Vida Latina Dance Co.

FREEBIES, NEWBIES, & SPECIAL-BIES!

2011-05-04T13:40:00.010+10:00

posted by Navvii

Christmas is coming early this year. Well not really… but we just love seeing you smile! (We would give you diamonds if we really could) Plus, the longest Easter break + May day break has just past and most of you look so depressed (I’m not sure if you were wishing there were more holidays or just feeling yuck from all the Easter bunnies).

So here it goes….. testing..testing..1…2…3….

*drum roll

Vida Latina Dance Co. announces its May specials...

* Zumba^® at Nundah starts this Tuesday, May 10^th, 6.00pm at the Nolan Hall in St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School...for FREE! If your friends and family have been wondering what the Zumba^® hype has been all about, this is your chance. Spread the word and bring as many friends for a FREE OPENING SPECIAL class by Shankkar & Navvii at this amazing new venue…it even has a stage! Please visit the website for full address of the venue which is just down the road from our Chermside venue.

§ Please note that the 6pm Tuesday Chermside class has been moved to this venue. Therefore, there will be no more Tuesday, 6pm class at Chermside as of this week. The Monday & Tuesday, 7.15pm classes at Chermside will run as per normal.

* Zumba^® at Kenmore starts this Saturday, May 7^th, 9.30am at the Holy Spirit Anglican Church in Kenmore. Your Zumba^® instructors, Shankkar & Navvii will be looking forward to get the party started at this more spacious and sprung floored venue! Please visit the website for full address of the venue which is on Moggill Rd.

§ Please note that the Saturday Jindalee class has been moved to this venue. Therefore, there will be no more Satuday class at Jindalee as of this week. The Wednesday, 5.30pm class at Jindalee will run as per normal.

* Mother’s Day Specials are everywhere! But if you’re looking for something unique and something both you and mum (or your friend, your sister, your colleague etc.) could do together..we’ve got the PERFECT GIFT for you! Buy either the 10-class Zumba^® pass/ Latin Dance pass (Receive ONE CLASS FREE) or 20-class Zumba^® pass (Receive TWO CLASSES FREE)! You can boogey it down with mum, with your friend who's a mum, or simply come party with us!

§ Limited period: May 9^th – May 21^st

* End of Financial Year SALE for May & June 2011

§ ALL Premium Memberships (2 months, 6 months & 1 year) discounted by 25% + ONE EXTRA WEEK FREE!

*non-transferable & non-refundable

§ Latin Dance Shoes for $85 ONLY! Save 30% on a very fine & unique pair. Ladies open-toe shoes only and Men’s shoes.

*Full payment required upon order

Pheeewww! That's all for now...

Come one, come all ...DON'T MISS OUT ON THESE WONDERFUL SPECIALS MADE JUST FOR YOU!

Please call 0415587316 to speak to our friendly staff or e-mail us on vidalatina@live.com.au.

The AWESOME-EST Glitz Party/Practica with UQ students

2011-04-25T19:33:00.006+10:00

posted by Navvii

I’m sure everyone’s been looking forward to this post for a while now. Well….here it goes!

It was two Thursdays ago that we were expecting all the Latin dance students from University of Queensland (we teach Salsa, Zouk & Latin Fitness classes in UQ, open to both students and staff) to join our weekly Practica as part of their course – for them to finally bust out all their moves that they have been learning over the past 5 weeks. Instead of a usual class at UQ, they put on their best dance pants on and visited our Glitz studio in Milton. They were welcomed by Simone & Ronan with mini Salsa & Bachata lessons to warm up the night.

By the time I had finished teaching the classes that evening, everyone was already in the party mode; either sashaying across the dance floor or getting pointers from our instructors. I’d have to say, I was amazed at the level of these students having learned to dance for ONLY 5 WEEKS! However, they were not the only students there as we were joined by our lovely studio students as well.

Each and every one of our instructors had the chance to dance with almost all the students there that night hailing from different parts of the world – US to Bangladesh. It was amazing to see these bright-eyed youngsters so eager to learn the art, continuously trying...

I, personally had a memorable time dancing with Andy who is here on a student exchange program from California. He was probably the most enthusiastic boy in the whole room, laughing and enjoying every part of the evening, given the fact that he did not know how to Salsa. He vaguely remembered some steps which he had learned a couple of years ago but picked up new steps that I taught him instantly (that is without failing to hit my head a couple of times).

The “ooohhh’s” & “aaahhhh’s” were a common sound that night especially when Zouk came on. How can you NOT FALL IN LOVE WITH ZOUK?! In fact, the students were blown away with our 3-boys-2-girls Zouk steals. IT WAS SOO MUCH FUN! It was definitely a lovely night of meeting, mingling and dancing...and we got them wanting more ;)

Wishing you all the best and we hope to see you soon.....

Best wishes,

Vida Latina team

HAPPY EASTER, HAPPY ANZAC DAY, HAPPY HOLIDAYS & HAPPY FEASTING

2011-04-24T22:13:00.006+10:00

posted by Navvii

Hope everyone has been enjoying their much awaited 5-day break ~ either having 5 days of parties or 5 days of feasting on all the yummy chocolate eggs & Anzac cookies. We're sure it'll be very well spent with your loved ones.

We will be back up & running all classes –Latin Dance, Bollywood, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Tap as well as Zumba^®classes at all our external locations as of Wednesday, April 27^th! Woohoooo! Let’s burn the floor & burn all those calories.

*We'll be CLOSED again on Monday, May 2^nd for Labour Day except our COORPAROO location.

Don’t forget the upcoming Mother's Day SPECIAL!
Treat your mum or any mum to our SPECIAL GIFT to all mums out there - Buy the 10 Zumba^® Class Pass and receive ONE CLASS FREE, buy the 20 Zumba^® Class Pass and receive TWO CLASSES FREE or buy the 10 class Latin pass (studio students) and receive ONE CLASS FREE!

* Limited period: May 9^th – May 21^st

Traffic stoppers

2011-04-20T10:42:00.005+10:00

posted by Navvii

And.....VL is back once again on Milton Rd. opposite the iconic XXXX Brewery, this time with a slightly more glamourous ad campaign for their 2011 Season of Intimate Latin Cabaret ~ April to September. Instead of training at the studio like every other Sunday (yes we train EVERY SUNDAY from 9am - 4pm while most of you suffer from hangovers or are enjoying a nice family barbeque), we headed to Milton Rd. (under the billboard). It felt like a mini school excursion, seeing a bunch of 8 dancers followed by 2 photographers walking down the streets of Railway Tce. Wait... maybe it looked like paparazzi's following a really famous boy-girl band?? Maybe not....

