Apart from shooting the event, I’m also tasked to go through every photo for quality control which means I see all my colleague’s photos.
One of the shots that I processed at the end of the event caught my eye and totally blew my mind:

A-Live Entertainment at the Australian Dance Festival by JCPhotography

]]> http://minwye.com/blog/2010/09/16/weekly-photo-inspiration/feed/ 0 http://minwye.com/blog/2010/06/10/doudoule-performances-2010/ http://minwye.com/blog/2010/06/10/doudoule-performances-2010/#comments Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:50:01 +0000 Min Wye http://minwye.com/blog/?p=816 I have been a little slack with posting my favourites on my blog. Here are another three photos from the Doudoule Latin Dance Camp 2010 that I really liked

You can check out the rest of the performance photos at my gallery here: http://photos.minwye.com/Dance/2010-Doudoule-Latin-Dance-Camp/

Also, the videos are up on Brisbane Salsa here: http://www.brisbanesalsa.com.au/Video

Check it out and tell me what you think of my following! =D

1. Alex Bryan and Ebony Berrel performed a contemporary routine.

2. Ulysses MacLaren and Jasmin Addison with a Salsa.

3. Giancarlo and Masha on a cha-cha.

Tell me, which is your favourite?

Taken from “Go Dance July Newsletter, the art of following“

By Mylie Arnold

In dancing, a good follower responds to the leader quickly, creating the impression that the two are moving as one, embellishing upon his leads with fantastic styling, while being responsible for creating her own movement and speed. She must do all of this while not taking away the leader’s options for directing the dance.

When I started dancing I had a difficult time with the concept of following. The word itself seemed submissive, but when I watched great followers, there was nothing submissive about them. They were strong and powerful, obviously equal partners in the creation of a beautiful dance.

In the beginning I was told what seemed to be contradictory and incredibly frustrating: One person would say, “You’re not letting me lead. Wait for me,” while the next partner would say, “Move yourself. I feel like I’m having to push you around the floor.”

I’ve never been a fan of ambiguity. I wanted someone to tell me the magic words that would make it all clear and turn me into a great follower. Eleven years and well over 10,000 hours of dancing later, I now know that it takes time and practice, along with quality instruction, to find the balance in following. Although there are no magic words, there are skills a follower must develop in order to be at the top of every leader’s want-to-dance-with list, and here are a few of them.

Learn Vocabulary

Many followers have asked me, “Why should I learn patterns when there is no way I will ever know all those that I will encounter while dancing with different partners?” While that is partially true, this is why you want to learn them: If dancing equals non-verbal communication, then patterns equal words. You are more likely to discern a new pattern, which is based on the similarities to other patterns you do know and the context they are in, if you have a large dance pattern vocabulary. It is the same way that you understand the meaning of an unfamiliar word based on its context.
Drill Those Spins!

Spins are a fact of life for followers, so it is necessary to become friends with them. In many dances—including Salsa, West Coast Swing and Two Step—you will be expected to dance double turns after six months, and the triple turns start sneaking in near your one-year dance anniversary.
The good news is that spins are one of the easiest things to practice regularly and you don’t need a partner to do so. Many a spin has been practiced in a bathroom or kitchen since these rooms usually have a smooth floor and you don’t need much space. You can also show up early to class and practice during the break between classes. Regardless of where you do it, the most important part is to practice spins regularly—just 5-10 minutes every day or so will make a difference.

One of my dance partners was known as an excellent spinner. Many times I heard him tell students, “I’ve never met anyone who has fallen over as many times as I have, and couldn’t spin just as well as I can.” His point: you have to take classes and private lessons to learn the techniques for spinning, but you also have to practice them over, and over and over again until you know your own center of balance. Also, disciplines like yoga and Pilates are an excellent workout choice for dancers for improving balance while increasing flexibility and core strength.

Listen With Your Whole Body

Being a good follower means learning how to be responsive to your partner while being 100 percent responsible for your own movement at the same time.

It is amazing what you will be able to follow when you make listening a top priority. I don’t mean just with your ears—although do keep them open because every once in awhile you may run into the ever-so-classy, “Duck now!” lead. You must listen with your eyes and every physical connection with your partner. The more you listen, the more nuances you will start sensing intuitively. Before long, people will be asking how long you and your partner have been dancing together—even if it is your first dance together.

Be A Good Dancer In Your Own Right

When I hear followers say, “Well, it works just fine if I’m dancing with a good leader,” I always tell them that is a reflection of the leader’s dance abilities, not theirs. However, being a great follower also means being able to dance well with leaders of your own ability and those who are less experienced.
When a couple is dancing, the more experienced dancer is constantly making adjustments for the other partner, who is usually unaware of this. Afterwards, if you are the less experienced half of the partnership you may leave the dance with a feeling of awe, thinking, “Wow, I didn’t know I could dance like that. That felt great.”

