Rhythm Identity: VIVA LA SALSA and BACHATA !!!!!!!

A new life style

2010-04-13T21:44:00.003+08:00

It's been so long since my last posting. It has to be said that Dance is still in my blood. It's still fresh and vibrant and I do not see myself letting it go. After the recent competition I found myself matured as a dancer, there is no 'I give up', no 'I'm afraid' there was just I can do it and so can my partner. I will and am still going to continue to dance, as it is now part of my life, my expression.

My Dance Idol . Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T16:10:00.000+08:00

In loving memory of my King Of Dance And PoP Michael Jackson ( 1958 - 2009 )

words of Michael :

"Think about the generations and to make it a better place for a children and a childrens , children . so that they know its a better world for them. Thinking they can make it a better place."

since i heard the news i could not stop but cry . Michael Jackson to me and many others was and still is known as the king of pop and to me the king of dance . Those white gloves , that shoes , and that moon walk ! boy !! i loved him . i never felt ashamed when it came to doing the dance of Michael Jackson in public even being a girl . ( i know another friend of mine mel who does it super well too and we proud of it ) the legendary king of pop was nothing but the meaning of talented .

Despite the things people said about him , only he knew the truth and people like us who knew he was innocent because there was no prove . it was so easy to pay a kid and tell him what to say . even if he did it , who are we to judge . Michael was only human if he made mistakes who were we to condemn , did not we make our own set of mistakes .. What about the things he did for the world like breaking the barrier of black and white on TV he shows that music did not have a colour but only unity . Before Obama , or Oprah . Michael spread the truth through music . what about the life he gave children the childhood he never had. he did good but people twisted it and made it theirs. At such a young age he was on stage

Usher once said . i don't believe in the media till they Prove his innocents. were are people like that on earth . But i have come to realise as said NMSNBC Michael once said he was treated unfairly in the music industry BUT today we see millions mourning his death. for instance me , the first sms of the day was from jasmine a good friend of mine telling me MJ has passed on . i could not believe it as i was looking forward to his London come back tour .

God truly loved his more that we did and took him from us for peace in Michael cause i think he has don't alot here on earth . Angels come in many forms and Michael was one of them . the world can say whatever they want but i know what Michael did for us . HE changed the perception of people . he thought us to accept people who are different .

A word from Sharpton on MSNBC " Michael Jackson made culture ACCEPT a person of colour way before tiger woods , Oprah and Obama . Michael did in music like they did in sports , politics and tv . and no controversy will erase the historic impact. He learn how to sing and dance . pass unfair criticism . he learn how to create even beyond his own shortcomings . he knew how to build his strength , how to help the world . WE are the world would not have happen without Michael Jackson ( talking on behalf of the black people ) from we are the world came live 8 and other organizations. he was a historic figure that people will measure the music and industry by . He sold more single products than any other artist and no one can drag him down for that . i remember he once said to me , can you believe they are showing on tV the cell they want to put me in . I said they did not crown you the king and they cant take the crown off your head"

Michale will always live forever because as legend he leave his legacy . A legacy we all can live by . for the young people out there . Just remember the reason you see people like Usher , Akon and many others on MTV is thanks to Michael Jackson . When you see live 8 and RED remember it was Michael Jackson who started it . Whenever you see people donating they toys , food and cloths to children who cant afford it remember it was Michael Jackson who started it . Whenever you see someone do the moon walk . Remember it was Michael Jackson who started it . The best of all when you hear someone scream ( the famous MJ scream hee hee ) Remember it was Michael Jackson . And to dances of all kinds out there remember The king of dance himself Michael Jackson .

Michael may you Rest in Peace and may the world now learn of the person you always were and the person you always will be :)

love you Michael Jackson for you will always remain in my heart and i for the love of music and dance will educate my children of your music and dance and goodness you have done for the world. may you live on in out hearts , and our soul .

Michael where ever you are please know that :

You thought me that music has no COLOUR . You thought me dance has no boundaries . You thought me that fashion made me , ME . You thought me to have a heart for children despite of condititions . You thought me to CRY for the pain you knew the world is going through. You thought me to LOVE a complete stranger and CRY the moment i find out you are no more here on earth . You thought me to feel the pain of a song.

delmissacent

Sd Turns 30 !!

2009-06-10T01:26:00.006+08:00

Hey SD ,
i just wanted to wish you Happy Birthday . I know i am no Tech savvy person but i just did a very simple slide show together with one of my Fav bachata song LOL i hope you like it. I have nothing much to say axcept i have no regrets learning salsa from the best :) i know i am not your best student LOL but hey i try la my best hahahaha i am sure going to miss you when i go to australia . Where am i going to get an Aussie SD .. i cant ... cause there's only 1 :) I hope this day brings you lots of joy , and love. Enjoy it cause its yours . Chill .. 30 is just a number , think of it this way .... Age is like Wine .. the older the better ;) and some say " Old is GOLD" hahaha now thats too much ...R.I would always be my family no matter where i go . The friendship and bond i have with you all have made me

~ Adele Melissa Vincent ~

Once Again Happy Birthday :) Muaxx

....Like a RoSe...... ( tips for guy dancers ) ( and girls too )

2009-06-08T01:11:00.006+08:00

When you dance with someone, try to learn a thing or two.
when you dance with someone, enjoy it.
just like the song say treat you dance partner " like a rose"
she's pretty , she's bold , she's got thorns too :) but treat her well
as the songs goes ......

And as I look into your eyes
I see an angel in disguise
Sent from God above
For me to love
To hold and idolise

And as I hold your body near
......
And then forever on
Til the songs fades on
Ill keep your loving near

and for girls .......

And now Ive finally found my way
To lead me down this lonely road
All I have to do
Is follow you
To lighten off my load

( let him lead you)

guys ,

... treat me like a rose
... give me room to grow
... shone the light of love on me
... gave me air so I can breathe
... open doors that close
...In a world where anything goes
...give me strength so I stand tall
....Just like a rose

( bare with her, give her space, understand her and she'll bloom magnificently)

girls,

And when I feel like hope is gone
You give me strength to carry on
Each time I look at you
There's something new
To keep our dance strong

guys,

I hear you whisper in my ear
All of the words I long to hear
Of how you'll always be
Here next to me
....

And now Ive finally found my way
To lead me down this lonely road
All I have to do
Is follow you
To lighten off my load

... treat me like a rose
... give me room to grow
... shone the light of love on me
...And gave me air so I can breathe
...opened doors I closed
...In a world where anything goes
...give me strength so I stand tall
...Within this bed of earth
....Just like a rose

.........
.........
You face the thunder
When the sunshine turns to rain
Just like a rose
Dance is a transactive model ,
There's give and take,
There understating,
There's shared goals,
You wana make me look good ,
and i wana make you look good. :)

so remember guys treat your dance partners ...

Just like a R.O.S.E.

Being an Instructor..the joy :D

2009-05-05T18:11:00.002+08:00

Thanks to jackson i've gotten the experience to teach a class of the dance i love the most, BACHATA! a 3 days crash course of basic traditional bachata. well i was there only 2 of those 3 days due to work.

some of you know that i didn't prepare well to teach the class, will learn from that mistake. hafta say that i was very hapi that the class feedback was great the vibe was good, they all listened and were all into getting the moves correct. the determination on their face was evident n i just went on teaching without knowing time lapsed. hehe...

i think it due to leaving this too long n now i dun have much to write about the whole process, i know my failings n will work on in for the next time.

to all who came n supported the class...THANK YOU!!

last but not least...my greatest pride. V Sam a foreigner working in malaysia, with no dance experience won 3rd place (outta 5 couples) in the weekly aliiya dance competition. 3 classes only n he did it...that was my greatest moment in my dancing life. :D

congratulalations !

2009-04-21T12:19:00.007+08:00

ANDREW

JEROME

LISA

TARSH

HELEN

JANE

SUE

LI YING

To AlL wHo ToOk ThE tEsT yEsTeRdAy. WeLcOmE tO tHe InTeRmEdIaTe LeVeL oF SaLsA.
It'S a wHoLe NeW wOrLd NoW :)

You guys did really well yesterday ! trust me i was there once sweating and panthing and nervouse too . speaking for a senior point of view who's most likely been there done that LOL . Now its No PaIn No GaIn. its all seriousness and working harder . at times you may feel like giving up and at time you may tell yourself " what happen to just dancing for fun , why is it so difficult" Just remember its only that stage where everyone had to go through it . Trust me once you guys have finish with that hurdle you'll be on the roll. Just remember to NEVER give up . and never feel that you have done enough . do better ! aim higher :)

VIVA LA SALSA

J.U.S.T D.A.N.C.E

GoOd LuCk GuYs !

En La Pasion Bachata Competition Video is up

2009-04-15T14:53:00.001+08:00

Guys log on to Razor.tv to see the event video

2009-04-12T04:55:00.002+08:00

En La Pasion 2009 brought Norman and Evelyn as well as Mavis and myself to compete in Singapore. Both couples being new to the bachata scene did great.

Norman and Evelyn can back as the 1st runner up and here is the video that I can find at the moment.

Great job Norman and Evelyn... :D as for me it's back to the training room :D hehe

Bachata Moderna

2009-04-09T09:57:00.001+08:00

Read this from Bachateros and it's so inspiring...guys b proud of wat we are doing now s v r the revolution for Bachata in Malaysia.

Here's the link to the article

VIVA LA BACHATA!!!
VIVA LA RHYTHM IDENTITIO!!!