One advise from Lenny: Make sure not to cause any accidents
One advise from Ronan: Boys, make sure you don't drop the girls on the road or the train line.... you can drop them anywhere else :P

*Taaadaaaaaaaaa!*

Believe it or not, it started pouring out of no where! But our will to stop traffic prevailed, as the shower didn't even last 5 minutes and we were back on the boys shoulders.

*Awhhh...look at the boys!*

Our dear photographers, Brian & Lemona suggested that having a photoshoot at night would look even more amazing due to the lighting etc. .....so, we were back again the following Friday. This time we got told off by the security guards to move off the premises of the train station (just in case the boys decided to throw the girls 100m away onto the train tracks, or if one of the girls fell and rolled over onto the tracks). Having to move up the hill, we figured most of the acro lifts and tricks were almost impossible unless we wanted to risk gettin dropped on the head. But we did most of it anyway! ;)

We certainly made mummy & daddy (Mio & Lenny) proud :)

Bringin Rosalie Back!

2011-04-17T18:22:00.004+10:00

posted by Navvii

The year 2011 will certainly be the most memorable year for those born after the 70’s flood – seeing major parts of Australia going literally “DOWN UNDER”! It was devastating to see the news coverage on all the suburbs that had taken the blow from mother nature’s emotional breakdown. Rosalie was amongst the many affected areas which had suffered tremendously during this period has finally gotten back on it’s feet again; celebrating Rosalie Recovery Day on Saturday, April 9^th. As Vida Latina was one of the many affected in the surrounding area, we were invited to join the party in the Rosalie Village towards supporting and welcoming back all the businesses.

VVL crew of the day: Simone, Annette, Ronan & Navvii

The best part of the day for me would have been the walk from our studio on Railway Tce to Rosalie Village – 3 girls in the most colourful Zumba® gear & then there was Ronan in all black (just to cater to the rest of the community :P). Being me, I decided that it would be a good idea to carry our Zumba® sign facing the road so that it was visible to all motorist and they could either toot their horn or shout “Zuummmbaaaa” out their window or just follow our colourful bums to Rosalie. And true enough we got a group of high school boys yell out “Zooombaaaa” from across the road. Quoting Simone: “They must have stated ‘shout-able to random pedestrians’ as one of their criterion when they were coming up with the name for Zumba®.

When we got there, we were told that Mr. Gold Pants was up before us and he actually sang a song with all the names of the businesses in the area which was quite interesting to say the least. Ronan was up next with his “Prruuumm” song, Navvii going back to Africa with “Waka Waka”, Simone “Chillin” it out & Annette shakin’ it to “BumBumBum.” Many stood shyly watching with their families but I bet they were itching to bust out a move or two. The spectators couldn’t refuse the flyers as I was bouncing around and singing to BumBumBum while handing them out. I had a little giggle as I saw myself from their eyes and I would have thought “what a nut?!” But… I was simply having fun and probably running on the adrenaline from my other 2 Zumba classes that morning!

The organisers of the event were really lovely and offered us ‘cold beverages to quench our thirst’ (just like Sheldon would say it) and some lil sandwiches and of course the very nice air conditioned room which we were reluctant to leave. We hung around for another hour or so talking to many mothers who were interested in Zumba classes and for their kids (If you didn't know already, YES WE DO ZUMBA FOR KIDS aged 4 years and above!) and even met some of our students who heard our songs from their unit and came running down.

It was great to see all Rosalie traders banded together towards the re-opening of their great quaint village and all their shops and popular restaurants. Everyone had a story to tell and one of them was from a student from Europe working at one of the very popular restaurants in the Village. She was stunned by all the support from the day the flood subsided to date. Having come from a culture where she claimed that does not take generous offerings of help very easily to the community spirit she experienced in Australia was very touching. Way to go Aussies!

It was a lovely Saturday afternoon with live bands, food (was sooo tempted to get some Cold Rock but I would have had to fight 5 year olds for it), drinks & kids running around with their parents. To top off our day, Annette wanted some Easter eggs….soooo.. decided taking a picture with the Easter bunny would be an excuse to get an some chocolato without having to fight the kids. And….Annette walked away a happy child ‘cause she did get one!

Wishing all the traders and residents of Rosalie & other participating supporters all the best for their new beginning!

2011-04-17T15:19:00.004+10:00

Japan 2011

After a long 8 hours and 30 minutes flight, I say long because I didn’t have a movie machine so I had to sleep and I hate sleeping in the plane, woke up with a super sore neck and nothing I could do about it.
After making sure that our required cards were filled properly we headed into the entry area Mio went to the Japanese area and I went to the Foreigner designated area and lined up to wait for the entry inspector to take my finger prints and a photo as they do here in Japan.

My turn soon came up and there I was getting finger printed electronically and being photographed, then the most annoying thing happened the inspector asked me if I knew where I was staying and I pointed to the address on the entry card and he said “Hotel” – “name Hotel” I said I don’t know so I told him I had arrived with my wife and she had already gone through and was waiting for me.
The inspector stuck his head out the back door and proceeded to scream Mio’s name “TAKAGI MIO – TAKAGI MIO” about 4 times and Mio was nowhere to be found, the Inspector asked me to wait aside and I thought that he was going to get someone or was he himself going to look for Mio. I was sooo wrong, he proceeded to look after the other passengers and a brand new line of foreigners had just arrived so I was destined to wait for at least another half hour unless there was another lot of foreigners’ arriving.

Suddenly Mio appeared with a very worried look on her face, so I told her what was happening and another Inspector had already realised what was happening and as he finished dealing with a Japanese passenger he called me over, we went through the formalities and he simply asked “your wife”? I said yes “ he then said “Sumimasen” my apologies other inspector not very smart” hahahaha I had to laugh anyway I asked Mio where she had gone so she said “I went to get our bags while you went through clearance and a woman came to me and said “Your husband is trapped” so I came running” but you had to have been there to see the funny side of it all.