Given the law of averages, we are not always going to have partners who are better than us, so why not take control and become a great follower? Then you will enjoy all of your dances more, and as an added bonus, you can give the gift of a “wow” dance to many of the leaders.

Some people say the follower is the car, and the leader the driver. I prefer the analogy that the follower is driving a car and the leader is giving directions. This illustrates just how much power and responsibility the follower really has. All the leader can do is ask, then it’s up to you to get the rest of the job done. You, the follower, are the one who has to correctly interpret the leader’s directions and physically carry out his wishes.

Today I find the challenge of following fascinating and fulfilling; it is one of my favorite parts of dancing. My best advice is to fall in love with the challenge of being a truly amazing listener, and work on your dancing through pattern knowledge, technique, styling and connection. Then when someone says, “Dancing with you is like the difference between driving a tractor and a Ferrari,” you will know that he is comparing you to the Ferrari.

This should shed some light on following for the girls and even some guys who are starting out or who have hit a wall/plateau with their leading. Of course, this is just a stepping stone to increasing your skill as a dancer and improving doesnt happen overnight but rather over countless days, months and possibly years of practice!

Let me know your thoughts on this article!

Since then, I have spoken to a few people about this and on one side of the field, some say that theres nothing wrong with that and their out to just dance and any meaningless chatter is just small talk.

On the other hand, others feel theres not enough social in social dancing and that people are too caught up with JUST dancing and theres no real substance in that.

Does that mean we are Fuck Dance Buddies and all we know each other for is to dance and once thats done, we wont see each other in any other circumstance(damn, thats harsh). Story: There was once, the power went out at one of my local clubs(this means no dancing) and everyone sat around not knowing what to say to each other because all we do is dance and not social.

Personally, I find it insanely hard to hold a conversation in a club while dancing when:
1) The music totally overpowers your own voice(unless you wish to have a very bad sorethroat the next day(which has happened)) also making it impossible to have a conversation with more than 2 parties. Im usually the one who has problems hearing, read no.9 on my 25 list of things.
2) Your conversation gets cut off when you or the other person gets asked to dance before you can even say “Salsa”.
3) You cant think over the music and all your body is moving automatically to the music.

That said, I think everyone can choose(dance or social) and if you wish to social, there are many conduscive places to do it away from the dance floor to avoid music and people asking you for a dance.

What do you think?

1 –  Never say no when asked by a girl
I dont get this honor very often but when a girl does ask me to dance, I always say yes. I feel it takes abit of courage for a girl to ask a guy to dance. After all, when I first started, it took me 2 months to build up enough guts to ask a girl to dance. (Yes, 2 months! I stood on the side of the club and just watch and try to psych myself every week to ask someone)

2 –  Dancecraft is key!
The last thing I want to happen is to get my partner hurt and speaking of accidents, I actually caught an elbow in the back of my head last night, should have worn a helmet better me than my partner I say. If possible, I avoid tight spots on the dance floor and dance around “less dangerous dancers” and in the event that we bump into someone(accidents are bound to happen) I always apologise and if Im on the receiving end of the blow, I will never hold it against anyone who bumps into me. I understand its not easy to keep track of all 5 couples dancing around you, lead, think of the next move and interpret the music(guys cant multitask! I am a living example of that)

3 – Always have fun regardless of conditions
Rain(seriously, it was flooding at my regular club, Casablanca last week) or shine or whether Im just doing basics and right hand turns or even when Ive totally exhausted every single move I have or if the music is not great or even if Im not dancing my best, I will enjoy every single dance. I might winge when Im not dancing but once I start, Im just all smiles(I might not be smiling physically but I am in my head =)

4 – Ask at least one person I have never met/seen to dance
This is the most important to me, not only do I get to meet someone new, they could be the next dance addict to hit the dance floor. Its hard for someone new to break into the dance scene and I try my best not to get into the habit of just dancing within my circle.

5 – Start slow, finish big
I try to start off slow, especially when Im dancing with an unknown. Let the girl get used to my lead and gradually increase the amount and complexity of the moves depending on how they cope and I do admit that I have a tendency of pushing girls a step further than their limit but I think it keeps things fresh and allow mistakes to happen, which is NOT a bad thing cause its fun to have a good laugh over it.

What do you think of my 5 commandments? Do you your own commandments? Let me know, Im curious?

Disclaimer: Im not forcing my code onto you and there are times when I have broken my own code by accident, so dont hold me against it =) I try my best to uphold it.

