I must really thank my aunt for the tickets to watch the Penang International 16th Dance Competition at Bayview beach hotel last Saturday. I managed to watch the spectacular with my wife and family thanks to my aunt benevolent boss who sponsor the tickets so kindly. The ticket cost a bomb at RM 200 per seat.

The front row cost RM300 a seat and you get to see the dancers really upfront. So much so when the  dancers do the cha-cha , they end the routine inches away from you before flashing you a big smile. Then again most of the front row seats are taken by the Dato’s (nato kong) and Tan Sris (tan si) and their wives ( one two or many, I don’t have clue, cause 1 table making up of 1 man and 9 ladies tells a lot of a story). Then again, the spectacular dances put up by the contestants are worth it if yo have the $$$ to burn. The back row cost RM 150 and all you got are head views.

I am not a cultured man and could not differentiate between a rumba, cha-cha and a tango. They look the same routine to me.  The Jive caught my attention because its a quick dance, as in fast and furious. Seriously they were just a blur of colors in front of my eyes and not to mention the many occasions  of head on collisions with the judges and spectators. Best part, they still flash a smile after a nasty bump. The rest of the dance names are jargon and semantics to me.

But the real highlight of the event is the Latin dance. The male lead will stomped the feat just like the Spaniard bull-fighters entering the ring to signify their dominance (over their lady partner?). The costumes are spectacular and so are the moves just like in the movie “Dirty Dancer” minus Patric Swayze moves. Oh yes, you have also the voyeuristic perverted old geezers drooling over the female dancers in their almost skimpy outfit. I guess wearing less helps in the aerodynamics of their dance routine.

Managed to shot a few videos of the dance using my old Nokia N73.

Here is Part 1

And Part 2

I know the shots are a bit jerky. What to do, I cant afford a video cam at this point. You can help to donate by clicking my ads…haha. Nothing to do with the sexy female dancers though.

I also managed to sneak in a few photos of the event. The organizers don’t allow cameras and video recordings of the event so they can make a fortune selling their own videos. I know the pictures are a bit blur, cause I am using my old Olympus camera. No money to upgrade to a DLSR camera mah.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention, our CM was there to grace the opening. For the last past year, the big shots only sent their representatives. This CM arrive earlier than the guest, though there was a like 10 km crawl up to Batu Feringghi. Kudos to you Mr. CM. You really have Penang interest at your heart.

Big Papa