Rhythm Identity Kuantan 1st Performance Debut

2009-03-30T16:32:00.010+08:00

Whoa... the title sounds like something bigggg.... hehe... Well, congratulations to the Performance team from RI Kuantan for delivering a fabulous performance, for first timers. I'm speechless and very proud of them :D

This group, consists of Aison Lai, Jocelyn, Marcus, Hannah, Aaron and Elizabeth, was formed only about 1 month before the the event. Marcus and Aaron has been my student for more than a year, where else Jocelyn and Aison has just been with us for 4 months. Hannah and Eli was recruited last minute and never join Salsa before.. What an amazing team!

The performane was showcased for an event in Kuantan on the 28th of March, 2009. Unfortunately, we didn't help Earth by switching off the lights that night. ( terrible us.. ) They arrived at the hotel at about 8.30pm, and only until 10.00pm, it was their turn to perform. All was trembling at the last minute.. but 'alhamdulilah' no one fall or screw up the performance.. heheh

So well done well done! I'm sure they are happy with their performance, but I think I heard one of them complained he himself did some wrong steps, so it wasn't good enough for him. Well what can I say, my team expect perfection... hahaha.. good thing

Let's hope there are more exciting events and celebration to come. With this I end with a heartful Thank you to RI Kuantan Performance Team for an excellent teamwork and effort.

And to all out there, take the chance to perform. It's nothing like just normal social dancing on the floor.. but it's time for YOU TO SHINE.... ;)

Viva la Salsa....

J.Loh

Bali part 1

2009-03-28T14:25:00.001+08:00

as the say a picture paints 1000 words . i let you put it together... :) introducing ... BALI

have you heard , a picture paints a thousand words , a dance tells a story and a holiday completes eternity. Those are the exact words of how i describe my experience in bali . Bali was not just an island . Bali was not just a holiday. Bali was not just and experience , but Bali was magnificent. I can tell many would second that ! I met Loads of great people in bali and got to spend time with great friends . I got to know some friends a little better , got to check out hot guys too ;) . what a life hehe

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T11:25:00.002+08:00

Earth Hour 2009 by WWF - Sign up for Earth Hour!

hey guys dont forget to be a part of earth hour. Lets all help safe Earth and make this a better place not just for us but for our future generations to live and dance in :)

viva la salsa
viva la bachata

delmissacent

Bali Salsa Festival 2009

2009-03-21T14:53:00.003+08:00

It's still taking me a while to come up with what to write about this trip.

The only thing that is still in my mind is that I don't travel out of the country much. I think in my whole like I only did like 5 times? and those were all when I was younger and with my parents.

Bali was to me my biggest adventure as I was not with my parents and I was out of the country. Too bad I had to get high fever 3 days b4 departure.

I was early to Sentral, waiting for Jackson and Cecilia to arrive and found that the ERL transit was offering a RM 5 promotion to take the ERL transit and change to a bus to go to LCCT. We took that and the train ride was uneventful other then the tracks were balance so we were tilting and swaying left and right, which gave Jackson a headache.

Reached LCCT, my 1st time entering LCCT, I use to go into MasKargo to do my jobs but then LCCT was an eye opener. It was like a cheap scale warehouse with a lot of ppl moving around with big bags.

We checked in and then waited for Kak Lin to arrive, so had lunch and it was KFC. OMG! KFC was just 1 small little stall hut thingie and when Cecilia came back with the chicken it was So small, oily and soft (in the not that great way of KFC).

Kak Lin & Murni came and they had their lunch and we boarded our flight to Bali. The take off was as usual INSANE...so fast...the flight was ok, a peaceful flight only thing was when we were to touch down noticed that it was raining heavily. 1st sight of Bali..RAIN?!?!?! sigh.

Got on to the taxi which Kak Lin arranged but then again the stupid taxi driver came late and didn't even prepare the signage to receive us.

Another culture shock...the roads in Bali are so narrow, and with the heavy rain it didn't help. If the same thing happens in KL, NO CARS will ever move...the water level was as high as the wheel of the car and the Balinese were just driving through the water like it was just another day of waking up. They were great drivers.

Found our hotel and it was oooo so nice..Harris was like to Shangri la to me. All was new design and the place was spacious and airy. We changed and went out searching for food.

I was told about the avocado juice that I must try so went along Kuta's road along the beach front. Walked into a food court and just looked around, I wanted the BIG clam thingie (the big thick shelled la la) jackson saw satay BABI...WOO HOO!!!! Cecilia saw Assam Fish (which was not assamy and spicy enuf) n I got 2 helpings of the avocado juice...yummy...avocado juice with chocolate syrup...it's like chocolate milk shake but it's more green in color. and we found BABI GULING...well not the best one but it was quiet good also.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to change and went out to Seminyak to Bahiana, which is our SH equivalent or even better...the place reminded me of beach club but inside a building and not with the palm leave roofing. the music that was played there we can never ever find in our local salsa club it was great sounds. but then we have just touched down and I was still under the weather so i didn't danced much. Also i sorta forgot my foot.

Saw the drinks menu n my Eyes went 'pop' 150,000 for a whickey coke...i was like wat???? before I could ask jackson suggested us to try the local stuffs...so he ordered ARAK MADU...which was quiet ok...tasted almost like Vodka with LOADS of lime and honey. 30,000 only...look at the difference...but then arak hits the spot fast.

Love the music being played there, it's alive and when compared to those we have here it's heaven.The music makes you move and there are so so so so so many other songs we have never heard of it was great. That was 1 nite of sweat and joy.

To be Continued...

bachata workshop @ Club 9 & the SiX Lounge

2009-03-18T18:23:00.010+08:00

bachata bachata bachata ! That was what was happening last night at Club 9 & the Six Lounge . Jaxen conducted a bachata workshop . It was small , personal and private. Everyone went home with a little knowledge on bachata and put their skills to the groove baby on the dance floor. It was Latin fever last night . There was also a fashion show that went on. i guess everyone had a little fun with a toss of Latin . Well it was not your usual clubbing experience of just hip hop and r&b but a little of salsa and bachata. here are some pictures that i took ( being R.I.'s Ground Crew for the day i suppose hahaha )

there were R.I goodies to be sold !

Club 9 & Six Lounge

settings there is quite nice actually . good place to chill after a long day at work .. :)

then we got down to action ! . the workshop !

yes we all had fun .

jaxen down on the groove
then we had the fashion show. hot models . hot cloths .

the the opening of the dance floor. miki and james Q in action doing the bachata .

bil was there too getting down with the moves :)

met a friend whom i met in bali :) JB girl too .. hehe

james Q the photographer lol .
R.I gang :) cecilia ..

miki ...
natt ...

james all looking handsome for the function lol ..

dear janice ..

the night was good . everyone had fun . no stress ! just DANCE . i guess dance do tell a story and dance to paints a picture. ours is no novel and we are no da vinci but we i guess at the end of the day we do write good stories from dancing and paint beautiful pictures :)

viva la salsa
viva la bachata
viva la PARTY

Bali Salsa - Part 4

2009-03-16T11:34:00.021+08:00

Now... Lembongan Island and a private beach... lots of sizzling hot photos...

Very flavourful... very... sabor...

Our fashon models... Tsu Yee, Adele and Cecilia.

Ooo la la........... (drooling)

Here's Nestor and Lidia getting ready for a bachata workshop. Mr Popeye here is flexing his muscles for some dips and nice partnerwork with Ms Angel-Drop-From-Heaven.

The bachata workshop... can see the sun is so hot everyone is hiding under the shade of the trees. Nestor ended the workshop in a bachata train and led everyone into the pool.

Everyone practically jumped in, train formation, in whatever they were wearing. I was quick enough to discard my camera and watch before jumping in... James jumped in with his wallet... James, next time don't get over excited.

The Malaysian gang lepaking by the beach... the Malaysian way; out of the sun. Away from the heat. I think no Malaysian got a tan at all... I tried to get one but didn't really succeed.

Hey James, nice uh... souvenior necklace... where did you buy that from? Its very... Balinese...

Me and Shankar posing by the beach... damn... need to work out more.

The beach was so hot you could cook an egg if you cracked the egg and left it on the sand. Sizzling hot... reminds me of an old Pepsi or Coca Cola advert more than 15 years ago...

Sexy people at the sexy beach... Adele, Shankar, Tsu Yee, Jaxen and Murni.

Gonna have more bikini pics on this blog... mmm mmm mmm...

The photo is a bit dark but can see that we have Jaxen, Vali, Murni, Adele, Shankar and Tsu Yee.

Everyone had to hide in the shade to pose for photos coz the sun was so searing hot (but I still cannot get a tan).

Sexy salseras in bikinis... mm mm mmmmmm....

Truly a paradise island...

Can't wait for MSF in July 2009 Cherating...

Me and Lidia... she's super hot, super friendly, super nice and a super good dancer. I always have a lot of fun dancing with her, be it salsa or bachata. There's so much fun play in salsa and in bachata I can do a lot of Zouk-like movements and she can follow it all.

Ms Adele with a nice, sexy bikini pose with water flowing down over her... Adele... real hot!!! Should send this to Inaki... hehehe!!!

Shankar posing by the pool... he is poised to become RI's salsa underware model.

And here is James and Lin... James is poised to become RI's salsa idol and Lin our Malaysian salsa ambassador, bringing the Malaysian name to the international arena.

Thanks for everything you have done for Malaysia!

And here's Nicole again without her hair in her face with a sexy pose. Damn! Got a pillar blocking her.

Lookit this! Its Oliver Pineda! He was taking a nap on the hammock when several thugs (comprising of Csaba, Shankar, Kevin and James) caught him and threw him into the pool.

Lin, Shankar and James on a mini surf board... I've got a nice photo of myself on one too but I don't have it here so will post it up in a later blog.

It was a damn fun day at the island, courtesy of Linline Salsa Holidays who arranged everything.

Lunch was good... they served satay babi!!! Yummy!!!

