VVe Can-can Danze Awe Night!

You may swirl you can tap
You can swing you can toss her on your lap

Feeling airy and fairie
Two souls merged as One
Body moving as lithe as a gymnast
Hips swinging or winging fast

Latin music to raise the temperature
Two pairs of tender feet moving as One
Quick step to tempo
All of human cares held in limbo
Yes, it's time to do the can-can
Waltze or cha-cha Mama mia
Or tango the sexual energies to heat
It's time for the Latin beat


Dear ER:
Following is a Community Service Message for a friend
doing her beat for Malaysian dance fraternity promoting an awesome night
If you can't detour to South Americas to savour Samba delight
She and comrades bring the Latin beat to heat up Kuala Lumpur's scent and sight.


KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16:

If you can't go the South Americas to enjoy the Rumba
and Samba, some promoters are bringing the Latin beat
and dance to you come March 9.

The Professional Dancers (M) Bhd (PDMB) will host the
PDMB Malaysian Asian Open Dance Championship 2008 in
Kuala Lumpur which will see at least 57 world's
top-ranked competitors dance away the night at a
banquet at the Shangri-La Hotel.

Josephine Seow, co-chairperson of the
Championship,told a press briefing here (Jan 16, 2008)
that this would mark the first time ever such a
world-ranking dance competition featuring Standard and
Latin dancers is held in Malaysia.

The event will see prizes totalling USD100,000 on
contest -- which will be recorded as another
achievement by the Malaysia Book of Records.

She added that the Championship will create a greater
appreciation of Latin dances promoted via "freedom of
choice" spirit, and it is hoped Malaysian standards
will be raised with the inspiration provided by
finalists from World Dance Council member-countries --
England, USA, France, Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Germany,
Russia, Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Chinese
Taipei, Macao, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sri Lanka and
host Malaysia.

John Lim, also co-chairman, said the event, which is
also flagged off as a Visit Malaysia Year event, is
also to help raise RM150,000 for the Alzheimer's
Disease Foundation. He admitted that the Malaysian
dancers' standard still lags behind the Western and
other Asian countries, but he believed PDMB's efforts
will see more young Malaysians take to the Latin beat
to steadily improve their standing.

The Standards like Waltz and Fox-Trot and the Latin
dances like Samba, Rumba and Tango, will see a
raising of local interest with foreign particiapnts
descending ion Kuala Lumpur in March to lend their
international expertise and encouragement of an event
the country will be proud to host, Lim added.

Two Malaysian couples -- Yong Chun Wai and Ms Yeap Yen
Chern, from Ipoh, and teengaers Johnston Lim and Ms
Soh Ju Wern -- demonstrated several of the dance
movements that are expected to be showcased at the
March 9 do.

The Ipoh dancers said in an interview that they could
earn a decent living performing and teaching back in
Ipoh, where competition is not as keen as in the
capital city. But it is mainly a love, or passion for
dancing, that motivates them in this vocation, Yeap
said.

Seow noted that Lim and Soh are both under the age of
16, and it is with greater participation by young
Malaysians at such international competitions, that
the country would surely see a rise in standards in
coming years.

According to the ADF chief Jack Tan, the 10-year-old
non-governmental organisation does not get any
Government aid, and it appreciates the efforts of PDMB
to create greater awareness among the public about the
disease, which is geneerally marked by "memory loss",
especially those advanced in age, although now people
younger than 50 are reported to have become victim.

At present, ADF has facilities to only tend to eight
Alzheimer's patients, and it hoped with more public
support, it can take care of at least 50 by end-2008.

The PDMB Championship 2008 represents the 6th leg of
the 2008 Asian Open Dance Tour, which will culminate
in Singapore on March 11, two days after the Malaysian
event. The Series starts in Japan (Feb 24), followed
by Chinese Taipei (Feb 28), Korea (March 5), Indonesia
(March 7).

The day-long event on March 9 at the Shangri-La Hotel
Kuala Lumpur will see 150 local competitors competing
in the heats, quarter-finals and semi-finals starting
at 9.00am, taking throughthe day till 6.00pm. This
will climax with the world finals at the Banquet where
tables are sold are RM5,000 each and RM3,000 each,
while tables at RM2,500 each have already been sold
out.

Those interested to attend may contact their nearest
dance studios, and contact persons for enquiries
regarding sponsorship and ticket sales are Ms
Josephine Seow at 012-2781263 and Mr John Lim at
012-2120326.

______________ CSM Ends:) ___________