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4 months journey: PAYM Chingay

Written at Thursday, February 10, 2011 | back to top

whee!~ before i post about my Chingay Day 1 & 2 performances, let me share about my past 4 months i spent training and rehearsing for the big day.

introduction

PAYM will be forming a Hip Hop dance contingent titled 'PAssionate YOUth', comprising of 3,000 energetic youths for the grand finale segment for the Chingay Parade 2011. These 3,000 youths will attempt to dance into the Guinness World Record and Singapore Book of Records, setting a record with the largest number of youths dancing together in a single event.

the recruitment drive was opened for registration during September 2010. Ginnette, Ting Yu, Xue Ni and me decided to volunteer ourselves for the contingent. i don't know why, but i love joining this kind of big event, maybe it's the PASSION actually!! hahaha.

anyway, here comes the very first training session we had in People Association Headquarter (PAHQ) on 23 October 2010. Kenneth, the PAYM Organising Chairman, 2 main dance choreographers together with 4 dance trainers were introduced to us during our first training session.

to register for our attendance..

crowded with YOUths!!

Ting Yu, me and Ginnette.
(Xue Ni was absent for the first training)

warming up!!

training @ PAHQ

the first few training we had.

still learning the first main song after so-many training we had.

the overview of PAHQ.

our training session was 2 times per week. weekdays would be from 7pm to 10pm whereas training on Saturday would be 9am to 12pm. it's pretty tiring when we have to rush down to PAHQ after work every Monday, and trained all the way till 10pm.

and we took numerous photos during each of our training days, to keep as a memory. haha. how shag and chui we looked after each and every training...

Xue Ni, Ting Yu, me and Ginnette

*sweat like mad*

Wen Jie came along with us, and waited 3 hours for us to end training.

i remembered when was this photo taken.. during our 6th training on 22 November 2010. i remembered vividly because i was having fever that day, but i still drag myself to the training. lol. and my head was spinning like mad, and just nice that day the dance move they taught require us to turn 360 degrees for 2 times. so giddy!!~

compilation of different dance training days.

day + night training...

there was also times where the 4 of us decided to skip one Saturday, which happened to be PAYM combined rehearsal, to go for our 1 day Desaru Tour. we heck care whether can we catch up with the rest during the next training because we were pretty confident that we can cope xD

tour booked!~

we were ready to go for our trip next week.

yes, we booked the tour just 6 days before departure xD

anyway, it was pretty sad that after attending 15 training lessons, Ting Yu could not commit anymore to the training dates, her working hours were very unstable and she has to OT quite often. and so, Ting Yu opted out from the contingent.

it was quite wasted, because we only left with 2 months to the big event. and Ting Yu can dance pretty well xD awww...

and now.. it was only just the 3 of us.

our 16th training on 3 Jan 2011

test run with the LED light sleeve

anyway, that day was our last day training in PAHQ compound. the next day we will be moving on to the F1 Pit Building, and subsequent training and rehearsal will be over there.

during our first day going over to F1 Pit Building, we had a hard time locating the place, but eventually we found the exact location. it was just some distance away from the Singapore Flyer.

our very own PAYM tentage

it was near Chinese New Year and therefore, the CHUN, was hanging in the middle of the flyer.

anyway, after Ting Yu opted out from the contingent, this time round was Xue Ni's turn. after one of the Chingay Finale Rehearsal with lots of cameraman shooting and shooting, the next time she said her school lesson clashed with all the training dates. and thus, she dropped out as well.

this is even more wasted. just 1 month more only! 1 month away from the actual performance!!! and she quitted =/

and once again, it only left the 2 of us..

the last 2 standing, endurance test now!

and after frequently walking past the Singapore Flyer, we were very tempted by the Popeyes Chicken over there, and we swear that we must dine in there one day. and yes, we made our promise and drag Yvonne along to Popeyes for dinner.

after eating, we dumbed Yvonne there along waiting for Xue Ni. and off we go to our PAYM tentage and get ready for our rehearsal.

POPEYES ^^

indulging with the Magnum Gold that Albert gave.

sitting outside SubCt before heading to F1 Pit for our 19th training on 13 Jan 2011.

training & rehearsal area

Chingay floats

Finger lights were also given to us

as the actual day is drawing near, our number of rehearsal and training was also increase. from the initial 2 times per week, became 3 to 4 times per week.

and in between, we still have Full Run Rehearsal: #1 Technical Run; Full Dress Rehearsal: Media Preview. and just one day before the actual performance, we had another Full Run Rehearsal: #2 Technical Run. yes, just to ensure that nothing go wrong during the 2 main performance date!

preparing for our first Technical Run on the 15 Jan 2011

looked like it was a day with lots of misfortune. it rained the whole day, from morning all the way till 7pm. we could not proceed smoothly with our Technical Run at all. and we sat inside the tentage for more than 4 hours, practically plain sitting and do nothing.

sitting and praying for the rain to stop.

and yes, the rain stopped finally at around 7pm. and we finally got to move our ass out from the floor. getting ready, forming our formation, getting ourselves in our own group, row and column.

my group members

Group B, Column 28

after the Technical Run, we were slowly moving on to the Media Preview just 1 week later. more details could be found on my previous post about the Media Preview, click here to view!

all waiting for the night to fall, to perform, to enjoy..

2,000 over YOUths!

OFF WE GO!!

and also, some friends that i made during the past 4 months we had together.

with Estella.

with Jia Yun.

nicely shot

credits to Derrick Loh, PAYM photographer.

of course, not forgetting the foods and drinks we had for the past 4 months. thanks to the logistics management, we do not have to starve while training. i cannot imagine how many foods they had cater for the past 4 months =S. don't dare to imagine at all!

look at the carton of mineral water.

different kind of bun for the first few training..

bun + muruku

and once our weekday training started from 7pm onwards, they gave us one burger to at least substitute in as our dinner. but sometimes, we don't just take one.. at the end of the day when there's leftover, we can dapao home =D

BURGERS!!

SO MANY!!!

a few boxes of Mc Chicken actually

and once in a blue moon, they surprised us with KFC. one piece chicken, one small burger and one whipped potato. i remembered at the end of the day, i grabbed 3 boxes back home for my brother. very greedy, i know xD.

KFC dinner

and once, we shifted to F1 Pit Building. our foods were circulated between Mc Chicken, Fried Bee Hoon, Sandwiches or dinner rice set.

Fried Bee Hoon

Sandwich

Bento Rice Dinner Set..

Chingay 2011 coming up next.

that's all for the past 4 months experience i had. it was, indeed, a wonderful experience. looking forward for the 2 days main performances the next day.

Go go go!~ Gonna rock the house soon! BYE!!!~

Labels: chingay, dance, performance, rehearsal, training