Mind the gap

I've always prided myself on being a reasonably hip mum. By this, I mean my kids talk to me about almost anything under the sun, from friends and relationships to books and music. But every now and then, the generation gap hits me in the face like a pancake hitting the griddle.

One such instance was last year when we were at a mall and I walked into a Desigual shop.

Photo: Desigual, Orchard

I love the designs of Desigual clothes and held up a dress with a gorgeous print. "So nice, right?" I gushed. Silence. "RIGHT?" Then Lesley-Anne said, "Mummy, Desigual is so AUNTIE."

I was startled. "What? Who said so?? It's very hip what!"

L-A: "Hip to aunties, not hip to young people."

Me (protesting): "That's not true! Right, Andre?"

Andre: "Leave me out of this. Can we go eat now?"

Me (ignores son): "I know many people who like Desigual!"

L-A: "Like who?"

Me: "Like Ah Ee, Auntie Ada, Auntie Pei Yee, Auntie Maureen...oh." I looked around the store and quickly realised that all the shoppers in the store were women above 40 years old. OMG! Desigual is an upscale auntie shop.

"Can't be that bad, right?" I almost pleaded. "Isn't there anything here that you would wear?"

After looking around with a frown, Lesley-Anne pointed to an item. "Ok, that one." It was a completely black dress with the most miniscule Desigual pattern at the hemline. Gah. In other words, the Desigual ads featuring hip youngsters are all lies - they aren't luring teenagers, they are luring middle-aged aunties who think they are still teenagers.

If you're in the same antiquated boat as I am, never fear! There are ways to bridge the generation gap and one of them is through music. I let Andre introduce me to new artists by watching MTV with him and listening to his Spotify playlist. I don't necessarily like everything, of course, but if you keep an open mind, you'll see that there are many gems in the current music scene. He got me hooked on Imagine Dragons and we went to their concert together last night.

Thunder, feel the thunder. It was positively radioactive. Call me a believer.

However, music education is not a one-way street - it goes both ways. Sometimes, what's hip can be shaped and taught. Even as Andre schools me on current artists, I also share with him the songs I grew up with. As a result, he has secret playlists that consist of oldies from the 1960s to 1980s. Some of them are not so secret - it's quite hip to be retro, so there's no shame to admitting that you like the Beatles or Queen, for example.

Sidenote: This was the Christmas gift we got him one year - the lego Beatles' Yellow Submarine, complete with minifigures. It is absolutely fantastic - it even opens up so the Fab Four can sit in the submarine.

If you play YouTube videos that compile greatest hits from my generation, my kids know an incredible number of them. Andre thinks some of the best songs ever written include A-ha's Take on Me, Starship's Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now and Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire. And he would never, never admit this to his friends but he thoroughly enjoys Abba, the helium-inspired Bee Gees and even the very ancient Earth Wind and Fire.

Once, our family was in the car, mocking and laughing at the absurdity of One FM's "Top 800 hits of the '80s" (I mean, 800 hits? That's just an excuse to play every single hit of the 80s!). Then Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up came on and all four of us spontaneously sang along.

So there you go. If you want to bridge the generation gap, music can be the common denominator. When you're singing along with your kids, they won't even care that you're wearing Desigual.

At Imagine Dragons concert

Should SOTA churn out graduates for the arts?

Recently, a news article in Strait Times sparked debate when it was revealed that more than 80% of School of the Arts (SOTA)'s 2015 graduating cohort ended up pursuing non-arts degrees. This has triggered some people to complain that these brats are squandering taxpayers' money by going to SOTA when they have no intent of an arts career, or that SOTA is therefore a flop.

When I was in secondary school, I dreamed about playing in an orchestra. I played the piano and I was quite good at it too, so I thought it would be the coolest thing ever, to become a musician. One day, the Singapore Youth Orchestra (SYO) paid a visit to my school and after giving what I thought was a totally awesome performance, they mentioned that they would be holding auditions for members. I don't remember how I found out about the audition date, I must have scoured the newspapers daily for the notice, but I did manage to find out and went for it. It was quite out of character for me, really. I was so shy and retiring back then, it must have been a stomach-churning experience.

