $750.00; the objective: $3000.00!

There are going to be 3 Swing dance choreographies and 2 Latin dance choreographies. My friend Ashley and I are also going to sing “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”, originally sung by Marilyn Monroe. We’re gonna serve desserts and drinks, and give a mini social dance lesson afterwards. Please come in great numbers to show your support! :)

The MSDC crew 2008! Front row: me, Wisit, Andy and Ilonka. Back row: Nicky, Ting Tin, Jonathan. Missing: David, Martin, Ashley.

Boston Tea Party!
This passed weekend (March 28-30), I went to Boston Tea Party, a major Swing dance event where Lindy Hop and West Coast Swing mix. There were performances, competitions, workshops with pros and lots of social dancing! My favorite part of the event was watching all the pros compete! I have watched a lot of DVDs, but watching the Invitation Strictly Lindy and WCS competition live brought the excitement to a whole other level! Max and Annie did a completely crazy aerial during their Strictly Lindy segment that drove the crowd nuts! The other absolutely amazing (and hilarious) competition was the Jack & Jill Crossovers in which pros of WCS must dance with a randomly chosen Lindy Hop pro! After a whole weekend exposed to WCS, now I really want to learn it! Social dancing to hip hop and R&B is fuuuun!

Here’s fun footage from youtube

It was my first “serious” competition at the Boston Tea Party. I participated in the Lindy Hop Intermediate Jack & Jill, danced with 3 random partners and made it to the finals! I didn’t win anything, but dancing at the finals with the 4th random partner was just one of the best experiences ever! All this motivates me to keep working on my dancing to become better! hehe!

Family for the weekend! <3 Back row: me and Anne. Front row: Aleix, Marie and Alain.

MSDC Practice today!

During the free period at school today, Alain taught us some cool Swing dance tricks! Flying in the air can be super scary, but doing these crazy tricks are probably the only times I’m not so afraid to have my feet off the ground! One note though: Swing dancing is not about these crazy aerials and flips! They are just very fun to learn and flashy during performances!

Martin is pushing me up in the air as I flip across. Wisit is in the back, spotting me in case I crash!

Here’s a clip of me doing the exact flip a few months ago with Alain.

Sorry for not having written in here for a while! I’ve been busy doing many things, exams being amongst them. Ai! But I’m back, and this time, with more stuff about the environment.

In my Environmental Ethics class, my teacher showed us a video (Story of Stuff) that was not only very funny but tell us the story of consumerism. Just the humour in the video makes it worth watching! It tells us how much our society are brainwashed to buy, buy, buy, buy and buy more! That isn’t truly the problem, because if you’re rich and you’re able to buy a lot of things, then good for you, right? The problems are found in the exploitation of natural resources to make those things you buy, in the process of making those products and disposing those products afterwards! Us, richer countries, we literally invade Third World countries, steal their resources because we don’t have enough anymore and then pollute their lands with factories because we don’t want to pollute ours. Other points in the video were made about the products we buy being fabricated with a multitude of extremely dangerous and toxic substances. It makes you doubt whether you’d die one day from the pen you’re using or the spoon you’re eating from, eh? the video also shows how people in society are stuck in a vicious circle to always work, work, work and then buy, buy, buy. It’s so true! It shocks me to learn that we’ve only been programmed to think this way ever since after World War II when people wanted to make an economic boom. The last part of the video showed viewers that we dispose 99% of what we buy. It’s an unconscious waste of money, thus of effort and time! All of our trash then gets burned and buried in the Earth, making our planet die 3 million times faster (okay, I’m exaggerating, but you get the point).

Anyways, enough said. Watch the video, have a great laugh and a good wake-up. It makes you think twice before you buy your next item. I’m not saying to stop going shopping; I know I wouldn’t be able to do that! It just…before sliding your credit card, or handing in those purple, green, pink and brown bills, think about if you really REALLY love that item that much, or need it at all.

On Saturday night, I was invited to go to Cage aux Sports with Alain and his brother Oscar to eat supper and watch the hockey game of the Habs vs the New Jersey Devils. It’s been a good almost 10 years since I’ve watched a complete hockey game like that, and to my great surprise, I really enjoyed it!

