The Big Groove transformed Singapore Expo Hall 8 into a “Hall of Fame,” featuring big names from both the local and international dance scene.

 CN PHOTO: Poh Yang Zheng

July 11 saw the return of The Big Groove, Singapore’s biggest dance convention. As part of the SHINE Youth Festival and organized by O School, it has experienced phenomenal success since its inaugural run in 2006.
This year’s TBG focused on the theme “Year of the Champions,” with a lineup that included seven international and four local crews, all of which have been featured in major dance championships.

As a prelude to the night’s performance, the Woodgroovers  charged up the crowd with their lively dance moves. Comprising children aged nine to 12, the students from Woodgroove Primary School’s Hip-Hop Street Dance Club gave it their all on stage.

The opening act for the night were the dynamic duo Hilty and Bosch, who wowed the audience with their locking techniques.  Local talents Joyce and the Boyz, also affectionately known as “If You’re Happy And You Know Joyce, Clap the Boyz” were next. Hailing from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Hip Hop Dance Club called “New Revolving Age,” JATB put up some interesting choreography with references to street fighting that revved the audience up. Retaining familiar styles such as their organized, slow-motioned body drops as well as their timely hand poses, the champions of Singapore Dance Delight 2010 kept the audience thoroughly entertained.

Another local crew, Styles From Beyond, dramatized how their crew got together and how their dancing has evolved from genre to genre, culminating in their body rocking grooves today.

A slew of international crews followed hot on their heels. Katoon Network, a Malaysia-based dance quartet, tickled the audience with their antics and creative composition of humorous dance steps. Though the champions of Astro Battleground 2009  were not the most technical crew of the lot, they stayed true to their ideal of having fun dancing together on stage.
Last Minute Street Crew was due on stage next. The Indonesian crew testified over and over again in their introduction video of how God worked in their lives to help them attain the level that they are today. They put a thoroughly heartfelt performance with a mix of slow and fast numbers, integrating even gospel pieces such as “Amazing Grace” into their choreography.

Following that was one smooth performance after another of popping, locking and a little street jazz as Snow, Crazybones and the Wrecking Crew Orchestra took to stage. The audience were enthusiastic in welcoming back WCO, who performed at TBG 2009. With each member of the crew displaying their skills at the climax of the performance, WCO displayed astounding stamina by dancing for almost half an hour on stage.

After the short interlude, the night’s program featured Tiny Toones, a Cambodian crew which focuses on breakdance moves and techniques. Piloted with a vision to help youth at risk in Cambodia, the crew brought a special guest: a 12-year-old boy that captivated the audience with an array of power-moves and freezes. The audience cheered enthusiastically as the boy spun repeatedly on his head for almost 10 seconds!

America’s Quest Crew then pulled an eye-popping routine that got many of the audience calling for more. One awesome stunt saw a crew member jumping through a tiny hole formed by another as he grabbed his shoe.

As the Quest Crew took their leave, emcees Utt and Gen stirred up the crowd, roaring for an encore for Quest Crew. At an unexpected moment, the members rushed out from the backstage and rewarded the screaming fans with Quest Crew merchandise. The crew continued to surprise fans with their fancy footwork during their encore and gave time for individual members to strut their stuff on the floor.

Host O Crew were the final performers for the night. While not as flashy as their American counterparts, their joy could be seen as they performed. Bringing together choreography that integrated the different genres of Street Jazz, Modern Dance, Hip-Hop as well as Break Dancing, the O Crew proved more than capable of handling different styles of dance. When the curtains came down for TBG 2010, the entire hall gave a standing ovation.

Many audience members were actually dancers themselves. Jamie Goh, 19, a student at Nanyang Polytechnic as well as a member of the school’s Hip-Hop Dance Club, Foreign Bodies School of Groove, commented that this year’s showcase was more than what she had expected. She excitedly chirped that  her favorite acts were Quest Crew as well as the Wrecking Crew Orchestra. Their performances motivated her to dance even better. Fellow member, Juriana Kamaluddini, 18, agreed.

O School’s co-founder, Kenny Low, shared that the program selection was particularly difficult—how not to have too lengthy a program, and how to ensure that each act fit in with the others. However, having a video introduction for each crew helped to solve these problems.

TBG 2010 was more than unforgettable. For many, it was inspirational.

One man’s carpet auction raise thousands of dollars for the Down Syndrome Association.

Carpet-lovers gathered at Lotto Carpet Gallery at Dempsey Hill in January for a good cause. Housing many intricate and masterfully woven pieces of art, the gallery unveiled a total of 22 different carpets for a charity auction, some of which date back to the 19th century. The walls of the dining hall were literally carpeted with the different elegant carpets, all up for bidding.

While the event catered to an uppercrust crowd, the organizer and Lotto’s owner, Abid Mir, held the event with one thought in mind: to help those less fortunate than himself. Titled “Light Up A Life”, the event broke new grounds as the first ever carpet charity auction where 50 percent of the proceeds was donated to the Down Syndrome Association (Singapore).

Guests were treated to a sumptuous dinner buffet from Vintage India, and thereafter, a variety of spectacular performances by the talents of DSA. Children and teenagers with Down Syndrome took up their maracas, djembes and handbells and made music to the beat of “Nature’s Heartbeat”, a story of the suffering faced by plants and animals in a drought. The audience clapped and cheered loudly, showing their support for the performers.