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you.

and my list:

1. I spend alot of time dancing, classes on monday and tuesday nights, social dancing from thursday till sunday. My dance styles include LA style Salsa, Bachata and a little Zouk. My latest interest is West Coast Swing inspired by Jordon and Tatiana.
2. Im not embarrased about people knowing that I have watched all 6 seasons of Sex and the City or even all 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls. In fact, Rory(Alexis Bledel) is my favourite actress cause she is cute although I feel she can only play 1 type of character…Rory Gilmore.
3. I played Ice Hockey for a total of 4 years in a tropical country(Malaysia) which only has 2 seasons, summer and rainy seasons.
4. I am the black sheep of the family, I was sent to government Malay primary school(Kampung Tunku) whereas my younger brother and sister was sent to chinese primary school.
5. On that same note, I am also the only person on my mother’s family(cousins and rellies) side who does IT and have little creative ability. Everyone else in the family are either accountants or musicians.
6. 
7. One of my biggest worries when I started photography was that I would look like an Asian tourist or be labelled as a perv.
8. I have never been “ching chong chao”d or “ni hao”d(the most common words a drunk person would say to you if you were chinese) before while carrying my camera.
9. I am 20% deaf on my right side. I have always been labelled as deaf and now I have an excuse.
10. I am embarrased to admit that I play World of Warcraft and have setup parental controls on myself in fears that I will not be able to control myself again.
11. When World of Warcraft first came out, I would spend 8 hours a day playing the game(I was at uni and had the time) and accrued a total 60 days playing time, that means I played a total 1440hours and decided to quit and that lasted for 2 years before I started again, Im playing way less now and more on a casual basis now(with the help of parental control(I control my own parental control))
12. I currently have a full time job in a software company called CareerHub and run a web design/photography freelance business on the side.
13. I aim to be financial free and full time job free to focus on my business/s.
14. I love singing although Im horrible at it and resort to whistling while Im at work much to my colleagues demise.
15. I would live with my parents if I had the choice. Its cheaper and it enables me to be financially free sooner than later.
16. My biggest expenditure is food.
17. Ive been referred to by many names since young, Chan(my surname) during primary school, Min Wye during high school. During pre-university, my programming teacher gave me the name “Nathan” which i continued to use when I came to Australia, I introduced myself as Nathan because Min Wye was hard to remember and since then, I converted back to Min Wye for a short while and up till now, Min.
18. I will respond to all the names above, Min Wye, Nathan, Min, Chan.
19. My name is pronounced “Ming Wai”, there is an invisible ‘g’ and in most cases, people who know me by name pronounce my name as such “Min Wei”.
21. One day, I would like to have a family with 2 kids, a boy and girl.
22. My father passed away when I was 9 years old. My fondest memory of him was of him sitting in my brother and my room accompanying us to sleep. Although it was to make sure we go to sleep rather than stay up and play, the quiet time of him sitting against the wall while waiting for us to fall sleep is precious to me.
23. You could attribute my liking for dance, gilmore girls, sex and the city amongst other things to the fact that I grew up with my cousins who were all girls and raised by my Mom.
24. Even due to no23, I am very much straight and have never needed to question my sexuality. 
25. If you didnt notice or wondering, I skipped 20 on purpose so I only needed to think of 23 facts about me. Im sneaky like that.

Im also sneaky that if you are read through all 25, you are tagged to write 25 things about yourself. My justification is, if you took the time and effort to read all 25 things about me, I will want to read about you too.

Post the link in my comments or trackback to my site if you have done it. I would like to read it and possibly get to know my readers better =)

Duncan and Su Min

Duncan and Su Min from Latin Steps represented in the on2 salsa/mambo division and placed 5th performing this stunning routine during the Australian Salsa Classic.

Duncan and Su Min

Duncan and Su Min are one of my favourite performers in Brisbane to watch simply because their routines never tire me no matter how often I see them.

Duncan and Su Min

Best of all, their choreography creates many fantastic photo oppurtunities.

Duncan and Su Min

In most cases, the shoots that turn out well totally reflects the crowds vibes, you can see for yourself from the shots.

Duncan and Su Min

What do you think?

You can see the other blog posts during the October Salsa Fest
Friday Performances
1st performance -  Latin Energy
2nd performance – Fabia Santiago and Valeria Rodionov(New York Ballroom)
4th performance – Neil and Mary-Grace Brown(LDA)
5th performance – Moro and Alegria(Buena Vista Cuban Academy)

and the other photos taken during the Salsa Fest that are not posted on my blog
my flickr – October Salsa Fest