Finally we collected our bags and out we went got a taxi and got to our hotel in Tokyo and it was so nice and big and comfy and we got our first night rest in Tokyo.
The next day Mio and I got out and just walked it was so bloody cold, we went to the family restaurant just up the road and had a nice meal as usual it was very inexpensive, from then on about all we did was go out and visit the same places we had seen with the guys last year and we caught up with our friend Bronwyn (The washing Machine) and had a fabulous time with her and her friend Wendy.

On Wednesday the 2nd of March we had a Salsa workshop and Performance and it was really good show and a great night of dancing and also on Friday 4th of March we had a Zouk performances and workshops both nights were held at “The Cuban Cafe” in Tsukiji. We met Rohini the lady that usually organises the gigs at the Café, Hiro and Uri and a few others that we had met at the Tokyo ”Intimate Latin Cabaret” show were there so it was nice spending time with people that we had already met. The pictures were great and you can see the fun people were having both socially dancing and at the workshops.

On the 6th of March in the morning we left for Kyoto since we had our first Zouk course starting at Rumbita on the 7th of march and on the 8th of March we had the classes at the Spanish Harlem were we did the 2010 Intimate Latin Cabaret tour show. Again we had such a great time catching up with the people that already knew us from past years performances and workshops and we just danced and relaxed and had a couple of drinks which was a change since we don’t have alcohol at our studio in Brisbane.

We left directly from the “The Spanish Harlem Latin Club” back to the Hotel to collect our bags since they were so nice to keep our bags for us not to have to carry them all over Kyoto and from the Hotel we went to Osaka and stayed at the same hotel as the whole cast did last year, it really felt like Mio and I were retracing our steps from the year before so it was relay hard not to think about everyone back in Brisbane.

Now all we had to do was to find things to do and make sure to spend a lot of money while we organised ourselves to find an apartment in Osaka. We already had organised appointments from Australia so we had to wait for the days in which they were organises and when we went to the first one it was a little difficult and the apartment that we saw was not really to our standards, on the 11th of March we went and had a look at a really nice apartment in “JUSO” and we decided to take it so all the paper work was organised and we then had to wait for the owners approval so that we could move in, we then decided to go to the largest shopping mall I have seen in my life “Shinsaibashi” and at about 11am or so while Mio was paying for a pair of really nice jeans I got a little dizzy and I couldn’t tell why, there was totally no reason for it and was feeling absolutely fine.

Later that day we figured out why, on the news we could see what appeared to be yet another scenario like in a movie except that it was the real Tsunami destroying everything on its path it had been caused by a very large earth quake out at sea not far from Sendai (the wave of the quake had been felt all over Japan), the very town that got severely hit by the Tsunami, it was just so amazing, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the TV so mesmerizing and at the same time so deeply saddening and devastating. Nothing anyone could do and those that tried to runaway did not get very far so much destruction and human loss, how do you explain such horror and pain without being emotionally affected by it and yet life has to continue and you have to move on because the best way to deal with destruction is by reconstruction so we cannot let our lives be stopped from the daily things that have to be done.

We are not in the middle of a devastated area and are not suffering the effects of the Tsunami so we MUST no matter what get on with our lives and by doing so help those that are down to also pick themselves up and carry on, I thought that witnessing the obliteration of the Exchange Towers in New York was ugly and any event were human life is taken is horrible but in my eyes this one had such an impact on me and more than 20000 lives have been lost either by death or just unaccounted for, so sad.

Mio and I moved in to our apartment on the 13th of March it also happens to be “Juso Day”, it is the day when you get 10% discount of any shop for anything you want to buy at the “Juso Mall” and it is not that small either about 7 or 8 blocks long, so we bought our electrical goods such as Fridge, Rice cooker, Surround sound system, gas Cooker (Stove) since we didn’t have one in the apartment and had to buy one so we could cook and we bought our Japanese style bed, yeah on the ground and it is so nice to sleep on and very easy to make and put away every morning hahahaha, roll and throw in the built in.

We have been teaching in Kyoto for about 5 weeks now and our students true to the Vida Latina style of teaching have progressed in leaps and bounds and they are only beginners, just wait until they get to intermediate level, we also started teaching in Umeda/Osaka and again it is a slow build up of students. New place new challenges so we must forge ahead and make it grow and grow it will just like it will when we start teaching in Kobe our next targeted city about 35 minutes from Juso via train.
So keep reading up on the few (lots of) notes that I make as we spend our time developing Kansai Zouk in Japan. Until next time take care love from Lenny and Mio

Boogey-ing on a Wednesday night

2011-04-13T14:17:00.008+10:00

posted by Navvii

Had the urge to hit the dance floor last Wednesday after a few absent weeks. It’s a mission going out social dancing especially since all of us have Zumba® classes to teach pretty much every night of the week.

But it feels so good just lettin’ your hair go, feelin’ the music and just being silly once in a while (yes yes….that is a slight understatement given the things we do in our Zumba® classes). Found out it doesn’t take that much to look crazy; especially with Chris, Kara, Shankkar, Simone & myself attempting at doubles & ending with Simone grabbing me by my ****** (accidently that is). We certainly got some attention that night.

We dropped our pants...in the name of BOWEL CANCER

2011-04-12T10:01:00.013+10:00

posted by Navvii

I'm sure all of you would have heard about our Undie Sunday adventure not long ago. Here's how it all started....

UNDIE SUNDAY....starring the usual suspects

Vida Latina Dance Co.

(they do bum-shakes for a living, who better than them to do bum-shakes in their underpants)

I couldn’t contain my excitement when Suzanne Ross of Gray Media Services contacted me to invite Vida Latina to be part of The Rotary Brisbane Group’s inaugural Undie Sunday event & attempting to break the Guinness World Record! Even more exciting news… we were asked to do a couple of Zumba® songs to show the public what Zumba® is all about and possibly a performance piece. After spending almost 2 hours (no judgments please. We simply wanted to look good in our underpants) visiting every possible lingerie department in the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre with Simone, we finally settled for a couple of cute and funky boy-legs for the girls from good-ol’ K-mart.

The day started pretty early with us arriving at the Brisbane Riverstage at 5.45am to be on the 6am Nine News….only to be told that it has been postponed to 7.50am! Well it gave us time to say “Good morning” to Mr. Brain.

News time finally arrived and the VL dancers together with the other supporters of the event were told to have fun & shake our bums like lunatics in front of the camera. Meanwhile, one of the dancing grandfathers - James Pollock spoke about Bowel Cancer and how cool is it to check your stool! I hope we didn’t scare away the morning news fans.