I went for the audition, played a few pieces on the piano and sat for some sight-reading and aural tests. The auditioner, a bubbly lady, told me very kindly that she thought I was an accomplished pianist but since I was already 16, there would not be enough time to train me in a new instrument for the SYO.

On my way out, I met another young hopeful in the waiting room, gripping her violin case. She was with her mother and they were both visibly kancheong about the audition. The girl asked me what happened in the room and when I told her I was auditioned by Vivien Goh (she had introduced herself), both mother and daughter gasped "Vivien Goh!" in hushed tones. That's when I had an inkling that Vivien Goh must be somebody of repute in that circle. I had no clue myself, an outsider in this mysterious world of musicians and orchestras. 

Anyway, after finding out that just knowing how to play the piano was not going to get me into any orchestras, I decided to try and pick up a new instrument at JC. I joined the chamber ensemble CCA which opened up a violin class for beginners. There were only five of us, if I recall, and we paid a small fee for a violin teacher to teach us the fundamentals every week. We could only afford cheap $100 violins which made the most horrendous squawks. If you entered the music room when we were having our lessons, you would hear these blood-curdling screeches fit for any horror movie scene.

I think I lasted for about a year. Even when I had improved and the sounds from my instrument bore the semblance of a tune, I came to the realisation that a violinist I would never be. I could never tune my instrument properly and holding it under my chin for a long period gave me a stiff neck. The violin always felt like a foreign object to me, and I was never as excited to learn a new piece on it, the way I was with the piano.

If not a string instrument, then what? Later on, a friend gave me a few lessons on the clarinet. This wasn't for me either. I figured that as a musician, you probably should be able to play for more than half an hour without feeling like you're going to pass out from the lack of oxygen. So that ruled out all wind instruments.

Why am I relating this long, grandmother story? My point is that as kids, many of us have dreams of pursuing a certain career, but being kids, we have very little idea what it takes or whether we're even suited for it. It is also not surprising that many kids' dreams are in the arts and sports, partly because in kids' minds, these areas appear more "fun" and tend to be more visible. For instance, if they enjoy playing soccer, they might think that being a professional soccer player is the best job in world. Or they might look at Taylor Swift and think, "I want to be a singer!" Whereas no young kid will dream of becoming an IT analyst or logistics manager because they won't even know such jobs exist, let alone know what these people do.

It took me most of my youth to figure out that not only did I not have the aptitude to be a musician, that career (which demands exacting standards and passion in a very specialised area) would have made me utterly miserable. Note that I was already into my teenage years when I was harbouring those dreams. Yet, we expect 12-year-olds to have decided on their careers when they enter SOTA?

The point is that for most kids who enter SOTA, they have an interest in the arts, that's for sure. But at 12, it is really premature to say that they will pursue a career in the arts. The value of SOTA is not in grooming careers, otherwise we fall back on the age-old fallacy that education should be purely vocation-driven. Certainly not at the secondary school level. The value of SOTA is providing a place that is conducive to grooming ability and nurturing interest in the arts. In fact, sometimes in the course of studying something, you discover what you DON'T want to do.

One student was quoted as saying "SOTA gave me a safe space to experiment", and that, I feel, is more valuable than people understand. It's a delicate balancing act when it comes to the arts because for some art forms which have a short shelf life, you definitely do need to cultivate talent early. Think ballerinas who traditionally retire at around 40. However, the discovery of passion can take time so we need to groom talent without forcing it into a mould.

Side track: The only people I have an issue with are the parents who encourage their kids to enter SOTA simply to bypass the dreaded PSLE and have a through train education to IB. They know full well there is little chance their kids will pursue the arts, yet will put their kids through special DSA coaching classes in theatre, singing, dancing, music, etc. I know this practice is prevalent in certain schools, especially  a particular girls' school in the east. I'm quite certain if you do a check on which primary schools SOTA kids come from, a few schools will be over-represented. In these cases, the parents are doing their kids more harm than good and it's baffling that they're too myopic to see that.

