My crazy two weeks : Week Two

Yep, you can guess what the second week was like.

More performing! :D my silent violin is definitely getting lots of attention these few weeks.

So I performed for the Beerlympics 3.0 Oktoberfest at Ecoba Restaurant & Bar together with DJ NYL and DJ High Tech.

As you can tell, this was the poster and my pic is on top, second from the right next to the Djs.. and the little bull. Hehe

I had played a whole set of House music with the Djs and I enjoyed myself as I got to immerse myself in a whole different genre and style than I usually go for, when performing.

 Usually I would play my own repertoires, but that night, it was all about being creative and setting the mood, like how House music is supposed to be.

DJ NYL and DJ High Tech who did a fabulous job behind the decks and were really fun to work with. :)

All music aside, there were other entertainment as well. Just like this mechanical bull, which is the first I've actually seen in front of me. I so wanted to ride on it! But had no time, cos I had to perform.

Oh well. I always imagined how one can be glamorous and riding the mechanical bull like Cameron Diaz did in Charlie's Angels : Full Throttle.

I guess it is not impossible... well.. until I saw this one guy who was being flung around like a rag doll. Heh. He looked like he had fun though.

There was like a mini bazaar going on as well. All the random indie-ish stuff were on sale. Meme t-shirts, hippie accessories, phone covers, hand-me-down dresses, pre-loved stuff, etc.

 I was so drawn to the accessories.. especially cos they looked like rainbows! Zomg, all the color. 

It was a no brainer that I made an impulsive purchase on one of those colourful beaded bracelets.. the one i was trying on in the picture. Till today, I'm happily wearing it! 

Especially when I'm wearing black or white almost all the time. <3

What did I tell you about random? They had Henna tattoos there too. Pretty cool, but I had not enough time for Henna. :(

And my Saturday night was a wrap after the set was over. Surprisingly bumped into some dance kaki's who were there to drink too. Pleasant surprise. :)

Hon Kitt, who came to support me and Nick who took all the pics of me. So blessed to have supportive friends like them. 

On a vain note, I was quite pleased with my makeup that night, although I ditched the smokey eyes for another day. I went for blue hues and a strong eyeliner instead. I love it! And it is photo friendly!

Shall do it again!

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Backtrack to the same Saturday afternoon. I had gone for a lifts and tricks workshop at SalsaJay with some friends. Definitely learnt some new cool and doable stuff there. 

Best part : no accidents as all the stunts were taught with the correct techniques. Phewwie.

Dancers doing some stretching and warming up before the workshop.

We learnt this stunt called the Shoulder Bird. Which was surprisingly easy. I went to a stunts workshop before, and there was a varation of this stunt that was taught, but it was almost impossible to achieve it! I was quite pleased when I was able to execute it this round. 

With the right technique, I used even lesser effort to "fly without wings"!  Feels awesome to be on top the guy's shoulder, balancing using the core muscles. Goal achieved! :D

All of us who attended the workshop. I was thrilled to see Ben & Kat there was well!

After the workshop, it was showtime at Ecoba.

That pretty much summed up my weekend, Saturday being the highlight of it all, besides all the mad planning, practice and rehearsals.

A mad Saturday indeed but well spent!

xxx 

Ashley Mah

My crazy two weeks : Week One

It's been the craziest two weeks ever.. and I loved it!
It all started on Thursday when I performed for the Hitachi eBworx Launch Luncheon at Hilton Hotel, KL Sentral.

Since it was a luncheon, I was there at the venue by 930 am for soundcheck and the works.
Feels a bit lulu to be all dressed up and full hair & makeup at such an ungodly hour. I admit, I was pretty sleepy and tired but meh, the vainpot in me was wide awake and enjoying the attention she got.

 Me & my babe Choulyin. And she was in charge of me! Her company is behind the entire event and she got me to perform for the event! :)

The venue of the luncheon was so grandly decorated. *jelly*
I love the centerpiece of the tables! It's somewhat simple, but leaves such an impact. Genius, indeed.
I'm glad the performance went quite well as I got to walk around while playing. The event was a success too.

Moving on...
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DAY TWO :  Daniel and I had a salsa performance at Taylors Lakeside campus for the Expressions event. Charms was our personal coach, grilling our asses every night at the studio for practice until 1am from Monday right up till the day of performance itself!

Thinking it was just a performance, and not a competition like the Malaysian Latin Dance Championships, I thought it miiiiight be a lil less hectic.

Man I was wrong. 

Sure, the practices are definitely more productive thanks to Charms but the stress level was still as high, if not, worse! Nonetheless, we managed to make it and put on an awesome performance. Daniel and I enjoyed the spotlight as we gave our best on the stage.

Daniel, myself, Kat and Ben! Kat and Ben put on an awesome performance as well, and Kat's costume was just stunning. 

I decided to go black this time because I wanted another costume. So.. I DIY-ed this one again. It was so super rewarding seeing the shine of my pretty crystals on the dress especially when the lights hit. I got bought 1440 pieces of white crystals and stuck all of them, one by one on the costume! Yeah at one point, I had a headache.