The banana boat ride there was lousy... you can't tip over and fall off so it's kinda meaningless. Snorkeling was limited to a certain area but with me not being able to swim, I avoided this activity altogether.

The only beach activity I did was standing in the hot sun trying to get a tan, shooting photos, hiding in the shade watching people go about at the beach... oh, and Shankar and me throwing Tsu Yee into the sea... three time... in a row.

Lemme look for that photo and see if I can get it uploaded.

More coming soon...

Bali Salsa - Part 3

2009-03-16T10:47:00.015+08:00

After an intensive full day of workshops, tech rehearsals and 21 performances on Sat night and a full blown party at Sector, its all about unwinding and relaxing on Sunday.

Best part is, we partied until 2am and had to wake up around 7.30am to get ready for the Sunday event. It was a day cruise to Lembongan Island for relaxation on a private beach! Yes!!!

Sun, sand, sea, salsa!!!

Boobs, bums, bikinis, bachata!!!

Hehehehe!!!

A long bus ride to the jetty where we cam whored...

Jaxen, Cecilia, Tsu Yee and James holding onto Inaki Fernandez who so casually jumped into the photo shoot and I guess he's as much a cam whore as all of us...

And we're as much a bachata crazy bunch as he is...

Adele was holding the camera, I think...

Of course, I went and got a photo shoot with Oliver Pineda, 5 times World Salsa Champion and a damn good Zouk dancer. He and Vali are the ones responsible for teaching Cecilia and me how to dance Zouk.

While people like me go after Inaki (my bachata idol) and Oliver (my salsa idol), the ladies naturally went for Suzana Montero. Here you have Suzana, Cecilia, Adele and Rose. Don't the ladies look very Balinese in their attire?

Don't ask me what's going on here. It's not what you think. Me and Thiru are straight guys.

If you want more provocative (and scandalous) photos, go to Facebook and look for Senor Juez Swamigee, James Q and also Rose Zurina... they have a huge gallery of photos from the Bali Fiesta.

Me and my honey bunny Kak Ina on the cruise ship...

Me, Kak Ina and Gupson. He had to bend down coz if he stood, the camera could only capture his body and he would be headless in this photo.

And the lovely Nicole... her hair is always covering her face... most photos I have with her I could hardly see her whole face... except... hmm... think I have one whereby her whole face was revealed...

Ooh... like my tatoo? Looks cool, huh? Best thing about being in Bali is that you can walk around with that and its normal. Try that in Malaysia and the police would've stopped me and asked for my I/C.

Cecilia and James Q; James need to get another of the MSF shirt from Lin, this one is a little too worn out already.

And doesn't Cecilia look lovely in orange? Hehe... of coz I have to say that... if not I will get into trouble...

Me and giant man Kevin... he's actually very tall. He was nice enough to lower his height to shoot this photo with me and make me feel tall.

Thanks Kev!

And congratulations on your proposal to Chelsea!

So romantic...

Me and my beauties... hehehe~!!! Dato Arif and Othman's wives... still as strong in salsa no matter the years that they have. All of us should take examples from them that you can still salsa no matter you are married, of age or even after birth.

Look at them, still so sizzling hot!

Wow! A bunch of lovely salseras cruising by the waters of Bali with wind blowing in their hair and the sound of salsa music ringing in the air.

Truly, this is paradise...

And here's me and Anup... also a bachata expert well known for his bachata body movements and unique style of leading.

So many good and fun times on the way to Lembongan... stay tuned for the Lembongan Island pics!

Bali Salsa - Part 2

2009-03-13T14:41:00.010+08:00

The salsa band in Obsession.

Salseros chilling out at Obsession.

Now, the Salsa Fiesta only started officially on 6th March which was a Friday. So all of the participants were there by then. When Inaki Fernandez, UK's King of Bachata walked in... this is what all the girls did...

Well, its Inaki... he is the one who shaped UK's bachata scene with his unique style of bachata which we here at Malaysia (and also some other parts of the world) fondly call as Inakichata. He is currently attached to UK's Latin Dance Academy, owned by Suzana Montero and Super Mario (not the Nintendo game character but the Million Moves Man).

Ok... I have the same reaction as the ladies.

But it was Suzana Montero who shaped my dance life. She taught and inspired me to move my body and it was also her who showed me what the Inaki style bachata was like.

I danced with her and she was so happy that I could dance like Inaki and her comment was that my lead was good.

With those words coming from someone like her, it meant a lot to me.

At night, we had a party at Wina Holiday Villa (which was the official event hotel we stayed in). A huge marquee/tent was erected and we danced to the open air. Despite the ventilation, the weather was still so humid even at midnight that sweat never stopped rolling down my head.

Tsu Yee, James, Cecilia, Jaxen and Adele... all wet and still sober, all high from dancing and partying. Every night was just sheer fun to be spent with your friends and also strangers who seemed to be closer to you as a friends than you'd ever expect.

We had a full day of workshops on Saturday at Wina. There was a morning samba by Gupson, and then in the afternoon I missed 2 workshops due to the tech rehearsals at Sector Club which I had to attend. I missed Anup's Stealing & Hijacking Workshop as well as Nestor/Lidia's Partnerwork Workshop.

I managed to catch Nestor/Lidia's Shine Workshop and also Vali/Oliver's Zouk Workshop. I had to sacrifice Inaki/Suzana's bachata for Zouk but it was definately worth it! Zouk was so nice...

I missed Gupson's Tricky Turn Pattern Workshop as I was too tired and needed the time to prepare for the performance that night.

Here's a photo of me, Nestor Manuelian, Cecilia and Lidia McMahon. Nestor and Lidia are from Modus Vivendi Productions Australia. Nestor is also the one organizing the Sydney Bachata Festival. This nice man has helped me alot in shaping some of my salsa as well as bachata skills.

Me and Cecilia will be performing at the Sydney Bachata Festival end April 2009 and I will also be conducting a workshop there. wish me luck!

All performance was at Sector Club. There were 21 performances. I was number 14. What a good number... The Indonesian performers were great. They had some of the best performances I have ever seen and some of their rueda team really gave new meaning to the term rueda. Their performances was superb! I believe Malaysia have a lot to learn from them. Top of the Indonesian performers was Reyno and his Salsa Fresca team. They did a total of 4 performances!

Suzana and Inaki did their bachata routine and Nestor and Lidia had a new bachata routine. I was quite nervous performing another bachata routine in front of these bachata masters but as the sole representative from Malaysia, I am glad to say Cecilia and me did Malaysia proud. Nestor and Lidia liked the routine and they hope I can bring that to Australia. Suzana also gave good reviews and all around the others also gave me a good pat on the back.

Other notable performances were from Nestor and Lidia's salsa performance as well as Suzana and Inaki's salsa performance. Suzana and Inaki's shines were really quite different from the usual shines I see performers do. Csaba and Vali from Latin Motion Australia did a good salsa routine.

One of the best was actually Oliver Pineda from Latin Motion. The 5 times World Salsa Champion did a solo shine which was simply incredible! His movements were so in tuned with the song that you could feel his every move. And Oliver also did a Zouk routine with Vali. It was a Latin Motion student choreography that they used but it really felt like an advanced choreography. It was so beautiful.

Now I can't remember anything else but that...

Bali Salsa - Part 1

2009-03-13T12:50:00.016+08:00

Now, Bali... where to start blogging about it?

Well, in no chronological order or any order of importance, here's a glimpse of Rhythm Identity's trip to Salsa Fiesta de Indonesia - Bali 2009.

Cecilia, James and me (Jaxen, of coz) went for this holiday salsa event. Adele came about a day or two later but she was there as a ground crew. Shankar also came and he was the head ground crew there. I guess these were the only RI people around. The rest were friends we made when we where there, friends we met from before and friends from around the world.

I don't blog well so this blog might look messy...

Here we have Cecilia and Ani next to a fertility statue in Bali... can see that they are very exited at it.

There's a photo of me and James next to it but being guys, I'll just skip that photo and move onto something else more interesting. What's so nice about guys being next to a giant p***s?

There's so many more things nice about Bali and the Salsa Fiesta here. And a lot of photos of the time we spent here! This photo is Day 1, btw. Well, Day 2 actually... we arrived Night 1 and the rain was so bad the flood was knee high. Funny thing is the flood subsided as fast as it came. And I still don't know how the cars drive around in such flood!

We stayed at Harris in Kuta, a nice hotel with modern architecture and a cozy feel to it. What I liked about this hotel is that they serve gula melaka as brown sugar for your coffee!! Wow! Being coffee lover, this was fantastic!

Now, what would be Bali without a Balinese massage?

Imagine a 1 hour full body massage (with no hanky panky) for below RM15! And the massuers remember you by name!

And one of us in the photo has got an admirer amongst the group of massuers! I wonder if any hanky panky happened behind the closed curtains? Hmm...

Oh... and temporary henna tatoo! We we swarmed by tattooist at the beach. It was near sunset and all of them came up to us offering tattoo service. You really need to bargain for a good price.

James went and got 2 tatoo. I actually wanted only 1 but then I followed suit and got 2 myself! It was just supposed to be 1 but... why not 2? Its Bali anyway... you can walk around with a tatoo and its ok. Try that in Malaysia and the police would very likely stop you and ask for your identification.

Even the girls got a tatoo!

And look at the guy's tatoo!

And some salsa dancing at Bahiana in Seminyak. Boy, the Indonesian salseros are good. Most of them seem to be in their intermediate level... and I mean high intermediate level and all the girls can do their ladies styling with ease. Bahiana has a very nice wooden floor... only problem was that the bar was located in the middle of the club. If it was at the side, then the dance floor would've been huge!