Back to the criticism that SOTA has failed in its purpose or that these kids are brats. My question is: why then don't we go after people who go to law school and don't become lawyers? Or go to medical school and eventually change their minds mid-career? Many, many students sign up for law and medicine not because they have the elusive "passion" but simply out of prestige and the illusion that you can do anything with these degrees. After getting their degrees, they promptly pursue careers in other areas (law more than medicine, partly because of the long bond attached to medicine). Why don't we take them to task for wasting taxpayers' money? By the way, these are undergraduate degrees, so the students are much older than the ones in SOTA when they made their choice. Shouldn't they know better?

My suspicion in this: the arts is traditionally perceived as the poorer cousin in our society. Whether in school or in careers, it's always considered the second (or last) choice. Because of this, there is a prevalent mentality that the arts is undeserving of help and therefore arts folks should be eternally grateful for any form of support. In fact, it's a given that people should suffer for their art, so to have the chance to attend a fancy school like SOTA and not do arts after? What ungrateful brats!

I wouldn't be surprised if the people who expect a direct return on the support they perceive to have provided ("taxpayer dollars!") are the ones most unsupportive of the local arts scene. I bet they are unable to tell you when they last went to a local concert, play or read a book by a local author. These are also the people like to pigeon-hole others - you belong to the arts! You sports! You stay in those lanes. As if individuals are digitally programmed to have only singular interests and pathways in life.

Of course I hope that the SOTA graduates who decide not to pursue arts-related degrees are doing so for genuine reasons and not because they think they won't earn enough moolah as an artist. That would just be tragic and contrary to the spirit of the arts.  Anyway, what the ST article says is that SOTA graduates go on to pursue non-arts degrees (how many arts degrees are there anyway, especially locally?), not that they won't still end up being involved in the arts later on. The optimistic part of me keeps hoping. Look at me - I ditched my dreams of becoming a musician but I embraced another - to be an author. (I also worked at the SSO, not as a musician but in marketing, which was fulfilling in a different way).

People who love the arts usually find their way back to it somehow. And if SOTA's purpose is to nurture more people who can create and appreciate all forms of art, then regardless of whether the graduates pursue the arts as a career, the role of SOTA remains an important one.

When boredom turns to creativity

As mentioned, Andre is on a long break and even with his part-time job and lounging around, he was bound to get bored at some point. Some kids like Lesley-Anne, would have no problem filling their time in productive ways, like reading, but we all know this has never been Andre's favourite activity and he wasn't about to start now.

"Play a game with me!" he would pester but to this mum, a two-hour Monopoly game is as mind-numbing as reading maths equations. "Play mini table tennis with me!" asked the hopeful boy, lugging the table into my office. Sometimes, out of sheer guilt, I obliged but after a while, every sedentary bone in my body would whine in chorus, so I fell back on the age-old excuse: "I have to work!"

Left to his own devices, Andre figured he had to find ways to entertain himself. So here: let Andre show you how mini table tennis can be a solo sport. Not just one, but three different ways!

At the start of the holidays, I told Andre he should use the time to do something worthwhile. One of the activities he told me he would do during the break is to restart his piano playing. Those of you who have followed my blog those many years back might remember how I decided to stop his piano lessons when I grew tired of fighting with him about practising. That was back in 2011 and I was mentally prepared that it would be the last time I would hear Andre on the piano. 

So when he told me he wanted to start playing the piano again, I was skeptical, to say the least. (I think my exact words were, "Yeah, riiight! I'll believe it when I see it.") True to form, when he asked me for help, I realised that he had completely returned his few years of music training. I mean, COMPLETELY. This is a boy who had actually passed Grade 5 theory and Grade 4 practical piano exams, but he asked questions typical of a new student, including: "What's a rest?" "What's a bass clef?" "What's this black note with a stick??" DOH!

But then, he started searching and printing out sheet music of pop songs. With just cursory help from me, he diligently plodded through them, note by note. And quite to my astonishment, he stuck with it. Not only did he learn song after song, he even played them from memory. These past few weeks, my piano has sung more than it has over the last few years. I can scarcely believe it.