Sunday being our training day, Simone didn't fail to warm up with the boys with acro training (because she was the only one who could reach the railings. Wooohooo for being short!) while the rest of us soaked up the beautiful morning sun.

Note to Lenny from Simone: LOOK! The sign is straight! :D

Seeing that we were the most excited people there in our undies at 7.30am on a Sunday morning, the VL boys were the chosen ones to rope in the public around the Botanic Gardens to be a part of Undie Sunday.

Responsibilities (imagine 2 white boys & 1 brown boy in their equally colourful underpants & Fedora hats):

*Try not to be seen by cops, if you do, jump in the nearby bush. If you do get caught, don’t mention the company’s name.

* Try your very best not to look dodgy and scare away people before you actually speak to them.

*To convince the public to spend their Sunday in their underpants (I bet everyone has secretly wished to do this in their lifetime) creating awareness for Bowel Cancer and to be apart of the Guinness World Record.

I’ll let the pictures narrate the rest of the day…..

When it came to the record breaking attempt, hundreds of people pulled out their funkiest moves..some their children will not be very proud of. We on the other hand had the moves, but honestly it was quite tiring doing the same move for a whole 6 minutes to Groove Armada's 'Shakin' That Ass'..nonstop! That was ALOT OF BUM-SHAKES & WIGGLES.

Although we missed out on breaking the record, we definitely had a ball being a part of this wonderful event. It was definitely an eventful Sunday, watching people from all walks of life, young or old not only shake their bottoms for a good cause, but to also help shed some light on what is Australia’s second biggest cancer killer.

til' next year's "IT'S COOL TO CHECK YOUR STOOL" campaign!

On The Way to Japan

2011-04-02T02:12:00.005+10:00

Malaysia 1st Day

It was and still is hard to not be with our family in Australia but we know that they are doing a great job and they love what they do, we departed Australia 1 hour later then booked but the 8 ½ hour trip to Malaysia was for me a first, I slept almost all the way and it is not comfortable at all to sleep on a plane.

Mio as usual can not only sleep anywhere but she can fit anywhere so she slept a lot and was very rested when we got to Malaysia and the adventure started we got out without any trouble at all from customs not even a single look over, we then headed for the Skybus and it is short of a 25 year old run down bus with an old TV at the front that does not work and very suspicious characters looking after your luggage and tickets, so I am walking with three sets of eyes, 4 for me – Two on the back of my head – and Mio’s hahahaha and it wasn’t long before she started telling me to keep an eye on the luggage handler when boarding the bus.

The trip to KL Sentral took exactly 1 hour on the bus but the sights were fantastic and I have never seen so many Palm trees, like hello what’s with the Palm tree plantations there are thousands of them wherever you look, once at KL Sentral we had the first money grabbers trying to get us, TAXI TAXI my Friend only 20 Ringet, hahaha I very quickly said no thanks we will walk. Mio and I did a very quick survey of the station and I quickly looked at the map in my head that I had researched on google and decided that we were facing in the right direction so off we went. I carried 2 laptops a small luggage on wheels and a 26 kilo luggage on wheels, Mio had her handbag and my manbag (hahaha she did offer to help I said no).

As we walked away from KL Sentral and went out to the main street it was a very weird feeling almost like “Is this real?”, the bus stop area is under the train station but it feel like you are in a very old and run down place that time has forgotten. The construction site opposite to the bus stop has many migrant workers due to the much lower wage that can be paid to them and they are usually pick pockets as well so you are warned to keep an eye on your belongings specially hand-bags. Almost every man starred at Mio and I walking pass but I can assure you that they were looking through me and could only see Mio. When we looked at the construction site Mio noticed all the scaffolding that was being used and she said – Why so many unnecessary amount of spikes – I found it as usual very innocent and cute of my wife to say something like that.

As we rounded the construction site we came across the main road and once again people do whatever they want, they have traffic lights with walk and don’t walk signals but it is as if they don’t exist, people step on to the road and simply signal to the vehicles to slow down and across they go and yes we did try it and it worked very well. .
We crossed the road and as we headed east at about 40 steps from the main road we found our Hotel and we thought we had done a fantastic job since the original google map appeared to show the hotel some 400 mt further away then where we found it so overall I was very satisfied with the fact that I didn’t have to carry the luggage to far from the station

We checked in and settled into our hotel room which is very large and has a king size bed a very small desk with a wall mirror and no room for anything else but Mio’s make up weapons of war.. hahahaha by 5pm we were ready to go out with our student “Chin Yin Woo” and her friend “For Hae” they took us out to Sentral markets and China town, we ate the local food and I was so impressed with the amazing taste of the sea food and veggies and trying new things (of course I had my personal taster MIO hahaha so I would eat second to her) but it was really a great first night in KL.

2011-04-02T01:44:00.005+10:00

Malaysia Day 2

It was an early morning start, Chin Yin and For Hea showed up at 7.30am and we headed off to Batu Caves, the drive was pleasant and comfortable with all our eyes glued to the road, the traffic here is amazing people coming in from left and right as if there was no one there, carefully missing the other car by centimeters and for the amount of vehicles here to hear a horn is like nothing.

The scenery is very nice open spaces and lots of hills and mountains lot’s of green and appears fresh but trust me the air here is thick, we arrived at Batu caves and the sight of this statue is just massive as we approached the base of the mountain looking up was just incredible 272 or 279 whatever the amount, the steps are very steep and make sure you have strong legs, going up our 4 storey building steps does not compare. Even thou we are fit, we still felt the pain on our legs as we approached the top.

Once at the top we entered the caves and what a sight just like in the movies you are at the bottom of the cave and then you look up and you see this massive opening at the top and you wonder how did it get there, you could feel the walls as if they spoke, the sense of age and beauty like I had not seen before it was breathtaking we have collected so many photos that it is hard to decide what to show and not to show, all the photos are great.

We had a great time but it was not over yet in fact it had only just started, it was time to have breakfast so we were being taken to have Porridge & seafood Chinese Crystal noodle (Wan Dan Hor), but on the way there we stopped at a temple “Sri Lanka White Buddhist Temple, with a massive white Buddha right in the middle so cool, they organized a monk to pray and bless us all, needless to say that seating on my legs is not my favorite pass time so it was difficult and painful but we did it and then we went to have porridge, my mind went “WHAT PORRIDGE.. No No No – No Porridge for Lenny” but what a pleasant surprise when we got there and ordered it after being told that I would love it and out it comes and HELLOOOO it was a rice porridge so I tried and WOOOOOOW it was so good, please can I have that for breakfast every day??? Everyone laughed since they all expected that I would taste it and come up with some weird facial expression as I do when I don’t like something hahahaha it was really funny to hear them laugh so loud that I couldn’t help but to laugh with them.