Salsa the next night at Obsession... not the bachata by Aventura but the club Obsession World Music. They have a live band... quite a good salsa band. Floor not as nice as Bahiana but was ok to dance on. I hardly danced that night... too crowded. Imagine the crowd you have in Bali... just one small island and there are around 4 salsa clubs! Obsession is just down the road from Bahiana. A 5 min walk maybe?

Was nice to salsa there, a breath of fresh air from the usual Salsa Havana, Aaliyah, etc.

Stay tuned for the next part...

Salsa Bali - Prologue

2009-03-12T10:09:00.002+08:00

Well now... Salsa Fiesta de Indonesia - Bali 2009 is over and I am back to reality.

No more sun, sand, sea, salsa all day and all night long. Was a very tiring holiday coz everynight is all about partying non-stop (if one can last that long) and day time is all non-stop activities and workshops and shopping and jumping in the pool and relaxing by the beach trying to get a tan...

It was a great event by Linline Salsa Holidays and here I get to meet all the familiar faces of salseros I knew from around the world stuck together in an island paradise doing what we all love to do; salsa!

Before I get into a long blog about what transpired at the fiesta, I would like to say that it was definately an event not to be missed. To add on, we have the Malaysian Salsa Festival 2009 in Cherating coming end July. Now, this will be very similar (with the exception of shopping) to Bali's event... will be a salsa festival cum vacation. Definately not to be missed.

For anyone reading this, log onto http://www.malaysiansalsafestival.com/2009/ for more info on the upcoming salsa event by Linline.

Now, back to Bali...

I was so honoured and elated to have performed on the same stage with great bachateros such as Inaki Fernandez and Nestor Manuelian. Inaki is the bachata master who revolutionized UK's bachata scene and Nestor is the one responsible for taking Australia's bachata to newer heights as well as organizing the Sydney Bachata Festival (to which me and my partner will have the honour to perform and teach). Both Nestor and Lidia loved our bachata routine and are glad we will be bringing this to Australia. Suzana Montero gave good comments on the performance and when I danced the bachata with her, she was so happy that I could do Inaki's style of bachata. Suzana's comments really made my day and I was so happy that I have succeeded in doing the UK's style of bachata. Dato Arif came up and said it was a good performance; he really felt the romance of the bachata in our performance.

While I do realize that the performance wasn't perfect as there were areas whereby we did mistakes (whoops!) but it was nicely covered up, it was nonetheless a satisfying one and one to remember. It was my partner, Cecilia's first international debut! And in front of so many great bachata masters and also in front of the World Salsa Champion himself!

Nestor and Lidia, thank you for your guidance and kind words that spurred me on in bachata. Suzana and Inaki, thank you for inspiring me to bring my bachata to different levels. My journey in bachata has always been inspired by these few people. And to all those around me who has supported my bachata growth, thank you so much as your passion in bachata has inspired me to try to bring a revolution to Malaysia's bachata so that we may all dance bachata the way we all actually want to dance.

Thank you Lin for giving us such great events. And thank you for all the support you have given me. Can't wait for MSF... but for now its time to concentrate on the Sydney Bachata Festival.

Viva la Bachata!

Jaxen
'Salsa Daddy'

the real me

2009-02-24T16:23:00.003+08:00

I was once told if you can walk you can dance , but for me it wasn't a bed of roses as it sounds. it took me a lot of time , patience and passion to get where am i today in the music and creative industry. I started dancing in church, doing the tambourine dance.

what you see in the picture was exactly what i was doing in church exept we all looked different obviously lol. Here is when i really started to like dance BUT it was all ups and downfalls for me as i was a very very very slow dancer. I could never catch up in time . My friends would laugh and make a fool out of me, my teacher would give me warnings like if i could not catch up i will not be able to perform . Because of the lack of patience they had in me and not having the drive to work harder, i had decided to quit WHICH was my biggest mistake, cause now i realise if i just put a little afford in dancing i could have done better . So what if i did not dance well . God never judged did he ? and at the end of the say i was dancing for himand myself not for fame ! BUT that was a long time ago , its all in the past.

I had another passion, the piano. At first i loved it . My parents got me my first piano which looked something like this
i remember it was the day i came back from school when i was standard 2 . the smile on my face was from ear to ear. It was then i started to take it seriously as in taking the exams and moving myself a grade higher every year. As i reach a certain level i begin to take piano playing as a chore i did not enjoy it anymore . i wanted to quit at grade 5 but everyone pushed me to finish it. Today i have my grade 7 which i am happy i have. I could never imagine what happen if i had quit at grade 5 .Today everyone around me has at least a grade 8. Well I guess it was a childhood thing. :)

I stop dance for a very very very long time, in school days i realise i had another talent which was singing. I had neither the voice of Mariah Carey nor Whitney but it was unique i guess so i decided to go into for while as in singing in church and school talent shows and all. I never took singing seriously till today i always thought of it as something i do to pass time and something i am good at moderately. i dance and sing to ease my sorrows. to let out my emotions . i use the dance techniques to capture my heart hardness to make myself feel better. Its like my Drug to release stress i guess. ( Hey ! its a good thing ) i also went into acting for a bit i realize that i could act too ... HEY who cant right . so i joined clubs in schools and a few plays. i did all these to pass my time and since i only had the basic talent i thought to myself HEY improve it ! this even got me a part in gol and gincu a small part but sadly i could not make it for casting because it was during assignments and exams period. BUT hey if there is a will, there is a way other opportunities will come my way it it was meant to be.

college days came along and here i was introduce to PARTS ( performing arts ) here is when i really concentrated on my hip hop and other small small dancers. i went into performing and i did it even to the extend of performing for functions and got paid. HEY it was good pocket money and it really gave me the real exposure of performing . i have to say i learnt alot from my seniors as well who thought me how to dance . here is also where i learnt my belly dancing thanks to CLARE ... muax .... its her to thank for my bootie shaking ability hahahah

i have to say all these dancing has really made me a different person . in a way i learn to appreciate the creative department more. i learn to true meaning of singing , dancing and acting. all these are not just something people do to pass time. YES it may be but to a certain point. I did it because it was a passion that kept me going till today . I gave up here and there BUT hey i am back on track somehow .

NOW i am in the SALSA , BACHATA phase lol . It all begin thanks to Kak Lin who introduced me to the Malaysian Salsa Festival two years ago. This time when i started to help out i was still not into salsa yet. I was like , ok la its a nice dance , nice to watch , but never had any intensions to learn even though i loved dance. i did learn the bachata from Nestor that year and BOY it was a good dance. he thought me the basics of it. i was thinking to myself i never knew anything about bachata but if he can make me dance like that HELL i want to learn. Then the second year of MSF came along here i saw SUSANA MONTERO AND INAKI

both queen of slasa and prince of bachata :) Here is when i put my foot down and said AFTER THIS the first thing i am going to do is LEARN SALSA . came back from MSF i got hold of shankar and said i wana learn where can i learn ? this was when he introduced me to rhythm identity run by Jaxen . I am now already at stage 5 ? after going through a very very stresful test ? LOL than god i pass . and i have james to thank for that too, in salsa . at first it was fun and easy but not anymore. i guess nothing is in life we just have to work hard to get what we want. Being hard is a phase that we all have to learn from once conquered we can do anything i guess :)

my salsa and bacahata experience learning has been really awesome. adding to that i have met wonderful friends too :) you know who you are muahahaha i think i am going to miss all you guys so much when i go to australia in a few months time ( Tears ) :(

to sum it all up i guess what i wanted to say is eventhough i had the passion for dance since the age of 5 i had to go through ups and downs so much so that some of it i think i dont even deserve to go through but then What can i say exept that i am here today, a moderately good dancer :) ( smacks) and a fast learner ... to a certain point la ..... hahahaha . i have always wanted to quit as things got harder but ,my passion for it made me stay on . sometimes i think what good does this all do for me. what benefit do i get from all of these aexept burning my money to learn learn and learn learn BUT hey now i think of it i HAVE no regret . i have built my character and most important my posture has been change lol ;) trust me. i dont hunch and slout anymore ?? haha i have met wonderful people along the way , good friends in fact :)
life has never been better

J.U.S.T. D.A.N.C.E. !!
viva la salsa
viva la bachata too :)

delmissacent

Bachata Update: Juan Ruiz

2009-02-24T14:38:00.002+08:00

Final confirmation is done!

Juan Ruiz, the man responsible for bringing bachata into Australia is coming to Malaysia! And Rhythm Identity will be bringing him in for a Bachata Revolution in Malaysia with workshops, demo performance and parties!

Imagine bachata in all its form and glory!

Traditional Bachata and the fusion of bachata with zouk, kizomba, tango and other latin rhythms as well as body movements that make bachata the sensual dance we all know and have grown to love will be in Malaysia full bloom!

If Juan Ruiz can make Australia into a bachata powerhouse, imagine what his presence can do in Malaysia. Bachateros in Malaysia will never be the same again.

Viva la Bachata!

Jaxen
'Salsa Daddy'

I am Sorry!

2009-02-24T00:22:00.002+08:00

Dear RI family members,

I would like to make an official apology to all of you for my behavior in the past few month. I was difficult to handle and was not helping out much with the negative attitude i was carrying. Recently my ego got the better of me as was mentioned by some that I dance only to please myself and the lady does not enjoys it.

Sincerest Apology to: -

Jackson : At times I am difficult and most times I'm just stubborn. I will consciously stop doing that or at best reduce it to a minimal. Yes the dark side has a hold on me but I have shook it off.

Joyce : Thank you for pointing out my flaws. I will be open to accept advise and not react negatively.

Adele and Miki : Thanks for being patience with me in class and willing to discuss what I've been doing wrong.

To the rest of the members of the RI family. I may seem mean at times during class but if it gets to you please do tell me so that I can change.

Asking forgiveness,
James

Bachata Bachata Bachata

2009-02-23T11:56:00.003+08:00

2009 is set to be a year of bachata for Rhythm Identity.

