Black, White and Grey


Lately, something wierd has been happening. Whenever i go down to union, random strangers, people who i have never talked to or even seen before (in my memory at least...hahahah), have been coming up to me to say hi and stuff... one guy even told me something like "wah you come down very often ah.... saw u yesterday..."... ... ...

Damn... ... it seriously feels wierd lah. It seems that the whole world ( well at least the people who go down to union...lol) knows, or at least seen/ heard me... Imagine going to the toilet to pee and some random guy comes up to you and says "Hi".... ... Quite freaky i tell u...hahah. I don noe them but yet they know me....

Machiam a celebrity lidat.... sorry lah my skin a bit thick...hahahah. Maybe before long i'll be signing autographs and posing for photos man... Think " meet and greet sessions" ... ... " Come and meet Singapore's very own SALSA DANCING GIANT FREAK at union square!!! $25 cover charge inclusive of 3 drinks!!!! Special offer... ... open a bottle of Bailey's and get a limited edition LIFESIZE autographed poster of Young!!! * while stocks last "... .... why bailey's? cos dats one of my favourite drinks...wahahahahahahahahahahah

Anyways, enuff of my dreams of stardom, the topic of this post is about singing, dancing paintings... ... art as a whole :) Serious stuff.

On friday, i went for my merengue lesson at JJ. Been the ever wanting to learn student i have always been ( abit of BHBness here...hahahah), i asked jackson about my cross body lead and mistakes that i have made doing the cbl.

As a result, i was treated to a "come let's screw young" session (oki lah... maybe not that bad...lol)...hahahah. Not that im upset over it. Im actually thankful to jackson for it. I mean it's really kind of him to point out my mistakes and stuff and at least now, i'll be able to be more conscious about my cbl and hopefully in time to come correct it.

Btw, of all so many salsa dancers and instructors out there, i really take my hats of and totally RESPECT june and jackson. Going to the Domician (shit i sense a typo here) republic to learn salsa and reuda and bring it back to dear old singapore... ...You guys rock man!!!! Both of them are also sooooooooooooo nice and friendly!!!! OMG :) Plus their relaxed and dance friendly dance style, i think they are the ultimate FRIENDLY SALSA DANCERS!!!!!

The way they conduct lessons is also very clear and concise. They break down moves, lead and follow techniques very well!!! If you ask me, JJSalsaRengue is still the NO.1 salsa school in sg.... and no they did not pay me anything to say the above.... ( i wished they did though...wahahahahah) June and Jackson ... ...You guys are great :)

Anyways back to my CBL session, it seems that i do not give the lady enough space at imes and i tend to step back on 5, nstead of just replacing my foot. After repeated attempts, i still couldn't get it right and jackson put it down to habit. He even got a random student to do a cbl and he did it right. Oh wells, i just sux lah....hahahahah

Oh wells, i was pretty upset, as in not with jackson, but myself for not being able to even get a simple cross body lead right. I was deep in thought, storm clouds and stuff over my head. The word "habit" kept ringing in my head... But cannot be wad... i thought some people said i dance pretty well? (oki maybe only like 1 or 2...hahah).

Suddenly, it dawned upon me, bright lights and stuff...hahahah. I didnt start levitating though... I realised that what jackson said was right. Indeed, there was something wrong with my cbl... ... BUT... ... by HIS standards. Then again, by the standards of THOSE who felt that i did alright, my cbl was ok!!!!! Im not saying that my cbl is good, i mean i'll still keep in mind about the stuff that jackson pointed out to me, but at the same time, maybe my cbl isn't all that screwed up after all!!! It's a matter of preferences!!!! Even jackson said something like " ... there's no right or wrong... ... more importantly it's whether it works for you... ...."

I realised, im salsa, music, painting and art as a whole, there's no right or wrong. There's no clear black or white, only grey. Thats the beauty of it.

Take salsa for example. There are so many dance schools, so many instructors with all so many different styles. Some people are awed certain instructor's style over others. Does it mean that the rest all suck and are wrong? NO!

Recently, there's this negro from New York who came down to Union and hard rock. He had this very unique style of salsa that was very turn heavy on the ladies. He literally played the ladies like a top!!! Many of us guys were like.... woah.... that guy's good man... Elieen however went something like "So inconsiderate... turn the lady like that"

So does it mean that this guy is wrong and sucked becos of elieen? On the other hand, does this guy rock because me and some other guy think so? NO! It's all up to the individual who is looking and judging.

Same goes for music. Does heavy metal suck just because I cannot stand all the screaming and head banging? NO! Millions of meatl fans out there beg to differ. To me it does. Conversely does jazz rock just becos i like the smoothness and luvry dubby feeling i get outta it? Definately not... .. I know of people who would rather chew through their arms to get away rather than listen to jazz.

So, arts as a whole, is open to interpretation and judgement by the individual. There are no absolutes. Therefore, the challenge now, to the artist/dancer/musician, is to get more people to appreciate and like his style. More importantly, the challenge to the individual, people like me and you now, is to try and see the beauty in things. There is always beauty in many things. It's just that we are too blind to see it. SO from now on, whether it appeals to us or not, try to at least spare a brief moment to look past our own pa jiao ness and see the beauty of things. That to me, is the GREATNESS FEAT of all.

Ok, i'll stop here for now before this sounds like a thesis for some philosophy class.....wahahahah.

Btw, guys/gals/goldfish/hamsters/penguins who somehow managed to acquire an internet access and by some freak accident managed to stumble across this blog, please leave your heart felt comment for my previous post. Please help me to improve by giving me your comments oki. Im sure there are more than 3 people who read my blog right? Pretty please with whipped cream and cherry on top?......lol

:P