Imran Abid Mir, the eldest son of Mir, gave valuable insight about the carpets and shared with the guests the history, quality and origins of the enchanting pieces. Many of the pieces bore unique tribal or metropolitan designs made from superior wool or silk. This was highly appealing to the bidders. Anticipation and excitement buzzed in the air as a round of live auction began. Shouts rang across the rooms as the 80 bidders competed for each elegant work of art.

PHOTO: Down Syndrome Association

In between the auction rounds, there was rousing entertainment. Dancers took the stage, swaying to “Jai Ho”, the Oscarnominated song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The dancers consisted of talents with Down Syndrome, as well as their siblings and volunteers. The audience was thoroughly enthralled by the performance, a showcase of the triumph and celebration of the human spirit.

With a final live auction before the night closed, Mir graciously treated everyone to one of his favorite wines during a time of wine appreciation. As the auction gavel sounded triumphantly to the delight of the last successful bidder, the event finally came to an end.

A total of S$100,000 was raised that night, with half of the proceeds going to DSA. Certainly the carpets might have sold for a lot more, but Mir’s generosity made a difference to the organization.

One bidder, who only wanted to be identified as Christopher, remarked, “Congratulations! I never thought anyone would be able to collect such exquisite pieces at such prices. I am very proud of Mr. Mir and his generosity! He is the biggest donor.”

Youth center helps secondary one students adapt to school life.

On Feb. 3, youth center People of Destiny piloted a new initiative aimed at helping secondary one students with the transition from primary school to secondary school. The project, called “Chapter One”, spans over 10 months, with one workshop conducted every month at the POD Centre in Tampines Street 33.

POD is a center for youth set up by CHCSA in collaboration with Tampines Changkat Citizens’ Consultative Committee and Ministry of Community Development Youth & Sports, to provide holistic youth services for the residents of the Tampines GRC. Since January 2007, POD has been engaging youth through activities tackling common issues youth face today.

One POD highlight is the LOUD party, an annual affair that celebrates the notion of “Living Out ‘Ur Dream”. POD’s Program manager, Jonathan Goh, 30s, explains, “We want to provide an environment where youth can enrich their lives through wholesome, enjoyable activities.”

Students from Ngee Ann Secondary School, Dunman Secondary School and East Spring Secondary School attended the first “Chapter One” workshop of the year. They were thoroughly engaged by program director, Alvin Low, as he shared with them his own experiences in secondary school. Low adopted an interactive approach, using questions and answers, and rewarded the students with candy as they participated enthusiastically.

CN PHOTOS: Gay Sen Min

“We want to offer these students something different from what they are used to in school,” says Low of the methods in which the workshops areconducted. Low also explains that every workshop is customized thematically, touching on different issues, such as having a healthy self-esteem, handling relationships, achieving excellence and success, managing allowances and so on.

Two sessions from the workshops will be dedicated to community work, allowing youth to appreciate the importance of giving back to society. In time, Low hopes that the curriculum used in “Chapter One” will be disseminated in print form for secondary one students in Singapore. For now, collaboration with primary schools is in the pipeline to bring “Chapter One” into school assembly periods.

After the workshop, students, POD staff and volunteers gathered to enjoy snacks provided by the center’s cafe. Adam, 13, a student from Ngee Ann Secondary School, said, “I enjoyed today’s program very much!”

It looks like the first few “pages” of “Chapter One” have opened to a promising start.

From 11 October 2009, City Harvest Chinese Church (CHCC) embarked on “Five Weeks of Joy”, a campaign based on the vision of City Harvest Church’s Deputy Senior Pastor Tan Ye Peng, to enrich the lives of the congregation.

Members attending the worship service on the first week of this campaign showed a visibly sharper sense of fashion. Every cell group made the effort to win the “Best Cell Group Makeover” award. Cell groups CC31, CC48 and CC58, ultimately emerged as the winners. Evelyn Kong, cell group leader of CC48, noted that her members have already become more confident and are better equipped at creating their own sense of style. “In fact, they gathered at a member’s house to dress before coming to service — they even helped each other put on make up!”

PHOTOS: Wen Zhi Guang

Over these five weeks, other activities include line-dancing and floral arrangement classes, chess , “Best Cell Group Refreshment” competition and even a track-and-field meet. Natalie Teo, the person-in-charge of “Five Weeks of Joy” explains that the events are held to make church “more upbeat and exciting for its members.”

“Line dancing is one of the more common activities among the Chinese-speaking, as is floral arrangement. These activities cater to people of all ages,” added Teo.

Indeed it was an upbeat session of line-dancing as about 170 people gathered at Bukit Gombak Stadium’s Media room, grooving to Mandarin country hits. Two instructors were brought in to lead the dance.

In contrast, the floral arrangement class was held at the serene roof garden of City Harvest Church’s premises at Jurong West St 91. With the guidance of a professional florist, members concluded two hours worth of hard work by wrapping flowers up in a bouquet.

Participant Lim Tian Wen quipped “Looks like I won’t have to buy flowers on Mother’s Day any more!”

Teo is very pleased with the success of “Five Weeks of Joy” so far, especially since, “The turnout for the dance was overwhelming! We really hit a chord with these activities. We are looking forward to plan more such events in future.”