The rest of the day was a blast so much to see, so much to do, sooooo much to eat hahahah but it was a fantastic second day that ended as usual with Chin Yin, For Hea, Mio and I doing what we love the most Dancing Salsa and the name of the dance venue is “JAPANESE Restaurant” so funny and so “wow” at the same time and so I can really say that I can’t wait for day 3.

2011-04-02T00:54:00.008+10:00

Malaysia Day 3 and 4

Day 3 - 10am start so much better then starting at 7.30am and we met Sue another of Chin Yin’s friends and of course For Hea was there as well, we had breakfast with some great ham noodles and some totally disgusting fruit salad with some sort of syrup that killed the taste of all of the fruit. They tell me that normally the syrup is not as much or as heavy but trust me I know I would not like it anyway.

Shopping at KLCC was more of a toilet trip for the girls, some acro photos at the front of the towers and then we had to quickly get organized to visit the KLCC SKY BRIDGE that was in the same building and wow what a trip on the 41st floor is where the Sky Bridge is and from the top it doesn’t seem to be so high as it does from the bottom but then we headed up to the 86th floor to the viewing floor and Maaaaaaann what a sight, it was incredibly impressive. The views were spectacular 360 degree views that almost show Australia, sooooooo cooooool.

The buildings, the contrast, the colours, the workers on the opposite building and the people and traffic down below so very cool, congrats Malaysia it is the most beautiful thing ever and so from there we went to have lunch at the Levian Boulangerie patisserie www.levian.com.my food was just beautiful, cakes were fantastic and we created our own Twin Towers our own KLCC – Kuala Lumpur Cool Cake far from Twins Towers hahahahaha. Check out the photo of this one, very neat and all done by the girls.

Due to a drastic last moment message the following part of the program had to be changed Chin Yin’s sister had just delivered twins and had to go to hospital so we got carried along and we met the Brother, the mother, the mother in law of the brother, the other sister and the twins but not mum she was tired and resting from her ordeal. Each of the boy’s weight was over 2.5 kilos, both boy’s are very healthy and a month early. We left the hospital and went to Chin Yin’s home but just before we stopped about 3 minutes from her house and went to the night market and we bought Bamboo Steamy Malay rice and a lot of other things as well as a mental trip back to Chile went I sunk my teeth into a gorgeous cob of corn with butter and salt, soooo yuuuumy. We went to Chin Yin’s home and eat all the food that was bought had a coffee (instant and weak – I made it) and went home for the night, satisfied and tired ready for bed – sorry ready for TV and fall asleep with TV on – hahahaha Mio had fallen asleep as soon as she had the shower and went to bed no energy for anything else.

Day 4 – Not very adventures today, we got up went out to the Golden Triangle known as such by the fact that it is surrounded by some of the largest and most famous shopping centers in KL and not to mention EXPENSIVE - Cotton on expensive for what it is, and many others as well, so many Aussie brands not funny. Then we went to Bangsar Village II connected to the old Bangsar Village we walked from the train station at 3pm in the heat for 13 minutes and met Anne and Dennis and sat for 4 hours and chatted nonstop, so many things we had in common we enjoyed the food and coffee ( a litle to strong for Lenny’s taste). They are both so nice and definitely the sort of people that fit into our lives, just like the family we left back in Brisbane – Miss you guys -

At 7pm we met "For Hea" and went to Yoga for the first time in my life – Anusara Yoga and it was the perfect thing to do to end the trip, I consider myself to be pretty fit and I can assure you it made me work harder than a full session of acrobatics, yeah wait till we get back guys you will get a taste of it. Sweat, sweat and more sweat using every muscle in my body activating the core so much more than usual, and feeling every joint in my body – ooouuuuuuuccchhhhh but so glad I did I would and will do it again very soon.

Now to make a story short on Tuesday day 5 we left the Hotel had breakfast at the “Old Town White Coffee”, left and caught the Sky-Bus to KL Inter Airport went to the Air Asia departures and got the bags ready provided our passports and oooops – sorry we can’t let you fly out there is no return flight booked, without a return flight you cannot leave KL, we went to buy a return ticket and was told that we could only use Ringgits so we had to go change every available Aus $ and got the money. We run back and got the ticket and it ended up being 300MG more than quoted (counter girl’s mistake) that took every cent we had in cash but we did it, we then hurried to the departure area and got our bag in and got the boarding passes as we did that the intercom system announces that there are only 3 minutes left to board before closing the doors, Mio and I run as fast as possible - Mio’s pace of course – and we got there on time.

So we say BYE BYE Malaysia see you on the 19th of May – Yes we are going back and we can’t wait.
Thanks for a fantastic 5 days full of Fun Colour Adventure and Panic hahahaha, we miss you all already.

Lenny and Mio

Honey, we're home!

2010-07-27T09:38:00.006+10:00

Now, back in Brisbane and so excited to be returning to classes this week the Vida Latina performance troupe are ready to have fun with their wonderful Zumba and Latin Dance students once again!

After two weeks away (read all about it in previous blog posts) each of the wonderful dancers have had the most amazing experience touring and performing in Japan! Wowing audiences with Latin Cabaret in Kyoto, Fukui, Tokyo and the full stage production Sakura in Hiroshima, plus countless workshops kept this beautiful team busy as they completed this fantastic JAPAN 2010 Tour. The audiences absolutely loved the Aussie troupe and want them back again to perform and showcase their spectacular productions in the future.

Making history, this Brisbane-based dance company is now recognised for self-funding and supporting 9 dancers to travel, tour and perform internationally giving the Vida Latina Dance Company directors an incredible sense of success. In only 5 years this company has grown and continues to wow with inavative, incredible and inspiration productions showcasing each of their performers talents and giving opportunities unlike any other dance company in Brisbane.