As a friend said, it's amazing what kids can conjure up when they have enough free time to dream. I whole-heartedly agree. Forget about classes or curriculum to nurture creativity. Just give them time to be bored.

So Andre's no Lang Lang but it's a mini miracle to me that he actually returned to the piano on his own. That makes my heart sing. 💖

Hymn for the weekend

We had a celebratory weekend. First, we had an early birthday celebration for Lesley-Anne because she wouldn't be able to come home the coming weekend. As a surprise for her, we decided to go vegetarian! I say surprise because except for her, we're pretty much carnivores in our household. Even our helper, knowing our preferences, once served macaroni salad as the "salad", much to Lesley-Anne's chagrin.

But hey, it's Lesley-Anne's birthday so we eat what she likes! After some surfing, we decided to go to Original Sin at Holland Village, which many consider THE place for vegetarian food. Here are our orders:

Feta cheese balls

Broccoli pesto pasta

Absolut - penne in pink sauce

Fried corn fritters for grandma

Spanakopita

Cannelloni verde

I say this unreservedly: everything was delicious. And I mean, everything. Even the cannelloni verde, which doesn't look like much in the picture, was super tasty. After the meal, Kenneth said, "if all vegetarian food tasted like this, I can easily go vegetarian!"

Ok, so it's quite pricey, which would be the only reason stopping us from making this a regular haunt, but if you're looking for a nice vegetarian treat with lots of options, I highly recommend this place.

Dessert was, of course, birthday cake at home - Over the Moon cheesecake from cheesecake specialist, Cat & the Fiddle.    

This is the year she enters her 20s and I shall refrain from going into the usual lament of "where did my baby go?" as I do every year. But seriously, WHERE DID MY BABY GO??? 😆😆

The second "celebratory" event of the weekend was the Coldplay concert I attended with Andre. I just HAD to write about this because it was one of those incredible experiences that you don't just remember but bask in for a long time.

Perhaps it's no secret that I consider Coldplay the most, musically brilliant band of our time. In my book, The Good, the Bad and the PSLE, I named some of the chapter titles after their songs. When they burst into the scene in 2000 with Parachutes, they caught the world's attention with their very different and intriguing sound. Then A Rush of Blood to the Head propelled them to fame and there was no looking back. 17 years later, they are still mesmerising the world with their iconic musical style, meditative (and sometimes trippy) lyrics reminiscent of the Beatles, and often earworm-inducing melodies. With the exception of Ghost Stories, which I personally feel was an insipid letdown, each of their other 6 albums is exceptional.

I attended the last Coldplay concert in Singapore in 2009 with Kenneth at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, and it made such an impression that I promised myself I would bring the kids if they ever played again in Singapore. Unfortunately, Lesley-Anne was uninterested in being at a venue with loud music and 50,000 other people, but Andre was game. Purchasing tickets was a nightmare, as you probably know, with tickets being snapped up within minutes. Fortunately, thanks to a friend, we managed to secure terrific seats.

How can I describe the experience? It was like being in a dream bubble for two hours. The choreography was superb. Psychedelic, kaleidoscope backdrops synchronised perfectly with wristbands (given to the audience) that flooded the stadium with colour. There were pyrotechnics, lasers, balloons - perfectly paced to keep the momentum going.

Chris Martin is the consummate showman. His infectious energy (running and jumping around on stage) kept the audience enthralled. It's no easy feat to engage a 50,000-strong audience for two hours but he did it. Up tempo songs were interspersed with ballads, where his hauntingly plaintive vocals soared. Every time the distinctive opening to a song started, the audience cheered. Viva La Vida, Fix You, The Scientist, Yellow, Hymn for the Weekend, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Something Just Like This - we lapped it all up.

A very rapt boy

Two hours of unadulterated bliss, according to this Fan Girl. Who says you need drugs to get high 😍. After that, Andre and I lived in a happy glow, even till the very next day. Andre has had Coldplay on loop in his playlist ever since that evening.