First off, the Bachata Revolution Workshop by Rhythm Identity in early Feb was a great success. My thanks to all those involved in making it a success and also to those who came and supported the workshop. I hoped everyone learned something useful that they can apply on the dance floor.

The bachata fusion styles will soon see a new intake in the weekly classes by Rhythm Identity. This will feature the Traditional Bachata, BachaZouk, the Inakichata and a bit of BachaTango in its syllabus.

Up in the pipeline is Rhythm Identity's international bachata debut at the Salsa Fiesta de Indonesia in Bali. So far, Rhythm Identity's bachata has made waves around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, soon it will hit out of Malaysia. The bachata performance at Bali will be a great success for Rhythm Identity as it will be performed in front of great bachateros such as Nestor Manuelian and Inaki Fernandez.

Rhythm Identity's bachata will also showcase in states like Johor in the upcoming Salsa Party in Johor organized by Linline. There are also talks of Rhythm Identity's bachata going to places like Penang.

In Kuantan, it has already started with Rhythm Identity's Kuantan lead instructor Joyce who will be conducting a workshop there end Feb.

We will also see Rhythm Identity's showcase at the Sydney Bachata Festival in April. Not only will it be a performance, but Rhythm Identity was also invited to teach at this prestigious international event! This will really be a huge success for Rhythm Identity's bachata!

Then we have the Malaysian Salsa Festival, this time in Cherating! Rhythm Identity will also be performing a bachata routine there and everyone is invited to join in the performance group!

After the MSF, well... its not yet confirmed but we may have an international instructor coming to town to teach everyone bachata! More on this soon... all from Rhythm Identity, your salsa and bachata dance school!

The only sad part is that Rhythm Identity was invited to compete in the Bachata Competition in Singapore but had to decline as we are preparing for the Salsa Competition in Malaysia. Both are due in the same period.

There will also be more bachata events happening soon and Rhythm Identity will be there supporting all bachata events strongly! We hope that all of you out there will do the same.

Viva la Bachata!

Jaxen
'Salsa Daddy'

Suspense...

2009-02-20T00:07:00.002+08:00

2009 seems set to be a year for bachata...

I can't contain the excitement I have inside of me on whats upcoming for Rhythm Identity and bachata in Malaysia.

But... some things are best kept secret until the right time.

Sorry, just to suspense everyone.

Hahaha!

More updates in this blog soon...

I am online!!!

2009-02-05T14:23:00.003+08:00

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and

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A great night out at Club 9 and The SiX Lounge

2009-02-04T17:37:00.004+08:00

Now Tuesdays has another place for us to dance and it was the greatest. As I was a clubber it was home to me. The lighting, the atmosphere, everything. IT'S A CLUB but it play Salsa n Bachata songs. OMG i can't believe myself last night, I did so many continuous combinations and made up some as I went that I just didn't know how tired I was until I woke up this morning.

Guys & Gals. Do come out and dance it's GREAT!!!! WOO HOO!!!! now can't wait to go Aliyaa after class..WAKAKAKAKAKA

Happy CNY

2009-01-28T11:50:00.003+08:00

Gong Xi Salsa and Salsa Fatt Choy!

What a salsauspicious event and here's wishing everyone a salsalicious and salsarific holiday! Get lots of fiery red ang pows and win lots of money and have a salsaful time with your family and friends!

Watch the lion bachata dance and hear the drum beats of the conga and when the clave strikes and the rhythm flows, go around and wish everyone a fantastic Lunar New Year! Wear your new dance shoes and new clothes and go house to house visiting and spread the love and joy of salsa and bachata! Make sure you get your ang pows as you go around.

As the firecrackers go off, don't forget to do the merengue to its beats (especially when the firecrackers go off right next to your feet). Make sure you Lou Sang but this time use salsa sauce and enjoy your sal(sa)mon fish with the crackers and vege and what not that people put in the Yee Sang.

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone!

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

Woo Hoo...We are going international

2009-01-22T10:01:00.006+08:00

Guys....Great news, remember those T Shirts that Jackson and the rest of us wear that has the Feel the Rhythm or the Bachata T Shirt...well I got orders from Singapore and US...wakakakaka...we are really going global with this. Would like to ask for your help in coming up with more attractive "Statements" "Taglines" or wordings that we can use. Check on Rhythm Identity's FB page for the pics of designs there that you can also place orders ;)
do let me know and do spread the word that we have T Shirts for sale ;)

OMG....Test!!!!

2009-01-15T11:55:00.002+08:00

Finally it's over but now starts the hard work to improve myself. All of you would say I will pass for sure but then I know myself. There are still thing i need to work on, timing, precision of the execution of my steps. There are times when I do wrong I don't know cos I've been so used to doing it the wrong way and to catch myself from not repeating that mistake is hard. It's not longer about just dancing nowadays, it's about dancing it well.

Great work to all of you RIers as you all did give you best to the test even though you are unsure about some of your steps.

Keep improving Keep Dancing Keep that Salsa and BachaZouk Passion burning strong.

Life is about expression and Dancing is the ultimate expression mankind has created. To Dance is to LIVE!!
Viva La Salsa!
Viva La BachaZouk!
Viva La Ritmo Indentitio!

The Salsa Sotong :P

Salsa Story

2009-01-15T09:57:00.003+08:00

2009 seems to be an eventful year... for me anyways... in salsa.

Going for Salsa Fiesta de Indonesia - Bali in March, Sydney Bachata Festival in April, maybe going to drop by the World Latin Salsa Congress in May and finally there's the Malaysian Salsa Festival now confirmed in July.

And I just heard there will be a salsa compettition this year in May. Cool!

Of course that means I have to send all my sheeps to the slaughter... hahaha! Well, its not that bad. RI's salsa students may be new but I believe they will have the same amount of passion and dedication, commitment and resolution, determination and diligence as their instructor had during his compettition and salsa-schooling days.

For those who recently started salsa or has been learning for less than a year and are worried about joining the compettition, let me tell you a story of how there is this one guy I know who had similar experience such as you all.

This guy practically attended only 3 months of salsa class, never went for social dance (coz he did not know where to go), stopped salsa for nearly 2 years, then went for a 5 days beginner workshop and he ended up 1st runner-up for a salsa compettition 1 month later. Believe me, his salsa experience is even less than any student in RI right now who has gone up to Beginners 3.

Now, that's beating the odds.

Then after less than 1 year (read the words properly... less than a year) later, this guy joined another salsa compettition. Being still quite new and not confident enough yet, he went for the Amateur category which was the lowest level in salsa. Somehow or rather, he got pushed up to the Open/Professional category which was the highest level in salsa.

Being the underdog and the most inexperienced of the competing lot, he worked hard and strived to excel. He sacrificed much for the art of salsa. Finally, after a gruelling (and I mean gruelling) period, he emerged victorious over his peers and won the championship title.

Seems like a story from a movie? Its real.

So if you think you don't stand a chance in the compettition, think again. But if you don't work hard for it, then you're right. You don't stand a chance. Nothing comes easy and nothing comes free. There's a price to pay for it. But what you get in return is worth more than anything you can ever imagine.

It all seems like a fairytale or some stories from a movie. Except that this time, you're the star.

Aim for the Oscar.

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

Resolutions and Achievements - James's

2009-01-02T19:57:00.002+08:00

Since Jackson has started might as well get the ball rolling. I have done tings I neer though of doing or seeing myself dared to do in such a short time frame. Hope I don't disappoint anyone too much especially myself. These are mainly RI oriented goals not a wholistic view of what I want to do or what I've really done. Some of you know my heart's desire and some of you might think you know. So let's just keep it that way. :D

Resolutions
To be able to be an additional Assistant Instructor to RI
To be able to execute more complicated steps when dancing Salsa
Be a good lead in both Salsa and BachaZouk
To be able to perform BachaZouk and Salsa
To find a dance partner for performances
Get more students to come for RI Classes
Get RI Juniors to dance on the dance floor and not just in class
To be able to launch a Salsa and Bachata Dance Competition (of course this is working with Jackson)
To bring RI BachaZouk style to a whole different level of Bachata in Malaysia
Want to learn Kizomba (to Jackson's dismay haha)

Achievements
Started learning Salsa (3 years too early)
Got a Face Talent job instead of a Voice Over Talent job (hahaha)
Got recognized as being a good Bachata dancer by some ladies and men (hehe. I'm not being ego ere)
Got more students coming to RI Classes (Yeah!! :D)
Became a Manager before 30 years old (Thanks SD hahaha bet you never knew this one. :D)
Was able to do some ladies steps on the dance floor and being led by LADIES, although dun really follow well :(

Hope you guys will continue to work on your 1 2 3 5 6 7 as it's fun and it's an expression of your inner feeling relecting the music that is being played. So what if your steps are wrong or that your timing is out. Keep dancing, you will get it sooner then you think.

"Dancing - The Vertical Expression of a Horizontal Desire"
James the Salsa Sotong (to some) the Bachata Lady Killer (to others) hahaha

Happy New Year to all may this year be filled with happiness abound and success a plentyfull.

Resolutions and Achievements

2009-01-02T17:18:00.002+08:00

Goodbye 2008...

Hello 2009!!!

Any new year's resolution? Ever pondered what are your achievements in 2008? Or what you plan to achieve in 2009?

For Rhythm Id babies, I hope you will all continue actively in the salsa scene and make it happening! Much can be done in 2009 and much of what should be done in 2008 was not done. Time to make what was not done into done and be done with it.

What are your 2008 achievements? What are your 2009 resolutions? Let's share them here with each other. And let each of us help each other achieve our resolutions together. Being humans, we are lazy and stubborn, etc... so we need friends and families to help us achieve our resolutions. So let's share...