To celebrate returning to 'the land of Oz' Vida Latina are hosting a STUDIO PARTY. Everyone is welcome (even if you don't feel like dancing) come along and chat with the dancers and enjoy a lovely night out:

Where: Vida Latina Studio, 25 Railway Tce, Milton
When: Friday evening 30th July
Time: 8pm - late (join us for coffee at Park Rd after the dancing!)
Entry: $7
Call 0415 587 316 if you have any questions about the party.

Now back in full swing Vida Latina Dance Company will be providing more amazing Zumba Fitness classes around Brisbane (check www.zumbafitnessbrisbane.com) plus more fun and more parties, shows and entertainment coming your way.

The Vida Latina Blog will continue... so you will be able to read more about the adventures of Vida Latina and all the wonderful events coming your way!

Have a beautiful week ahead and if you would like any information about Vida Latina please call 0415 587 316 or email info@vidalatina.com.au

(Special thanks to Mieke Jonker for the uploading skills she provides to keep the VL Blog running!)

Here are some photos from our performances in Japan.

Vida Latina's last few days in Japan (Monday 12.07.2010 & Tuesday 13.07.2010)

2010-07-14T08:15:00.004+10:00

The last few days has been relaxing with a lot of walking and heaps of shopping in Osaka. The mall here stretches for eons and that is just the main street. Then there is an underground mall as well as separate sections which come off from the main one. It's incredible! So much variety so much fun!

Unfortunately the rainy weather here in Osaka is keeping us from doing a great deal of sight seeing so instead we are spending time together and getting ready to jet set home again to Oz tomorrow. We fly out late Wednesday night... the sereal feeling has set in as it has been such an amazing feat of Vida Latina's incredible achievements to finish this tour with such great success and the perfect feeling of accomplishment.

There are so many words and thoughts to explain the awesome experience we have all shared. So much to still improve on as we are always seeking and striving to better the step we have taken before. Now, with this first door being opened the opportunities and endless possibilities will flow through with graceful power as Vida Latina shapes their future, one step at a time... so here is to the next one...

Disneyland Baby! (Sunday 11.07.2010)

2010-07-13T13:26:00.003+10:00

What a way to start a Sunday morning! Taking a stroll through the famous streets of Harajuku (said to have the most outrageous fashion in the world!) everyone loved all the market-type shopping as it was nothing like what is offered in Australia, or anywhere else for that matter. Shoes that had statements of their own, disco clothes, hats, bags, everything and anything you can think of... even accessories such as furry tails (which Yui and Lemona bought to proudly wear the rest of the day).

After lunch we traveled by train to Tokyo DISNEYLAND - the only words to describe it "DISNEYLAND BABY!!!!" Which all of us kept yelling intermittently throughout the day. We watching Captain EO, which was a Michael Jackson 4D music video clip (one of the characters sneezed and we got sprayed... thus the 4D effect... it was great fun!) we wondered around eating junk food and taking photos... taking in the magic and beauty of Disney... so wonderful! Unfortunately, the rain took away any hopes of seeing the amazing night time parade, which was sad however all of us were so exhausted I think we were glad to be heading back earlier.

Now all tucked away in our hotel rooms for one last night in Tokyo as we prepare to travel back to Osaka tomorrow morning. Then only two days left in the magnificent efficient country as we fly home late Wednesday night (arriving early Thursday morning)... this trip has gone so quickly... although it's not quite over... all the shows and workshops are now done and the sense of achievement is ingrained within us all.

Vida Latina is the first Australia Theatrical Latin Dance Company to accomplish such greatness... and this is just the beginning!

We're Officially on 'Hor-i-days'!! (Saturday 10.07.2010)

2010-07-13T13:16:00.003+10:00

Sleeping in and then conducting the last workshops we all supported each other throughout the afternoon and late into the night... and hanging out with the most loveliest and most handsome man Masayuki Hanawa... who looked after the Vida Latina dancers and crew during the show and workshops. It was a lovely way to finish the 'work' side of the trip... as once today was finished we were all officially on holiday (hor-i-days as it's pronounced in slag Japanese)... so after enjoying a lovely dinner trying chicken heart and all sorts of other crazy cuisines... we headed back to the hotel, ensuring we weren't catching the last train... as we agreed you only needed that experience once! Kind of like skydiving... you live through it once just to say you really did it, then never again!

Wowing Tokyo with Latin Cabaret (Friday 09.07.2010)

2010-07-13T13:05:00.005+10:00

We woke early and walked the streets of Tokyo, an awesome experience. Lots of photos have been taken where all we are doing is looking up through the huge buildings and taking in the magnificent difference this city offers.

We also visited a popular market place and temple in the middle of Tokyo, it was crazy busy but great fun! After a full day we prepared for our last show: Latin Cabaret in Tokyo. The show was amazing and we wowed the audiences yet again with something they did not expect. Feeling like super stars we continued to dance and party with everyone who came to see us, it was so much fun and everyone had a great night... then just like Cinderella we had to get to the station before midnight to catch the infamous "last train"... we packed up and in a split second we were off... racing to the train. Along the way we ran into a gentleman who had come to see the show (he loved it) we named him Mr Miyagi (he's real name is Mr. Honda), Mio asked him to help us make our way through the subway to the last train. After a couple of transfers we boarded the "last train"... having a little bit of prior warning this train was packed! Literally packed! None of us have ever experienced anything like it... tempers and drunkenness were unfortunate incidents we experienced... but thankful all survived. It was a huge day and with a hugely successful final show for the Japan 2010 tour! Go Vida Latina!

Arriving in Tokyo (Thursday 08.07.2010)

2010-07-13T13:02:00.002+10:00

Arriving in Tokyo we all felt like country kids going on a school excursion to the big smoke. This is a big city! So many people, so much efficiency and everywhere you look there are huge billboards advertising something cool. Visiting shops and department stores we felt even more behind the times as the fashion in Tokyo is incredible, if you want to express yourself... then you are free to do so in Tokyo - it's magical!

Tucked safely in our hotel rooms we planned an early start for Friday (shopping during the day and then the very last Cabaret show that night...)

EFFICIENCY REPORT

2010-07-13T13:00:00.000+10:00

It is unanimous Japan is the most efficient country in the world! Everything has a precise and perfect purpose... here is a list of things each of us have thought are the most efficient (and these are just some examples):

BIDET: "car wash for your bum" we are all slightly addicted to the experience of using a bidet for the first, second, third and now each time we visit the loo...