I am a firm believer in paying for experiences rather than things...and what an experience that was. A sky full of stars, a head full of dreams. Call it magic. 

Dance little lady dance

It wasn't that long ago when I wrote about Lesley-Anne enjoying JC life, partly due to her love for dance and her Dance CCA. In the blink of an eye, it's time for her to step down as a senior (the JC2s stop CCA from mid of the year so they can focus on the fast approaching A levels).

Joining the dance group was the most fulfillment Lesley-Anne has ever gotten out of any CCA. She has not only improved tremendously on her dance techniques, she has also had the opportunity to perform many different dance styles.

Being part of dance is no walk in the park. People often have the mistaken idea that a dance CCA only dances or learns choreography. The truth is a huge chunk of each three-hour session is spent on technical exercises and each session starts with PT (push-ups, crunches, etc). Dance is a very physically demanding performing art, almost like a sport.

In fact, Lesley-Anne is now the most physically fit I've ever seen her. If you've followed my blog, you'll know that sports has never been Lesley-Anne's forte. For the NAPFA test, she's always struggled with the 2.4km run but from her dance training, running stopped becoming a hurdle. This year, for the first time since primary school, she scored a gold in NAPFA. She was so motivated she decided to try and maintain her fitness by going jogging twice a week. Here she is with Andre. Brother and sister running together! Who would've thought?

It has been such a huge blessing for Lesley-Anne to be part of her dance CCA, in no small part because of the instructor, Dan Kwoh. Despite her not having joined a dance CCA previously, Mr Dan took a chance on her and gave her the opportunity to blossom. He's a terrific mentor to his students and great at identifying potential. Eg. if he feels that a student is particularly skilled at expression, he will give her an opportunity to showcase this. He noticed Lesley-Anne's technique (as a result of her ballet training) and gave her a pas de deux (dance duet) part in the school's Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) item. Ok, it's also partly because Lesley-Anne is so petite - it means she's easier to lift!   

Mr Dan is not just a great teacher, he's a fantastic choreographer. That explains why he's so popular as a dance instructor for schools. He's currently teaching 6 schools and choreographed all the dances for this year's SYF. He held a mini rehearsal/concert for family members of all 6 schools to see the performances and I was completely impressed by the sheer scale and creativity of all the dances.

This is a pic of one of the secondary school items.

And these two pics below are of Lesley-Anne's school dance. Mr Dan tends to pick more abstract concepts for JC and this one depicts the fear and loneliness associated with dementia. I know, right? So cheem! But I thought they totally pulled it off - it was beautiful and haunting.

You can watch the full performance here. Sorry for bad recording - this was taken from our seats and we couldn't find the official SYF video online.

All 6 of Mr Dan's schools achieved Distinction for this year's SYF. I can't say I'm surprised but it speaks volumes of his skills and dedication as a dance educator.

I think Lesley-Anne is very fortunate to have discovered something she's passionate about and been given the opportunity to pursue the passion in a nurturing environment. I've always thought dance to be an exquisite art form and is pure poetry in motion. As pioneer American modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham put it, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul." Such a blessing that Lesley-Anne is able to channel this language as a mode of expression.

"The dance is a poem of which each movement is a word." - Mata Hari

Tribute to an exceptional individual - Mrs Noella Dana

Last weekend, nine ex-students of my late piano teacher Mrs Dana got together and we had a wonderful catchup. This was a strange reunion of sorts because some of us didn't actually know each other. We were just bonded by the connection with one incredible human being who really demonstrated how much impact a teacher could have.

It's hard to explain how Mrs Dana's music studio worked because it was really one of a kind. When you went for a piano lesson, you didn't just sit with a teacher for an hour and then went on your way. A lesson at Mrs Dana's was like a visit to a music community. She had three pianos and usually at least two "helper" teachers. At any one time, a student could be going through their scales with one teacher while another was practising theory cards (which Mrs Dana made herself) and yet another would be in her studio being taught their exam pieces.