Jaxen's 2008 Salsa Achievements
1) Creation of BachaZouk and learning the "Inakichata"
2) Performing at the Malaysian Salsa Festival
3) Forming of Salsa X Productions performance team
4) Launching of weekly bachata classes
5) Invitation to perform at the 2009 Sydney Bachata Festival
6) Performing at the Salsa Fiesta de Indonesia - Bali
7) Choreographed and performed 4 different salsa routines
8) Choreographed and performed to Te Quedas Te Vas (my fav bachata song)
9) Started the Rhythm Id Instructor Training
10) Finding my dance partner and "Treasurer"

Jaxen's 2009 Salsa Resolution
1) Actually perform at the 2009 Sydney Bachata Festival
2) Perform new routine at the Salsa Fiesta de Indonesia - Bali 2009
3) Perform at the Malaysian Salsa Festival (if so lucky to have it in 2009)
4) Debut performance of Salsa X Productions performance team
5) Intro BachaZouk to Malaysia and Rhythm Id as top bachata specialist
6) Rhythm Id roster of instructors to start teaching
7) Come up with Bachata Project Team
8) To get Rhythm Id students on the dance floor and start dancing every week
9) Pioneer Zouk into Malaysia
10) Upgrade Rhythm Id students into performers and asst instructors

Tough year ahead but impossible is nothing. Help me make it happen and let us all help you to make yours happen.

Viva la salsa!
Viva la bachata!!
Viva la Rhythm Identity!!!

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

Partayyyyyyyy!!!

2008-12-22T10:15:00.002+08:00

Thank you everyone who came for the Xmas Salsa/Bachata Party cummmm Iftitah's Birthday Bash!

It was a small party but I am sure the vodka and red wine kept all of us going strong throughout the night... it sure kept me going on... Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

We need to organize more outings and parties like this for us to mingle with each other and have fun. And I am sure everyone loved the games we played. Suck and Lick Game... Blind Bachata... hehehe!!! Was a blast and a real good time! And the food was good. And we had booze........

Can see that everyone danced without much restrictions that night. Nichata... Salsa Cruise Organizer Timothy commented your bachata was good... Ladies, what do you think? Boleh pakai ke?

There was a lot of good dancing... guys and ladies, guys and guys, ladies and guys, ladies as guys with guys as ladies... I do not think we would've done so when we're in a salsa club. But what is important is that we had fun.

Ladies, see how important to learn guy steps? Then you know how tough it is for us... and you can also dance without the guys coz there's only so many guys on the dance floor. Guys... I know you all loved to dance with each other. Hehehe!!! Especially the bachata...

Keep the flame burning everyone. Keep the passion alive. And keep the team spirit together.

Viva la Salsa!
Viva la Bachata!!
Viva la Wild Parties!!!

Yeah!

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

Salsa on the dance floor

2008-12-15T12:10:00.002+08:00

It's always a happy feeling when I see my students out on the dance floor dancing and having fun. That's the way it should be. Especially for the new ones. And I am especially happy that Bill went to ask a non-RI lady to dance. That takes guts... a lot of guts especially when you are new to the dance floor.

Most of the times, the guys are either too shy or too scared or too... whatever... to ask the girls to dance. This is always the case for those new to the dance floor. They always end up dancing (if they ever do at all) with the people from their same class.

And I am happy that some are already getting their dance shoes (a bit late but better than never) and are enthusiastic about wearing it on the dance floor. Miki, the shoes will make you a different woman. Now Nick won't want to dance with you anymore... hehehe!

Keep coming out to dance. It doesn't atter if you're just doing the basics the whole night. That's how you will learn. Get the timing right, don't think too much, don't hesitate... just dance.

When I first hit the clubs, all I could do was just 5 moves; simple turn (lady turn and then I turn la...), inside turn, cbl, cblt and waterfall. I could dance the whole night with just these moves. Sometimes, you don't need a lot of fancy moves. Well, sometimes you do but what's important is to learn how to dance right and enjoy the dance without thinking too much of the technical stuff. Enjoy the moment and just do it... right or wrong,

Its not What you do, its How you do it.

Jaxen
'Salsa Daddy'

My Passion (Part II)

2008-12-15T11:14:00.002+08:00

I gotta admit.. I CAN DANCE... hahaha.. :P Right, SIFU???!!

I was learning to dance all over again. Thanks to my Ballroom Latin background, I was able to pick up very fast. Salsa is very different from ballroom, as it doesn't require so much of 'disciplined action' (stiff body frame). Most importantly, you don't need a fixed/permanent partner to dance with, unless you are going for competition or doing performance. Social dancing la babe...

In Salsa, you will learn the basics. You need to master it well, because all the different moves and steps are branched out from it. Different styles and combinations. Its a free flow of movement and leading. And then, comes the 'stunts'. If you look at some of my pictures.. you can actually see my bruises.. Dance with more different partner because it really helps you to be more flexible and you can find your own style.

After few months since I started Salsa, I went for first Salsa-big-thing. The Malaysian Salsa Festival 2007. I was still very much a beginner but Sifu says, "Its time to go".. And he was right. It was the exposure and the experience that you need. It opens your eyes to "Salsa Around The World". Workshops were conducted by the best instructors from all over. So many things to learn in so little time. But it was worth it. Performance = AWESOME! and Sifu became Susanna Montero's promoter since then...

My Passion

2008-12-14T16:45:00.004+08:00

What else.. DANCING, of course! Well for me, it was Ballroom Latin that got me hooked on. It started in 2003, when my mom asked me to accompany her in a dance class. After a few classes, she dropped out. (Alamak, siapa teman aku?) But still I continued with the class. During that time, I was doing it for fun and for exercise purpose. Hey, you really sweat when the music gets faster… heheh..

There I met my new best friend, Cindy. Classes seem much more fun and interesting when you have friends who share the same enthusiasm. We got so focused and serious about it, that we spent most of our after-work hours at the studio. Practicing and perfecting our skills. Before we realized it, we have been doing this for 3 years. Wow, how time flies… (never admit you’re getting older, remember!)

I’ve never got the chance to go further into latin dancing, as I need to get a permanent dance partner to practice a lot to become very compatible. Be it for examination or competitions. It’s not easy to find one in a small town like Kuantan. The only place you can find men who loves dancing so much was in that studio only. And most (all) of them were old men. (ooppsss..!) It was in my 3rd year that I almost lost hope and wanting to give up on this little hobby of mine. It was so hard to it let go when suddenly, something new has come to town.

It was early 2007, Rhythm Identity KL, came to Kuantan to conduct a ‘Beginner Salsa Workshop’. I met the founders, Jackson and Sanddie. I began to develop new love. Not at the founders but the dance! SALSA…. It was a 2-day workshop that covers the basics, some combination, and 2 new dance, Bachata and Merengue. There was about 6 participants, with 5 girls and 1 guy (huh.. lucky him) All that, brings a new level of latin dancing for me. My exposure to the ‘real’ world of latin dancing.

Olivia, one of the participants of the workshop, also got hooked on to Salsa. Soon, we (Cindy, Olivia and me), were on the dance floor in Salsa Havana. THE PLACE TO BE if you wanna learn salsa.. We spent 2 nights in Federal Hotel, and it was INCREDIBLE. We got our hearts drawn further into it. We were so shy but it didn’t stopped us from having great time on the dance floor. The moment you see the instructors doing their moves… wow… you help falling deeply in love with the dance.

That night we saw something. A dance which we, Kuantanese, always feel uncomfortable and awkward about. It was Bachata. There was this malay girl, wearing her White short pants, and a sleeveless White blouse, dancing Bachata. Wah…………. Our eyes were stuck on her while she did her hip. Jaws hanging almost touching the floor, salivas dripping already.. See la… it happens to girls also… hahah.. I felt my feet pulling me to the dancefloor, wanting to do THAT!! But I don’t know how… :( but she was damn good. I WANNA LEARN THAT!!!

Another dancing fun night...

2008-12-14T16:03:00.002+08:00

This time it's about how much fun I'm now having when I dance. Finally made up my mind to just do it...enjoy the dance enjoy the music enjoy the dancing partner n b sensual also... ;) i finally gave up on the notion to b overly conscious of my movement n worry about if the girl can feel my lead...cos i finally got the frame bit in now. it's so much the easier to do n i did SHINE TWO WOO HOO hahahaha n some rojak shine steps...hahahaha...so much fun last nite can't stop shouting about it
now with the new heels i feel good on the footwork...now need to practice even more on the steps so i'm get as light as a feather when i move can't wait to get there...guys n girls v must not stress ourselves when we dance...b free feel free to d owatever s long s u enjoy it
great to see adelle out but too bad v keep getting into the same issue with the younger ones...send them home so early that dey get into trouble...sigh..must b more sensative to that d...shud v hav somekind of social nite in the studio on friday also? hehe

Why can't I dance properly at times

2008-12-08T11:03:00.002+08:00

I have this problem, whenever I dance with someone more professional I get intimidated. I begin to be oversensitive to my timing and my signals and leads, that I end up messing up the dance even more and not allowing both parties to enjoy the dance. But when I dance with a lady who's an international world renowned dancer (I think) I was comfortable I was not fearful I just danced.
Maybe it was Bachata rather then Salsa, as I m more confident when it comes to dancing Bachata. There are some steps that I never used at all on the dance floor except for certain partners as not all my dancing partners knows all the lil cheecky moves I have learnt. I think it's time to stop choosing partners and just dance.

James T K Khoo
"Dancing - The Vertical Expression of a Horizontal Desire."

Bachata is LIFE!

2008-12-04T14:16:00.003+08:00

I was on facebook and saw an email from Bachateroes group and went on to their site to read up on their write ups. It suddenly came to mine why I really didn't stop dancing.