VERTICAL CAR PARKS: like in a lego set, the car drives in and is taken up in an lift type thing to be stacked on top of each other - incredible

CUP HOLDERS: not just for cars, but they are on tram, trains, buses and even in random places. The designs are so efficient that you don't even see they are there until you need it, then voila! Cup holder!

ESCALATOR CLEANER: there is a sponge at the end of the hand rail cleaning it as it rotates... genius!

Banana & Japenese Sports Drink: A Cure For All

2010-07-13T12:56:00.001+10:00

Fresh from our rooms at midday for a 'day off' we all meet in the hotel lobby heading out the lunch where we had a great rice meal - we were all glad to be back on track with the fine food experiences again. Unfortunately, Chris was totally under the weather... taking to action stations yet again there were thoughts of taking him to the doctors as well but after sitting in the middle of the Hiroshima shopping mall (people staring at us as they walked past, people don't sit like that here), Chris ate a banana and drank some fancy Japanese sports drink and soon came good (even when we aren't performing, we are drawing attention some how!). Tomorrow we have a very very early start to travel to Tokyo for workshops, the last Latin Cabaret performance and much more fun!

World Heritage Land Mark: The Ohtorii Gate (Tuesday 06.07.2010)

2010-07-13T12:47:00.005+10:00

Waking early we traveled to see the famous World Heritage Land Mark: The Ohtorii Gate (oo-tore-ee) and it was magical. We climbed Mt. Misen, which was a huge task yet totally rewarding once at the top! Visiting all the shrines along the way such as the eternal flame which is said to have been burning for over 1200 years and was such a special experience, however we were all a little upset about not seeing Baboons!

Heading back quickly to hold the afternoon workshops which went really well. However very late, in the wee hours of the morning, Brian (one of our photographers) admitted that his ankle injury had progressed severely enough to seek medical attention. On the way to the injury clinic at 3am Mio was talking to the lovely taxi driver, who thought Brian must have been a parliamentary dignitary with all of us traveling with him to the hospital - Mio laughed as she translated "he thinks we are accompanying a VIP", to which we replied... he is, he's our photographer :-) This taxi driver was so nice and has been given the nickname JAZZ because on his driver profile the word Jazz was listed as one of his likes... so now JAZZ will be who we call whenever we need a taxi in Hiroshima!

INJURY REPORT

2010-07-06T20:37:00.001+10:00

I thought it was a good time to let everyone know about the injuries endured so far...

* Annette = sore foot (with all the walking and performing she has coped well)
* Brian = sore ankle (possibly a sprain but we're not sure... he is ok, just needs to rest it)
* Simone = torn fingernail (during the Fukui cabaret her fake fingernail was ripped off, but with strapping tape all seems to be ok)
* Lenny's black suitcase = rolling handle (the handle used when pulling the suitcase was completely ripped out... leaving only a pink scarf to be used as an akward yet necessary substitute)
* Shankkar's suitcase = broken wheel (on the first day, one of the wheels from the suitcase simply came off. Shanky has been doing a good job balancing it on one-wheel as we walk the streets of Japan)
* Navvi's thong = blow out (Navvii's thongs suffered as she flopped her way around the mall in search of a new pair of shoes today)
Everyone else (and other luggage) seems to be in good health... I will keep this updated...

Hiroshima - Day Two (Monday 05.07.10)

2010-07-06T20:33:00.002+10:00

We spent the afternoon shopping and enjoyed a fantastic meal at a Japanese family restaurant; which is the equivalent to Sizzler in Australia only better - just like all the food and service over here - it's just better in every respect. All fueled up we visited the Hiroshima Memorial Park and Museum. While walking through the park a Japanese gentlemen chatting to us, Mio again doing a marvelous job of translating. He was a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing (he was 17 when the bomb hit and he lost his entire family. He was further away from the hypocentre at school when it dropped and says it's still a miracle he survived). He took us around the memorial park explaining different things and sharing local knowledge. It was incredibly interesting, yet is totally unexplainable how everyone felt during the tour and especially when walking through the museum, words can not describe. It was an experience which will stay with all of us.

Spending a little more time shopping in the Hiroshima mall we all headed back to the hotel to do some much needed washing... with a few laughs and 2 hours later, we are all ready for bed. An early early start tomorrow to do some sight seeing before an afternoon of workshops. We have 2 more days in Hiroshima so more fun updates to come...

Hiroshima - Day One (Sunday 04.07.10)

2010-07-06T20:22:00.002+10:00

Today was the biggest of all the days on the Japan 2010 tour... today we were traveling to Hiroshima (Mio's home town) to perform our full stage production: Latin Fantasy: SAKURA. We started out fairly early after another late evening so none of us have had a full night sleep yet. We enjoyed the complimentary breakfast at the hotel with both Shankkar and Simone using the breakfast trays as plates instead of using the bowls intended for the scrambled egg and rice... so a good start to the morning really.

Conveniently walking straight into the train station from the hotel we boarded one of three trains we were to be catching during our journey. Everyone in their seats with the bags piled around us we were able to get a small amount of shut-eye for about an hour. Unfortunately, this first train was delayed slightly about 8 minutes, and Mio expressed some concern due to the relatively tight transfer we had to make at the next station. The rest of us were a little bit oblivious to the unexpected drama this was about to cause. We all started to organise ourselves, ready to get off this train and catch the all important Bullet train to Hiroshima and this was where the drama begins... due to the delay we had literally 60 seconds (I'm not kidding!) to get off the first train, up two flights of stairs, around the corner, through the ticketing centre, find platform 11 and down two flights of stairs. But let me explain how we were all feeling with with symbols: *#^~!

We ran like we had never run before, we weaved in between so many other people trying to keep as a group which of course was not easy. Yui and Simone were stuck behind the slowest moving gentlemen, Chris had to scale the flight of stairs with heavy costume bag, suitcases and trying to his ticket out. Those of the group who made it up the first stairs quickly accidently ran past platform 11 and Mio had to chase after them... as they all turned and bolted back and the vision of Lenny running with a bright pink suitcase in his right hand, a black suitcase in his left, an adidas bag over one shoulder, a camera bag around his neck and a furry koala attached swinging in the middle of his chest... will stay in the memory banks forever! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12... with hearts pounding each of us leaped onto the train as the woosh of the doors closing was the most scariest sound we ever heard as Lenny as his koala literally scrapped onto the train! We were all very much awake now.