The last time I watched hockey, I had a really bad experience which just made me leave that realm for good. I was still in elementary school back then. One night, my dad brought me to a hockey game at the Molson Center (now called the Bell Center) to watch the Habs versus the Boston team. Somehow, watching the game live seemed 10 million times longer than watching it at home on television and I soon started to be impatient. The fact that the crazy woman sitting in back of me kept stridently screaming “GO HABS GO!” non stop really annoyed me too. We lost that game 9 to 2. By the end of the game, that crazy woman was cheering for Boston instead because the Habs were just doing too bad. As for me, I had lost interest in hockey since then.

Showing off a little bit of Montrealer pride! Go Habs Go!
(Logo of the Habs taken from Habs.com)

Watching the Habs winning 2 to 1 against the Devils on Saturday night sort of reawakened my interest in hockey. The Habs’ first goal was spectacular!~ It was a great experience to watch a lot of people gather up and cheer together. It was funny to see the table sitting behind us with a huge tank of beer as well; they were already so drunk at half of their tank emptied!

Lesson of day: what you gave you gave long time ago might deserve a second chance! It’s nice to always keep your doors open for new things, but also for old things! I use to hate tomatoes when I was a kid; now, I can’t get enough of them! And didn’t we all once, as kids, feared cooties from the opposite sex, and then grow up to find them damn fine? ;)

Here’s some jokes that I found super funny from Soompi Forums. Hope they bring a smile, if not laughter to you! Enjoy~

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS

Smart man + smart woman = romance

Smart man + dumb woman = affair

Dumb man + smart woman = marriage

Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

______________________________
OFFICE ARITHMETIC

Smart boss + smart employee = profit

Smart boss + dumb employee = production

Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion

Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

_____________________________
SHOPPING MATH

A man will pay $20 for a $10 item he needs.

A woman will pay $10 for a $20 item that she doesn’t need.

_____________________________
GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

_____________________________
HAPPINESS

To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.

To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

______________________________
LONGEVITY

Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

______________________________
PROPENSITY TO CHANGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn’t.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, and she does.

_____________________________
DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

_____________________________
HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED

Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, “You’re next.” They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them at funerals.

With a title like that, you probably guessed that I hate Valentine’s day. Nothing personal really. Some hate Christmas; some hate Halloween; I hate Valentine’s day. I dislike the idea of it being some sort of pink fluffy cheap version of our commercialized Christmas. “It is a special day to let people know you love them.” Wasn’t it enough at Christmas? Now, 2 months later, we’re being convinced that we should buy expensive chocolate and flowers and diamonds…again?

I came across Child labor, war or pesticides for your Valentine?, an article by Diane Bartz. It made me think. Of course, whatever is said there applies for Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, you-name-it. It talks about the (incredible) amount of pesticides used to grow roses (sad, I love white roses…), child labor involved in 40% of the world’s cocoa and war-financing diamonds (Blood Diamond, anyone?). Author of the article, Diane Bartz, suggested “Lingerie, anyone?” A member of Soompi Forums, under the nickname of Marrymehyori, brilliantly replied “No good, it’s made in sweat shops in Southeast Asia…” =)

Venus fly traps perhaps contain less pesticides than roses? :)
(Pon and Zi by Jeff Thomas)

A quick story about Valentine’s Day. Do you know where it actually comes from? Christmas, we celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Halloween, we celebrate the dead. Mother and Father’s day, well our parents. Valentine’s day (or Saint-Valentin in French) was actually originally a day to celebrate the Saint Valentine who, according to legend, secretly married young men and women during war times. Some king forbid young men to marry, because they were needed in the army and if they weren’t married, they wouldn’t have worries about their families and be fully focused on the battlefields. Of course, like most good ol’ Christian story, Saint Valentine got locked up and executed in the end. The tradition of writing little love notes and love wishes is apparently inspired from the prayers that Saint Valentine’s followers stuck in the walls of his jail cell.

One of my favorite love quotes from the Bible (yes, I’m Christian).

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:4

If you haven’t told your loved ones that you love them, then be sure to do it today. And tomorrow. And after tomorrow. Happy Valentine’s Day! :)

Yesterday, I had the fun to try out other dances than swing. After school, I ran into Aric Lee (Marianopolis College Alumni) who’s another dance devotee. I learned that besides break dance, he also knows salsa and and bunch of other stuff! Wicked! He was nice enough to teach a few other people and I some basic break dance moves. His friends and him made it look so easy! I got the chance to review the break dance basics I once learned in a crash course from my Lindy U course at Cat’s Corner. Break dance is such a demanding activity for the body! Plus, I am not very compatible with this style because of my lack of bold attitude, haha. Did you know that today’s street dances (break dance, hip hop, etc.) all have a common ancestor: Lindy Hop! When you’ve tried both, you really notice that there are some similar steps.