My instagram of the finishing product the night before the performance. 

Whee ~

Shaun, one of my friends who came to show some love and support. :)

World's best coach/ass-kicker! Charms. <3

Kim, who wore heels and was towering over her older sis. -_-

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Okay, next. Friday was the salsa performance night.
 Saturday night was The Gig at Paradox Cafe, Bandar Utama!

Not a dancer that night but a violinist. Hehe.
Paradox Cafe was a little hard to find, I admit, but it's a cozy little place with quite good food.

Melvin Chan & I

Man of the hour, Darren Teh from An Honest Mistake

An Honest Mistake's Leonard Chua

Dustyhawk and I

Alloysious the beatboxer and myself.

 That night was pretty damn awesome. Not only did I make a new friend, I also got a new performance partner! The feeling is cannot be explained! We were introduced by my uncle, who is also a performer, after 30 mins of chatting, we started to try to jam together. We clicked so well, and before we knew it, we were impromptu-ing onstage after my set. Hip hop violin with the beatboxer. I definitely felt a rush of excitement! Plus.. we are working together at the moment for more performances to come. :)

There were a string of accoustic performances that night, including Juliets of Eden. Some of them were pretty good and I enjoyed the night making new friends. It was one of those laid-back nights with good music.. the only heart attack I had was having to go to Paradox Cafe after getting confused with the actual venue and leaving the GPS in my mom's car. Thank goodness Dustyhawk came to the rescue and took me there. Phew.

That makes one of the two crazy weeks I had. I even had a mini breakdown at the gym on Friday from all the pressure. But hey, I got out of it just fine. All I had to do was keep calm and look pretty, I guess...(vain,much?)

xxx 

Ashley Mah

Upcoming Performances

It's been a busy week for me!

Meetings after meetings, gym visits, coffees and non stop practicing. It gets more exciting this coming week because I will be performing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (20th, 21st and 22nd Sept)! I am gonna write about the 3 separate events in different colors so there shall be no confusion.

 On the 20th of September, I will be performing violin for a luncheon held in the city, which is a private event. 

On the 21st of September, I will be performing salsa dance again for Taylor's University's Expressions - Moving Souls In Symphony. This event is being held by the Taylor's Symphony Orchestra, which invited the dance club to perform as well. Hence, there will be some visual entertainment for ya'll too! 

For those who saw me n my partner compete for Malaysian Latin Dance Championships 2012, we're doing it again! But to a whole different song, revamped routine, and definitely in different costumes! :) My costume is still in the process of being completed (shredded a dress to make it..heh). So do come by and watch us perform again! <3

Date/Time :  21 Sept 2012, Friday, 8pm

Venue : The Grand Hall, Taylors University Lakeside

It's RM 20 for a normal ticket and RM40 for a VIP ticket.

To find out more , here's the link : http://www.facebook.com/events/336236373129041/

Lastly, I have one more violin performance happening on the 22nd of September.

I will be performing for "RAWR!!! The Gig Goes To Paradox". 

Yup. comes with a poster of a cute dinosaur. 

It's a public performance at Paradox Art Cafe, at Bandar Utama.

Starts from 8pm till late and entry is free of charge!

For more information, head on over to the Facebook events page : http://www.facebook.com/events/385212464881207/

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That would take up almost the whole of my weekend!

I'll be playing on my violin again and dancing, along with other cool performances you could catch! 

Don't forget to say hi if you do drop by. :)

xxx

 Ashley Mah

Monologue : Wednesday night is like Friday night's little sister.

What a title right?

Yes, I love my Wednesday nights as much as Friday nights now! I've been dancing on Wednesday nights with the Salsa gang at Shivs Grill and Bar, at Bangsar.

Before I started salsa classes, I have been brought to social dance. That was when I got my first taste of the salsa dance scene.

My first thoughts were, "Hey, I did not know this sorta thing existed!" As I saw dancers filled the floor of what was supposed to be a restaurant dining area. I was immediately captured by the ambiance and most importantly, the music surrounding the place.

Blaring trumpets and catchy beats filled the room as I watched men spinning their women and dipping them. It was all so beautiful. But it was also scary for me as it was my VERY first time dancing with people I don't know and the worst part was I knew nuts about salsa at that time! Then again, the people were helpful and patient with me, thus I had a good time.

I've been going social dancing for about 5 months now. And whenever I'm having a bad week or upset, this usually remedies my mood. 

Plus, it's always fun to hang out with the dance buds!

Our Malaysian Bachata Champion, Bani, who lifted me a few inches off the ground with only one arm. XD

And Charms who made my dance experience all the more fun! This was taken after we had 2 to 3 hours of dancing, and still posing for a photo despite being all sweaty and disgusting. Hehe.