Even though we had a given lesson time, we often spent hours there. It was a laissez faire approach but there was a method in the madness. When we were not at the piano with Mrs Dana or another teacher, we hung out with the other kids or did our school homework. It was more like an after school care than a music studio, really. Mrs Dana ruled with a kind but firm hand and if you didn't know your work, she would insist you come back for an extra lesson. If you didn't practise, she would march down to your parents in the car or call them to let them know. She had more than her fair share of difficult kids, I suspect because some despairing parents hoped she would straighten them out! She had a knack with naughty kids and believed that music could solve most problems.

If Mrs Dana felt that you were musical, she would tirelessly hound you until you lived up to your talent. Her fees were below market rate and she used to grumble that some didn't pay their fees for months, yet she never turned anyone away. Many students expressed shock at how later on, when they took music lessons elsewhere, they realised that other teachers charged strictly by the hour, four lessons a month, didn't make up lessons you missed and didn't really care if you practised or learned anything. We were all spoilt by Mrs Dana. 

When we were older, many of us ex-students were invited to be the helper teachers at her studio. Teaching at Mrs Dana's was my first paid holiday job. Her home at La Salle Street was open to students from morning to evening and it was well known in the eastern part of Singapore. We heard anecdotes of how when given the address, taxi drivers would ask, "oh, the piano teacher's house?" Through these black gates, hundreds passed through to get their dose of music and more. The swing in the garden was a favourite. I managed to take photos of the exterior in 2010 before it was torn down and rebuilt by the new owners.

Mrs Dana's teaching methods were truly innovative. For example, she made up her own lyrics to exam pieces to help kids remember the melody. She held Sunday aural classes so we could listen to and learn from other students in the same grade. At our meetup, we all shared how she instilled the love of music in us. Some mentioned that till today, they remember their music intervals clearly thanks to her methods. A couple of them have chosen music as a career and still practise her methods today.

But even more than her extraordinary love of teaching and gift of music, what made her a remarkable individual was her exceeding generosity, which she blessed families with. At the gathering, an ex-student shared how growing up as the daughter of a church's caretaker, her family sometimes found it difficult to make ends meet. She first met Mrs Dana who did the flower arrangements for the church. Mrs Dana took her under her wing and gave her piano lessons at no charge. Later, she offered her a job as a teacher at the studio and even gave her a piano. This ex-student is doing well today and she has kept the piano all these years, even though some of the keys are stuck and can't be played properly.

I really don't know how Mrs Dana found the time but between running a music studio and raising a family of her own (she was the sole breadwinner since her husband was ill), she also reached out to the community. She once mentioned to me that she was helping underprivileged kids from Geylang Methodist Primary School learn how to read. As an ex-kindergarten teacher and principal, she had a big heart for kids.

On a personal note, Mrs Dana was a very special friend to me. She was my mentor and confidante, always warm and caring. I remember her sense of humour and her bubbly laugh. She had a skin pigmentation disorder and used to joke, "I'm like Michael Jackson!" As an adolescent and later as an adult, I could confide in her the way I couldn't with my own mother. She was a second mother to me and was part of almost all my significant life events. When I did well in piano exams, she bought me music books. After learning at her studio for almost a decade, I taught there during my university school holidays. This is a rare photo I took with her and my sister at her studio.

She was the one who brought my sister and I to the church we currently attend. She took us to SSO concerts to expand our minds. She was very pleased when I later joined the SSO as its marketing manager. My box office staff knew her very well as she was a regular concert-goer and always booked the same seat in the stalls of the Victoria Concert Hall (I believe it was an aisle seat in row R). She also played the organ at my wedding.

When I had my kids, Mrs Dana embroidered flowers on baby shirts for them and bought them books and toys. I love this photo of Mrs Dana carrying Lesley-Anne. Lesley-Anne learned with her only about a year before Mrs Dana got ill but even then, she said some of Mrs Dana's methods really stuck with her.

Mrs Dana suddenly fell ill in 2005 and even then, refused to seek treatment as it was the period of piano exams. When she finally agreed to be hospitalised, a bunch of ex-teachers mobilised themselves to help out at the studio and they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of students. Even with a team, it was exhausting. Nobody knew how this feisty 76-year-old managed it.