After that, there was a Jazz dance (more lyrical related) class given by Concordia University dance alumni student, Anika. She started off the class with some yoga stretches which were also very painful for my body though they did good to it. Jazz dance, in such contrast with break dance, is more elegant and lighter. The technique was obviously very different from break dancing and swing. And yet again, I was able to find a few similarities between Jazz dance and my Swing, the “kick-ball-change” for example. It was altogether another great chance. I must discover the elegance in me!

Then, I ended my Friday typically at Cat’s Corner, home! It felt great to be myself again, doing my thing. Swing music is really outgoing, free and joyful. There are many reasons why I prefer partnered dancing. I see solo dances as the dancer expressing his message to the outside world, his audience. Partnered dancing is like a conversation of two, and together, you draw others in and make them want to be part of your conversation too. That is what I like, living the wonderful experience of dancing simultaneously with another and not by myself.

Here’s a video of Max Pitruzella and Thomas Blancharz (two very known dancer in the world Swing scene) doing a funny routine. I chose this video because it shows the outgoing and happy side of Lindy Hop.

For the So You Think You Can Dance lovers (like myself), here are Hok, Dominic and Sabra doing a break dance choreography during their Tour in Cleveland, Ohio.

Lastly, I found this great video of a girl doing Jazz dance. Notice the elegance and peace of this style.

It is not the first time I witness someone refusing to help another in need; but this time, I just need to share it with the world to at least lessen my frustration.

I was just coming back home about 10 minutes ago, and encountered a desperate old lady with a parked car on the road asking for directions. She asked the car that passed by for help, and they just left her there. Then, she stopped me and asked me if I knew where such and such streets were. With my absolutely great (not) sense of direction, I tried my best to guide her. Sadly, she obviously found my directions more confusing than ever so thanked me and let me go. Then another car came by, and the brave old lady walked in front of it to stop it. (Kind of crazy, buuut…) The man in the car barely slowed down , snobbishly scanned the old lady from head to toe and sped away. Seriously, what on EARTH is that sort of reaction? It’s cold outside; it’s dark; an old lady is lost. Can you believe that the man just drove away heartlessly like that!?

It is all great that more and more humanitarians organizations and volunteers come in help to those who need it. However, it’s horrifying to see that some people (and they are still quite numerous sadly) are still not willing to lend a helping hand and are still so selfish. Never mind the Christian parable of the Good Samaritan, you don’t need to be religious to help and to love those around you. It doesn’t take much, just a heart and a bit of your time.

On Friday, January 25, I left for Quebec City in the middle of the road for Quebec’s biggest Swing dance event: QSRV (short for Québec Swing Rendez-Vous)! It was my first big Swing dance event, and my first time in Quebec city during winter! I didn’t know it was so warmer here in Montreal! I also made great friends! Isabelle Lopez generously housed 4 other people and I. Thanks for your warm welcome and great care!

After having a Quebec city’s famous Ashton poutine, my friends and I went to the majestic vintage theatre L’Impérial where the first QSRV evening dance took place. I had never seen so many people dance in a same place before! As I observed people dancing, I discovered another Swing dance style completely foreign to me: the Collegiate Shag. Collegiate Shag was apparently born amongst rebellious college students of the 1930s who disliked Waltz and wanted to dance to more upbeat music like mid-tempo swinging jazz. The frame and handhold reminds me indeed of ballroom, and the footwork makes me think of Balboa. It was inspiring to watch world famous swing dancers triple step and swivel across the dance floor as jazz bands played!

 
QSRV dance evening at the theatre L’Impérial de Québec. (Saturday, January 26, 2008)

One of my favorite parts of the social dance evenings was watching the Bataille des Plaines d’Abraham (Battle of the Plains of Abraham), Swing style. It was a show in honor of Quebec city’s 400th anniversary (originally founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain). The war in the olden days was between France’s and England’s colonies; at QSRV, it was the battle of the Swing dancers from Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa. I had the luck to right in the middle front of the “battlefield” and saw all the action! My favorite scene of the Swing war was when Quebec’s Port-o-Swing dancers imitated a jazz band. Leads held their follows like a trombone, a guitar, drums, piano, etc. Really original! They deserved their win!