A two hour bullet train ride, a tram ride we arrived at the Hiroshima-shi Minamikumin Bunka Centre (min-a-me-koo-min boon-ka centre) where we had time to relax in the foyer after our exhausting journey. The venue was wonderful and the lighting technicians were incredible, the most efficient, polite and competent technician any of us have ever worked with. Preparing costuming and staging we all worked together as Mio translated from English to Japanese and back again. At 5.30pm the doors opened and we set ourselves back stage, at 5.59pm we held hands and Lenny spoke to us about how this is the most powerful experience and that it was not about how many people were out there watching but about the achievement.

The show was utterly amazing... Mio's story has now been told. Expressing herself and baring everything Mio said she has a sereal feeling, yet full of achievement knowing that everyone loved the show. Although there were slight insecurities about the response from those in Hiroshima, however receiving flowers at the end of the show captured the support and accolades expressed by those in the audience. We relaxed after the show with some more incredible food... we had a late night and finally a late start, with all of us meeting downstairs the next morning at 12pm and Monday was to be our first 'day off' during the tour...

Workshops in Fukui (Saturday 03.07.10)

2010-07-06T20:17:00.002+10:00

Meeting in the hotel lobby everyone was chipper to be awake at 8am (not!), with pouring rain we piled into taxi's then onto trains and traveled to Fukui - which is considered a country town in Japan. The place was lovely (same food displays, same wonderful hospitality). Our hotel was right next to the train station and just up the road from the Salsa Lab - where we held 3 hours of workshops (Lenny and Mio doing a marvelous job, as usual) everyone who attended loved it. Squeezing in the most powerful of power naps (about 10 minutes) we were all running on very little sleep, however lots of excitment as we took a moment to remember...we are actually in Japan!
Latin Cabaret in Fukui was a huge success with everyone being blown away by Lenny, Mio and the Vida Latina dancers. A thousand photos and lots of social dancing later we all returned to our hotel, exhausted but satisfied with the second of our wonderful Latin Cabaret's. We slept for about 5 hours, to wake up and catch trains to our third destination: Hiroshima.

Kyoto...a 'tiny' city (Friday 02.07.10)

2010-07-06T20:03:00.007+10:00

Arriving and having a slight sleep in we set out in the morning to do some shopping in Kyoto city before the workshops and evening cabaret performance. Kyoto is the most traditional city in Japan and everything is tiny... tiny houses, tiny doors, tiny streets, tiny cars and anyone taller than Mio felt like somewhat of a giant. The city was so clean and very nice. We ate, we shopped, we walked the lovely streets trying on hats and looking at the fantastic plastic food displays. Just like window shopping for clothing, the food here is on display to entice and intrigue you and before you know it you're eating a double choc banana carmel cream crepe!

In the afternoon we went to Spanish Harlem Latin Club: two workshops and then the first performance of Latin Cabaret. The beautiful salsa club venue was the ideal setting for Latin Cabaret with the audience sitting in booths and chandelier lighting hanging above us. The performance was wonderful and everyone enjoyed it, the audience was smiling the entire time, adding comments like "oh, so sexy" and "beautiful, amazing dancers". After the show we all enjoyed social dancing and finished the evening at 2.30am with Izakaya (ee-za-ka-ya): where we tried all sorts of food:
Raw chicken: Annette, Simone, Lenny & Ronan ("it tastes just like chicken!")
Raw liver: Ronan, Chris & Shankkar ("it doesn't taste anything like chicken!")
Everyone agreed the food was amazing and a great way to end the first show of the tour... we headed back to the hotel to enjoy a total of 4 hours sleep before waking up and traveling to Fukui very early the next morning.

KANPAI!

2010-07-02T09:11:00.003+10:00

Hello Everyone!

We are here (in Japan) and we are safe!
It all started with Mio staying up all night and watching the sunrise on Wednesday... then a great dinner to wish everyone a safe trip...then the Vida Latina troupe sleep-over at the studio Wednesday night, ready for Thursday's flight. Piling into a 12 seat mini bus (Lenny at the helm) we arrived at the Coolangatta airport... we all checked in... all passed security... although of course Lenny was selected to be tested for explosives, but all good after a quick pat-down from the nice security man.

On board, we were well behaved and enjoyed ourselves as best we could for the 9 hour flight... touching down in Osaka, Mio organised rail passes and we headed to our first destination: Kyoto, Japan. Walking the beautiful (very tidy) back streets of Kyoto, we checked into our hotel... then all feeling the need we went to the Convenience store just across the road... everyone found the strangest of things to buy... Ronan a small peppered sausage, Lenny got his sugar bread, Mio and her aloe-vera yogurt.

We are happy to be getting a little sleep in to then hit the town again tomorrow. Then we'll be getting ready for our first Latin Cabaret performance in Kyoto on Friday night.

QUOTES FOR TODAY
"Kanpai" (translation = 'cheers!') pronounced "KAM-PAI" (if you're Annette and Simone - thick Aussie accents) has been the answer to any and everything during the trip so far (at this rate we'll have 14 words we can speak, one word for each day we're here!)
"Human Sushi Train" - this was Chris and Shankkar's bright idea/invention that instead of the sushi moving around, it should be the humans which ride the tiny train... think about it, makes you laugh doesn't it?!
Missing home just a little bit, Annette sings the chorus to 'One Tonne Rodeo" slightly adapting the words..."One tonne of mayo", it's just as catchy!

And of course, here are some snaps!

Only 3 Days

2010-06-28T15:00:00.002+10:00

Hello and woohoo! This is the first of many many more posts to come as this blog has been created so you can follow what Vida Latina is up to as they tour overseas in Japan.

As the 1st of July draws so close (only 3 days) Vida Latina Dance Company prepares for their exciting and incredible trip overseas to Japan. Based in Milton this theatrical Latin dance company is now embarking on the biggest of adventures. The entire performance troupe, plus a stage manager and two wonderful photographers will be traveling together as part of Vida Latina’s first entire troupe cultural tour for 2010. The opportunity to experience performing overseas and dazzling audiences in four cities, Vida Latina is set to entertain with their various Latin Cabaret shows, workshops and their most recent full stage production Latin Fantasy: SAKURA.

So… with the count down now at 3… stay tuned for photos, write ups, quotes and snip its of the incredible, exciting, most amazing dance company to tour Japan: VIDA LATINA DANCE CO.

Here are some shots from one of our recent rehearsals.