Interested to see what social salsa dancing is all about? Feel free to drop by at Shivs Grill and Bar on Wednesday and Monday nights! I promise, you'd feel like you're in a whole other world when you enter the bar. At least, that's how I feel. ;)

Venue : No 64 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur.

Other than that, I've been busy performing for Yamaha's Woodwind and Brass Fair that took place at Tropicana City Mall last last weekend. It was on for 2 days and I had played on both days, on my electric violin. :)

In other news, I've been seeing a really good chiropractor at The Spinal Joint, at the 10th floor of Empire Shopping Gallery for my silly knees. It appears that I have mild Scoliosis hence affecting my knees some way or another. I've gone for a few checkups and treatments.

 Now, I'm happy to say that I've gone without my braces for 7 days and feeling fine, my knees have seemed to gained back their strength, and I no longer have to walk like a robot. The feeling is awesome. Even my chiropractor is pleased with my progress. Yay! I hope to recover fully soon!

I've also just performed for Malaysia's Hottest Blogger's 2nd Anniversary that took place last Saturday. 

Stay tuned for more updates!!

xxx 

Ashley Mah

6 dancers to invade Genting

So the pre-weekend was spent with my 5 dancer buddies at Genting Highlands.

Woke up early on a Thursday morning, headed over to my dance partner's place and started preparing lunch before the drive up. Best Bolognese & flour-less chocolate cake ever made. Haha! Imagine cooking with your dance partner. Everything moves twice the speed! 

After lunch, we drove up to Genting. We arrived pretty late in the afternoon. So after checking into our apartment, which was Ria Apartments (super scary, I'll talk about that later), we headed to the theme park. We only had about 2 hours to go on as many rides as we could. The lack of time didn't really matter to us, we had so much fun anyway.

Myself & Charmaine 

Our lovebirds David & Brenda

I thought we were the rowdiest, noisiest, most annoying bunch of 6 people in the whole of Genting that day! Haha! We sung songs like Jason Mraz's I'm Yours and Can't Take My Eyes Off You on the Corkscrew ride, which eventually ended up in shrieking the lyrics because of the adrenaline rush. Tapping and clapping salsa beats while waiting for the ride to start, yelling, laughing, screaming, you name it.

Better yet, singing Carly Rae Jepson's "Call Me Maybe" alternating verses on the Pirate Ship Ride! With 3 girls on the left side of the ship and 3 boys on the right side,

Girls : "Hey, I just met you"

Boys : "And this is crazy"
Girls : "So here's my number"
Boys : "So call me maybe!"

Yeah throughout almost the whole ride. The boys ended up singing some chinese song anyway. People in the front, I'm so sorry for the noise!

After the theme park, we just walked around aimlessly, chilling and talking. It was so much fun to hang out with these guys. And it was definitely a no-brainer when we started talking about dance, because that's what brought us all together.

Eventually, we found ourselves dancing in the park until the sun set.

My famous partner. My hair matches the red of his T-shirt. This is why we're partners. Haha

David says I've got "Zouk hair". He's an awesome Zouk dancer, with Brenda, who's his Zouk dance partner too.

Brenda showing off her Zouk hair. Get it now?

 Zouk dance has alot of hair flinging, to emphasis movement. I think Zouk's a beautiful dance, but I suck at it.

Charmaine and Ben salsa-ing. Ben's our life of the party and photographer. But I hijacked his camera to take some pictures of him!

By the time we finished playing around and dancing, the sky was a dusty shade of blue. The clouds were just so mesmerizing...

Headed back to our creepy apartment, changed and went for dinner at the Mushroom Farm. Surprisingly, the food was affordable and pretty damn good. We had meat, mushrooms (duh) and rice.

Sweet & sour pork ribs.

Mayonnaise chicken

The night got even crazier after dinner when we decided to go to First World Plaza to hang around like hobos. As if we hadn't had enough of monkeying around.

What caught my attention was the Rock&Roll music coming from The Patio, which was a Bar & Lounge. So there was an Elvis impersonator who was performing that night.

We just HAD to get there.

Music was so good there and the gang appreciates oldies and good rock n roll. Thank goodness for their awesome sense of music, we clicked so well. Hence, walked into the casino (like a baus) and made our way into The Patio. Ordered some drinks and chilled.

Suddenly, Ben and I had the dance itch and started dancing on the floor. The others joined in. Elvis seemed happy that the people were getting more hyped up. We were even called up to dance onstage! It was crazy. We danced nonstop, exchanged partners for 3 friggin hours!! Even better, there was a live band that played Salsa/Latin songs after Elvis! We were more than excited!

Alex Wong, who did a tribute to Elvis Presley that night for us. And who also got me so hooked to rock and roll now!

Walking together in the cold mist just made me feel so at ease and took my mind off everything. For once, I can really say that I wished to be nowhere else or with anyone else while on this awesome trip.

It was a wicked trip to start the holidays.

 We crashed a lounge bar and turned it into a social dance scene. I mean, who the hell does that?

We do.

xxx 

Ashley Mah