Dancing to me is about expressing the emotions of the song into your dance moves, it's about creative freedom and a hell may care attitude to what others may think of you when you dance. It's about two persons moving as one, to feel the music as one and not to do all the fancy and funky movements that defeats the purpose of enjoying the dance. I've again been told off by one of my dance partners, "Just relax, enjoy the dance, don't worry about your steps." I was in the mind set of getting all my leads and signals to be correct and timely. I just WORRY too much at times when I dance.

But back to Bachata is LIFE! The post gave me more inspiration to continue doing what I've been doing thus far, which is to DANCE! One other dance partner told me, "You don't need to do any fancy moves, just the basic steps is enough." Now after saying that I would like to make a quote "When two bodies joins in unison in a dance. Let them enjoy the beauty of that union through the ecstasy of the dance." Now this doesn't sound like what I wanted to type cos I lost the thought process just now.

What I'd like to say to all my younger brothers and sisters is this. Do not worry about stepping out of timing and looking odd or not knowing your steps. Just keep on doing it, keep on dancing (but not in class only), come out and dance with people who are not from your school so that you can learn how other people express themselves through music.

I've been dubbed Bachata lady killer by one of my dance partner, I can agree with that already, cos whenever I dance I want to feel the music and express that in my movements, I want to make the lady shine. She is the centerpiece of my work of art, she is the focus of the masterpiece. She is EVERYTHING!

Dance my friends...dance...for dancing is life!

"When you dance, the lady is the subject of the dance. You are to compliment her."
"Dancing - it’s the vertical expression of a horizontal desire”

James T K Khoo

Genesis Part 4: BachaZouk

2008-12-02T14:06:00.002+08:00

Bachata... I used to suck at bachata!

I really do. I was so bad that my dance partner Michelle (the one I won the compettition with in 2005) actually complained to me about my bachata.

Ouch!

The first time I saw bachata was in QBa, Westin Hotel. I was wondering what kind of salsa dance is this whereby the hips moved like that and the guy was dancing so near to the girl and they weren't stepping on each other's feet! Amazing!

I learned much of it on the floor and I learn through much trial and error before I became... ok... just ok... no more... just ok.

So how did BachaZouk came about?

Well, I started to grow more passionate about bachata when I got better with it. The songs, the mood it sets me in, the movements, the essence of it... bachata felt... right.

Now, most people do bachata by "crab walking" left to right but because I was used to the circular motion on my salsa dance I actually incorporated the same movement into my bachata and the bachata I danced involved much circular motion and walking about which made it more interesting and beautiful to both watch and dance.

I learned about the syncronization of body movement and how to move together with a partner; I had spent much time learning about bachata and how was it supposed to be. I did my research and all the homework I needed and I was on high on bachata.

Out of Malaysia, many had commented that my bachata was very sensual and since then I had pursued bachata to greater heights. Initially, I had dubbed it Bachata Sensual. Most Malaysians do not dance bachata so sensually and most do not know how. Its very common to do the open position and walking left to right. A minority of Malaysians actually did the bachata name proud but too few to make Malaysia a strong name in bachata.

It wasn't until I met Nestor Manuelian from Modus Vivendi Salsa Productions, Australia that I learned about Zouk and how much Zouk and bachata could blend into each other. I studied much of it and Nestor had guided me much of the way into paving the road to create what I coin as the BachaZouk style bachata.

When Inaki Fernandez came to Malaysia, his bachata style (my students fondly call it Inakichata) was an eye opener to me and I soon incorporated the entire thing into BachaZouk. But at the end of the day, it was still Nestor who had influenced my bachata growth and Rhythm Identity now has their own signature style of bachata which they can proudly dance to and enjoy with.

BachaZouk?

You gotta see it to know it.
You gotta feel it to know it.
You gotta dance to it to be it!

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

Genesis Part 3: RI's Salsa Style

2008-12-01T16:21:00.006+08:00

When I started teaching salsa, I was very confused with the salsa style I was using. I thought I was dancing Cuban Style. Then again, I was not. I wasn't exactly LA Style either.

For those of you who are confused, salsa has many variations of styles. It'll take me one whole article to write about the styles so I won't eleborate it here. It'll probably be in another article and I might just rip it off someone's website and post it here... hehehe!

To make it simple, the few main styles that I am aware of are Cuban, LA, New York and Columbian. There's also the Puerto Rican Style (and maybe some other style I've not heard of) but I seriously have no idea how it looks like.

Now, back to my story... I thought I was doing Cuban Style coz I know I wasn't doing LA Style. Even the LA Style salseras thought I was doing Cuban Style. Coz I danced in a circular pattern instead of the LA Style linear pattern. So I thought I was Cuban.

Or so I thought...

It wasn't until I met Cynthia Hung from Taiwan that I realized what was Cuban Style (the smart thing I could've done was go to YouTube and find out... which I didn't...) and that my style certainly wasn't Cuban Style at all. It was LA Style... but danced in a circular fashion instead of a liner one. Imagine my shock and utter disbelief!

Cynthia was an instructor from Taiwan who specializes in Cuban Style. She now resides in Australia. She had spent a lot of time in Cuba to understand the Cuban Style and she showed me the world of the Cuban dancers. And so I went and learnt the Cuban Style from the guidance she gave me.

Not long after that, I chanced upon the opportunity to learn from Jaime Jesus from Latin Dance Australia. Jaime Jesus and the LDA Style was very famous for its smooth lead/follow technique and possess a strong foundation in building one's salsa knowledge and skill. He showed me the way he taught, the styles and the basic techniques used that made him such a wonderful lead on the dance floor. I also found out that you can do the LA Style in a linear or circular fashion. Its still LA Style but the majority of the salsa community would do LA Style in a linear fashion.

Imagine an instructor taking BASIC BEGINNERS lesson all over again but I realized how important it was to sometimes go back to basics and re-learn what we thought we knew but we didn't know.

Believe me, it was worth it. My lead has never been more smooth today... and many had commented that I was a good lead on the dance floor even before I learnt from Jaime Jesus. Imagine the lead now that I have learnt from him!

All these went into Rhythm Identity's salsa syllabus.

I had consulted Jaime Jesus on his syllabus and he advised me on quite a few things which I now have in Rhythm Identity's syllabus. So started my LA Style journey...

After learning from Jaime, I went on to further my LA Style skills with none other than Francisco Vasquez of Los Rumberos. He was one of the pioneer batch of people that made LA Style famous around the globe. Who else better to learn about LA Style other than the ones that made it big?

Then I came upon Jaime's twin brother, Nestor Manuelian. Now, this is the man that had really changed my salsa life... and bachata life!

He taught me the basic stuff again, a second chapter following up from where Jaime Jesus left off. I knew my basics well but what he taught me made me realize there was still much to learn. And so I learn.

At this point onwards, much of my salsa style and knowledge had come from Australia. My students at one point even said it was Malaysia's "Aussie Style Salsa". To my knowledge, Aussie Style Salsa was made famous by Oliver Pineda of Latin Motion Australia; multiple World Salsa Champion title holder. Of course, the salsa style taught at Rhythm Identity isn't Aussie Style Salsa but it definately takes much of its influence from Australia.

Now, if you're a Rhythm Identity salsa student and you're wondering what kind of salsa style you're learning; its LA Style with a little dash of circular motion thrown in. Its also part Aussie Style coz that's where I got the influence from that shaped my current salsa style.

Let's just call it... the Malaysian "Aussie Style" Salsa!

Feel the Rhythm

Feel the Passion

Jaxen

"Salsa Daddy"

Performance Cancellation

2008-11-30T02:24:00.002+08:00

Its 2.30am as I am typing this... can see that I have some explanations I need to give to my students. I was supposed to perform and I know a lot of my students are very excited to see the debut of Salsa X Productions featuring Rhythm Identity Salsa and Bachata Dance School and New Star Studio doing the new bachata style coined as BachaZouk!

However, everyone will be quite disappointed as we will not be performing. My sincerest apologies.

I had a very late meeting with the organizers of the event I am supposed to perform for. They informed me that one of the main participant of the event threatened to pull out if we did our performance on Sunday. Reason being that this particular person had some issues with the management of his studio and blames me for his current plight. So I told the management that to make life easier for everyone, Salsa X Productions will pull out of the event so the management of this event does not need to exercise the rights of the contract against this particular person.

Now, allow me to set the facts straight.

Let's start with some slight history.

In Feb 2008, I took over management of a studio where there was this guy who conducted his dance classes there. Now, he wasn't very happy that I took over the studio as I was once his student. He always thought... believed... that I will kick him out of the studio and take over his classes, even though I had told him I had no intention of doing so.

There was much commotion from his side until I decided not to meddle in the management of the studio beginning mid 2008.

Sometime mid Nov 2008, I got a call from my dance studio partner that she had evicted him out of the studio due to rental issues. When I had found out about it, it was probably around 2 weeks after she had evicted him.

Now, I stress this fact... I was not involved in his eviction nor was I aware of his eviction at the time it happened. However, in his mind it was I who evicted him. And all of his students who are my friends had no guts to even call me and ask me what happened. Instantly they came to a decision that it was I who had evicted him when the truth was no where near that.

So now, I write this blog to explain to my students why the performance could not go on. I have nothing to hide especially when its the truth. I will not give some other false excuses or sugar coat everything and I will be frank and honest.

Now, don't look at this negatively... Salsa X Productions has already performed on Saturday afternoon and showed everyone the BachaZouk. It was good enough. And this also tells us all... that every student of Rhythm Identity... past, present and future... that you need to persevere and prove to yourself that you can be the best there is in salsa and bachata, that we need to stick together no matter the cost and help each other and ride through the tough times. We need to grow together so that one day we will not be that easily preyed on by people who are envious and fearful of us. Let us shine...