Even in hospital, Mrs Dana's thoughts were with her students. "Tell so-and-so to practise! She doesn't practise enough," one teacher recalled her saying. When she passed on, her daughter found boxes and boxes of cards and gifts that her students had given her. Mrs Dana had kept everything.

It was by chance that a group of her ex-students met in church a few weeks ago and came up with the idea of having a gathering. Nine of us met up but through this, so many more have since been contacted - a network spanning a wide range of ages and backgrounds. Many of her ex-students are pillars of society today - doctors, lawyers, etc but they recall being that naughty kid being chased down by Mrs Dana to practise scales. I've also since learned that many of her ex-students are now musicians or music teachers. All remember fondly the time they spent at La Salle Street.

As we chatted over dinner and shared our stories of Mrs Dana, I was blown away by how this one woman could have touched hundreds of lives from three generations. It's been almost ten years since she passed away and yet our memories of her remain vivid - that's how deep an impression she made on us.

Many people speak of love but rare is the one who personifies it. How blessed we are to have known her.

For the love of ballet

Lesley-Anne started ballet classes when she was in p2 and over the next 9 years, the once-a-week lessons became a familiar and much loved routine.

In a ballet class, the kids move up the grades as a group so the parents saw the girls grow up together, at least those who stayed with the centre. It's really great to see these cutie pies blossom into young ladies.

Earlier in March this year, Lesley-Anne took her Grade 8 ballet exam. The usual pre-exam ritual - hair done by her wonderful teacher, Ms Chew:

Stretches and last minute practising before the exam:

Since Lesley-Anne began JC this year, her schedule has been jam-packed and I'd suggested that she stopped her ballet lessons after Grade 8 exam, especially since she was already in the modern dance CCA in school. However, she was adamant about continuing - that's how much she loves ballet.

It seems like God had other plans though because right after the exam, her beloved ballet teacher announced that she was moving the classes to the other end of the island. That put an end to the discussion right there and even Lesley-Anne had to admit, "Ok, I think God is telling me to stop."

It's bittersweet for her but the timing was practically perfect. And as a very nice round-up, Lesley-Anne ended up earning a Distinction for her exam.

I wouldn't say that dance or ballet is for everyone but in Lesley-Anne's case, it was truly a blessing. It gave her, a very shy girl, a physical outlet of expression and through dance, she could come out of her shell.

This was her at her very first ballet exam:

And at her last one:

She couldn't have asked for better dance mates or better teachers. What a glorious 9 years.

The clarinet cadenza

Next week, Lesley-Anne will step down from the band, her CCA for four years of secondary school. During that time, she learnt the clarinet and became the assistant section leader.

To be perfectly honest, she's not unhappy to leave the band, even though she has made great friends there. She's relieved because the entire process of being part of a performing arts group in school is so intensive and taken so seriously that it has become more stressful than fun (previously mentioned in this post). Which I find a real pity because it's so great to be able to play music as part of a group.

Nevertheless, she can't deny that joining the band has brought about immeasurable benefits, not least of them, the opportunity to learn how to play a new instrument. Thanks to all the extensive practices, Lesley-Anne has grown to be quite adept at the clarinet.

In fact, the clarinet coach was sufficiently confident in her section's abilities to suggest that they try out for a clarinet exam last year. Lesley-Anne formed a group with three of her batch mates and entered the University of West London Music Performance (LCM) Ensemble Level 3 exam (there are five levels in total).  The group managed to score a Distinction, which I felt was such a nice reward to show for the four years of hard work.

Anyway, before Lesley-Anne stepped down, I decided to record her playing as a keepsake, since I'm almost certain that she'll never be able to play at this level again, once the practices stop.  I also made her take some photos of the clarinet (the instrument belongs to the school and she's not interested in getting one of her own).  It's a gorgeous instrument.