There were competitions at the event, and I participated in the Jack and Jill. It was quite a special experience, and I was much less nervous than I expected myself to be! It was truly like social dancing during a normal dance night! I felt the same joy and enthusiasm dancing with a skilled lead, and the same stress and discomfort with an incompatible lead. Congrats to Alain Wong and Ann Mony for winning in Jack and Jill and in Fast Strictly, to Alain Fragman and Sylwia Bielec for winning in Strictly Slow! I love you, my Cat’s Corner teachers! :)

During daytime on Saturday and Sunday, we had the privilege to do dance workshops with internationally known Swing instructors. My favorite workshops were the 20s Shag with Kelly Palmiter and Laura Berger, solo Blues with Kelly Porter and solo Charleston with Andy Reid. It’s a shame that all the Lindy workshops were always so filled, so I didn’t bother participating in them. I will have other opportunities to work on my Lindy skills eventually.

It’s been a while that the discussion about banning the use of free plastic shopping bags have been circulating worldwide. Many places have attempted it, given up upon it or are trying it.

China have announced recently to ban the usage of free plastic bags starting on June 1st, 2008. China has finally decided to act upon saving the planet! Did you know that “Chinese people use up to 3 billion plastic bags a day and the country has to refine 5 million tonnes (37 million barrels) of crude oil every year to make plastics used for packaging, according to a report on the Web site of China Trade News (www.chinatradenews.com.cn)”? (Shipeng & Graham-Harrison, The Star)

In our home province Quebec, Huntingdon is the first town to ban plastic bags. Even their Publi-Sac (weekly flyer distribution) isn’t handed out in plastic bags anymore! The citizens have apparently accepted the new law imposed by the mayor quite well. “While stores can still sell products wrapped or bagged or boxed in all manner of wasteful plastic packaging, banning plastic bags is a start, the mayor says.” (Michelle Lalonde, The Gazette)

Now, the following question surfaces: is banning the use of plastic bags really efficient for saving the environment? Most people re-use their plastic shopping bags to contain garbain. Without them, what are we going to put our garbage in? Large garbage bags sold in stores are usually much thicker and even less biodegradable. Should research be done to invent a new way to dispose garbage? Here’s an interesting read: Does Banning Plastic Bags Help or Hurt?

So far, the use of cloth tote bags is much most widely encouraged. Plastic bags are never rarely recycled, and paper bags involve some tree-cutting. Some grocery stores have given out free cloth tote bags like Loblaws and IGA. Perhaps, soon in Quebec, we will have to pay for plastic bags too? But then, does that mean that those who are richer get to pollute the planet…?

The Loblaws reusable tote bag, now sold for $0.99 each.
(Credits to President’s Choice and CNW Group)

I went to see a talent show competition (Secondaire en Spectacle) tonight at my high school, Collège Jean de la Mennais (La Prairie). It’s wonderful to see so many young talents in our community. Who knows? One day, one of them just might become a world famous pianist, singer, actor, you name it!

Congratulations to the top 3! They will get to participate to the regional competition in Saint-Hubert.

First position: Jaune d’Oeuf, Blanc d’Oeuf - Band (Michael Sheng, Steven Ah-Lan, Emery Monzerol, André Laï and Didier Pereira-Lauzier)  Video available for download upon request

They did an amazing performance of funk and jazz with a touch of fantastic humour. I loved their concept of making music with plates, cheese grater, chopsticks, etc. Way to go for originality!

Second position: Roche - Band (Charles Naïm, François Trudeau and Charles Boudreau)
They played heavy rock music. Awesome pianist, drummer and guitarist. They were really into what they were playing! Except for the volume being too loud, I really enjoyed their performanced! “Like a real rock show”, as Jeannie said.

Third position: Le Baptistère - Theatric art (Roxane Krief, Marichelle Leclair, Pascale Bujold, Justine Ashby, Marianie To-Landry and Pierre-Olivier Talbot)
These people did a mini-play about a a soul being in the “underworld” that was going to be born. The costumes were very well done and very professional. It shows when people put a lot of effort in what they do! Great punch in the end. The to-be-born soul was French poet, Charles Beaudelaire.

It makes me feel so nostalgic every time I go back to Jean de la Mennais to see shows, or just to visit. Time passes by so quickly, and everyone has grown so much. Even if life undergoes never ending changes, “the show must go on”. I shall prepare for the Marianopolis College Talent Show auditions that are coming up very soon!