Feel the Rhythm
Feel the Passion

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

p.s. If you are a logical person, tell me this: If I owned a studio and I wanted to evict a guy who has no contract whatsoever with the studio, do I need to wait nearly 1 year to do so? From Feb until Nov... do I need to wait so long? If you're a reasonable person, you can see the logic behind this... I guess some people are illogical and unreasonable and cannot see the facts for what they are.

Why I started dancing.

2008-11-29T01:23:00.002+08:00

I've always like to dance, when I was younger I used to do A Go Go and twist at home when I hear those music played on radio. Just there dancing by myself or with my sister. Later on in Church, I was called into plays, musicals and much more for Sunday School, Youth and Christmas Caroling. There was when I learn choreographed dance and stage shows.

There were more things that I did when I was more younger; singing, stage shows/performance, Choir and more. But this is about dancing. I would say I started dancing when I finally went out clubbing, RnB, Hip Hop and the rest. It started off as a solo dance, which was mainly bobbing to the beat or just swaying or stepping to the beat and not much more. But I always looked around and see what others are doing and then I started dancing and getting friends to dance with me.

Some friends told me to join a dance school as they need more men, or more correctly, THEY NEED MEN and since I was still single what's there too loose. I looked around, which mainly entails the newspaper and just casual asking around where and how much. But I took no action to get myself into dancing, other then Capoeira, which I only did for a month but stopped as I was not in any shape for that kind of carbio workout.

It was during a Full Moon Party when it hit me, that I liked to dance with someone rather then all by myself as there is somewhat of a courtship or 'play' going on. One of the girls were dancing in front of the DJ console and there was a whole big open space around her and there was no one dancing with her at all. I just stepped up behind her and started to 'move it'. I would say that I was envy of all the guys there cos we really did pull it off and I felt totally excited with the whole dancing with a partner thing.

After the party I met Joyce and remembered about Jackson who was teaches Salsa. Joyce told me that Jackson had a Free Trial Class and encouraged me to join in since I have an interest in dancing. I went for the trail class and later signed up for a workshop, and no it's was not a Salsa workshop, it was Bachata. That was my first official dance class that I attended, it was a whole Saturday workshop that took me from Beginner to Advance Bachata, 3 different levels and to remind you that was my first and only official dance class.

Later on I signed up for Salsa and then started my Salsa Addict life as most of you know it now.

Why I started dancing? It's just because I like to dance, it is an avenue for me to express myself as well as to release myself. I have not regretted the day when I started Salsa and Bachata, but there were time when I so wished I've'd stopped instead. But I still move on cos basically I like to dance.

Genesis Part 2: Rhythm Id Kuantan

2008-11-28T12:05:00.000+08:00

When I did my first workshop in Kuantan, I met this lady named Joyce. Back then, I didn’t expect her to be who she is today in the Rhythm Identity family. It was a small workshop to introduce salsa, bachata and merengue to Kuantan.

Joyce started to come to down to KL with another of the workshop participant, Olivia for weekend salsa. And they came quite often. They were so hooked onto salsa. Imagine travelling more than 200km just to salsa for the weekend!

I cannot remember exactly how it happened but Joyce called me one day and expressed an interest to bring salsa to Kuantan on a permanent basis. We talked and I told her to come down and learn more about salsa and what is required to teach. She came and her lessons started. From there, she slowly started salsa in Kuantan and until today, she is still running her weekly classes. It has now branched off to Kemaman!

Who’d ever imagine an east coast state having salsa there?

Joyce’s passion for salsa even brought her to Australia; to the land that influenced Rhythm Identity’s growth and direction, where she learned from the best Australia had to offer. Her background in Latin and Belly Dancing had helped her salsa growth and she soon found herself performing on international stages.

The students from Kuantan, though small in number, possess a form of passion and dedication to salsa which I find many city people lack. They may not be as gung ho as the city people but their dedication to the dance form known as salsa is just as strong as anyone else.

The east coast region of Malaysia is a tough place to start salsa; mainly due to the conservatism and some say the lack of young blood there. Despite these issues, the Kuantan salseros has certainly proven that salsa can thrive in any place and with anyone. And now with Kemaman to add to the list, certainly it has proven that salsa has an appeal wider than anyone ever expected.

Care to salsa?

Jaxen
“Salsa Daddy”

Genesis Part 1: Birth of Rhythm Identity

2008-11-27T17:57:00.009+08:00

Since this is the first time I am blogging, I feel compelled to write about the history of Rhythm Identity. Now, Rhythm Identity is new and young and there really isn’t much history to it but I am hoping whatever story that lies in here will inspire future salseros and bachateros to pursue their dreams and work together towards a better salsa and bachata scene in Malaysia and improve themselves by maintaining an open mindset.

Rhythm Identity started sometime 4th quarter 2006. I was semi-retired, or you could say I was not active in the salsa scene anymore. After a glorious 2005 which was a year of victory, I had slowed down all salsa activities. Until I went for the 1st Malaysian International Salsa Festival in Cherating did the fire in my swell up to a supernova level.

It was by luck then that my salsa sister, Sanddie (we tell people we’re really brother and sister even though we don’t look alike and people really believe us) came to me as there was a studio looking for salsa instructors in TTDI and that person approached us. So I arranged with that person to meet the studio principal. Joanne of Joyclub Dance Academy.

From there on, Rhythm Identity started. Sanddie and I started our first class there and our first batch of students was a nice group of 10 students. They basically came from a friend of mine, Vanessa who worked for Nestle. She brought her friends and they brought their own friends and the class started then.

Sanddie would teach the ladies aspect of salsa and I would run the men’s department. Things were working well, or as well as can be. We had some discussions… arguments is more like it, about the syllabus and how things are to be done but all was well.

It was hard to grow at that time; the student level never exceeded 15 students in total. We were struggling for quite a while. At one point, a group class consisted only of 2 students!!! It was more of a private class then!

But we never gave up. Even when total student headcount dropped to less than 10, we persevered. We kept each other motivated and we worked on routines for performances and kept coming up with ideas on how to market our salsa classes. In times like these, we needed to keep each other motivated and keep each other going strong.

I was very thankful to a few students who kept on staying with us even though their class shrunk to about 3 students. It was their faith in us that kept us going.

I knew what I learned from my previous few instructors was not enough and I needed more to grow Rhythm Identity. I was following too much of the style and the way I did salsa which was influenced from my few previous instructors.

I then had the opportunity to take up lesson from Jaime Jesus from Latin Dance Australia who was one of Australia’s top salsa instructors. I asked him about how he conducted his classes and what are the things he did that made LDA so successful. LDA is famous for their strong and smooth lead/follow techniques as well as in the execution of moves and how they teach the breakdown of salsa moves.

I brought whatever I could learn and incorporated it into Rhythm Identity’s syllabus. The classes grew from there. Things got better when I went to learn from one of the pioneers of LA Style salsa; Francisco Vasques of Los Rumberos and all these went into Rhythm Identity and to the students.

About 1 year after I started teaching, Rhythm Identity finally stabilized and the student base grew. I felt that everything I had done and how my sister and I persevered through the hard times was all worth it. The journey was indeed a priceless one.

Sanddie is no longer active in Rhythm Identity classes and activities and I am left with just me and my precious “children” who are the reasons why I keep on going and going even though things are down. Probably that’s why they call me “Salsa Daddy” as I treat my students like my children. They are my salsa children.

And from the salsa children came the bachata children. I must say that the growth of my bachata and to the creation of my own style of bachata which I coined as BachaZouk is contributed mainly to Nestor Manuelian of Modus Vivendi Salsa Productions, Australia. He had taught and guided my bachata development (and also on salsa) until I reached a stage whereby I was confident to accept Nestor’s invitation to perform at the Sydney Bachata Festival. The other contributing factor, though to a lesser degree was from Inaki Fernandez; dubbed UK’s Bachata King, who had showed me a whole new world of bachata style.

Bachata is no longer about walking like a crab from left to right which is what most people do in Malaysia. It is a lot more than that. Many ladies feel they don’t have to take bachata classes as they only “follow” but now things are different. There’s a lot for ladies to learn. Believe me. A lot.
Bachata has reached a new level and a whole different world of fun. Rhythm Identity is now moving foward with its bachata classes… the BachaZouk!

Now, 2 years after the formation of Rhythm Identity, things are looking much better. I am proud to have my salsa children with me and because of them, I will never give up salsa… nor bachata!

Viva La Salsa!
Viva La Bachata!!
Viva La Rhythm Identity!!!

Jaxen
“Salsa Daddy”

Rhythm Identity's Blog

2008-11-27T17:55:00.001+08:00

When my students asked me to open a blog, the first thing that came to my mind was “What to blog about?”

Now that Rhythm Identity’s blog is officially up, I have to think about what to blog. As this is Rhythm Identity’s blog, I hereby invite all Rhythm Identity students and friends to come in and blog about their salsa and bachata experience, how and why did they get into this saucy dance style and how has it changed their lives.

Anything on salsa and bachata is welcomed here.

Feel the Rhythm. Feel the Passion.

Jaxen
"Salsa Daddy"

Bachata - What it is?

2008-11-25T13:03:00.003+08:00

To make things simple and not go into a historical thesis, Bachata songs are mainly categorized into two: - When you fall INTO Love and When you fall OUT of Love.

Personally I feel that the songs are more expressive and there's more 'feel' to it. The steps are simple 'crab walking' from left to right and back again, with simple turns and loads of hips movements. I prefer the Bachazouk style that we are currently learning as the lead is much easier when you are using the very very very close body position, cos you lead with your WHOLE BODY rather then just your hands.

This is just a test post cos I'm just too lazy n hungry to type a proper write up :þ