And here's the recording.  It's quite difficult to find a concert piece where the clarinet has the melody line but this one, "Concerto D'Amore" by Jacob De Haan, comes pretty close.  In this piece, the same theme repeated throughout piece in three styles - baroque, pop and jazz.  The first video shows Lesley-Anne playing the baroque part and the second video shows the jazz.

Maybe in the far future, she might look back at these and decide that she'll want to take up in the clarinet again.  If not, at least she'll have something to remember this chapter of her music journey.

"No birdcall is the musical equal of a clarinet blown with panache." - Edward Hoagland

The Aloha spirit

Quite coincidentally, the Hawaiian theme was channeled in our household last Friday.  First was the appearance of Lesley-Anne's photo doing stand up paddling on Straits Times Life! section as part of the article on activities for the June holidays.

The photo was provided by my friend Isabelle, founder of the SUP School, something I blogged about a few months ago.  Great to see that it's generating quite a lot of interest!

In the same spirit of Hawaii, we were at Orchard Central for lunch with my sister when she mentioned that she was taking ukelele lessons. This caught Lesley-Anne's attention and as it so happened, there was a music shop right in the mall, showcasing a wide range of ukeleles.

There are four types of ukeleles (from smallest to biggest) - soprano, concert, tenor and baritone.  The great thing about the ukelele is that it's an instrument synonymous with fun, so it comes in many designs and colours. Even Hello Kitty and Spongebob! More importantly, the type of wood, the thickness and the shape all create a different sound, so you need to try each one to see which you like best.

My sister and Lesley-Anne tried out several but there was one soprano ukelele that caught my eye simply because of the aesthetic.  It had a couple of simple carvings that were not too traditional yet not too kitsch. I forgot what type of wood it was made of but the sound was mellow and full, simply lovely.

When my sister tried it, it looked too small for her but when we put it in Lesley-Anne's arms, it looked like it belonged to her, that's how petite she is!  And that's how she ended up with a new toy that day.  (Andre was more interested in the case - he's trying to project the Mafia look here).

 

The ukelele is a relatively easy instrument to pick up.  Like the guitar, you can download the chord chart from Internet and learn chords quite quickly on your own.  Popular ukelele pop songs include Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours", "Hey Soul Sister" by Train, "The Lazy Song" by Bruno Mars, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah".  

The ukelele is easier to learn than the guitar as it has only four strings compared to the guitar's six. It's less unwieldy (especially if you're small in stature) and it's also much more portable.  Within the same day, Lesley-Anne could strum to simple songs that didn't require complex chord changes.  Over the weekend, I was treated to bright and chirpy tunes emitting from her room.  It's such a mood lifter.  

All that for just $70.  A small price to pay for happy.

With that, I'm signing off for a bit as we'll be on a vacation break first week of June.  Happy holidays, Mahalo and Aloha!

Timeless - an evening of dance

During the June holidays, the dance studio where Lesley-Anne learns ballet put on a concert. This event is organised once every three years and is a great platform for the students to showcase their talents.

At the last concert in 2009, Lesley-Anne was only in Grade 4 so her dance was a lot simpler. (She looked so cutesy then! Sigh...) Now at Grade 6 going on Grade 7, the choreography for her class incorporates much more sophisticated dance moves.

Have you ever seen black ballet shoes? They're utterly cool.

She participated in two dances in the Timeless concert. The first was a combined jazz number with the Grade 7s and I loved it. Svelte black tights and top hats to Michael Buble's Fever.

 

Coordinated slow splits

Here's a video of that number.  Lesley-Anne is the second to enter from the left after the opening chair sequence.

Lesley-Anne's Grade 6 class also performed another dance, a Chinese one. I didn't like this one as much but I guess it was to showcase the diversity of dances.

There's just something so aesthetically melodious about dance, and letting Lesley-Anne learn ballet was one of the most satisfying decisions we've ever made.  Dance provides her with an outlet for her latent physical expression needs and is the perfect foil to her otherwise lun-zhun nature (unfortunate genetic inheritance from moi).

She loves ballet so much so she's going to continue till she finishes her Grade 8 exam. In fact, she's considering taking up dance as a CCA in JC. More opportunities for performance? That would be awesome.