Last Saturday I had the opportunity to take part in a flash mob for the first time! Sae Min of i-dance studio had informed me about the Kylie Dance Squad weeks ago, but I didn’t have the chance to join the rehearsals. It was only a couple of weeks ago that I found out that I could still join the squad even though I didn’t join the rehearsals. So without hesitation, I registered and I got my sister to sign up too!

OK… truth be told, the reason we signed up was because members of the Kylie Dance Squad would get a free concert ticket to Kylie’s concert in conjunction with the Formula One race happening this weekend. And yes, I WANTED TO SEE KYLIE. She’s been a pop icon since before I was a teenager! I still remember the Locomotion song – I used to listen and dance to it every day when it was first released.

If we didn’t attend rehearsals, we were supposed to learn the dance from the videos on F1 Rock’s website. I only managed to view them the night before, on Friday. My sister was even better – she never watched the videos until Saturday, just before we were leaving!

But then, that was because we simply didn’t have the time, and I had assured my non-dancing sister that we could wing it 😀

My sister and I on the train to KLCC
My sister and I on the train to KLCC

So anyway we made our way over to KLCC on Saturday at the appointed time to pick up our wrist straps (prior to the flash mob), and it turned out they were having last-minute rehearsals, so we jumped right in to learn the steps on the spot. My sister did really well in spite of having very little dance experience *so proud of her*

We were told to wait at the Esplanade at about 1.50pm, and that there would be two lead-in songs before the flash mob was supposed to start. The first lead-in song (Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head) was played at about 2pm, but the second lead-in song (Kelis’ Milkshake) didn’t come on until after about half an hour. By then the adrenaline had already disappeared, our excitement was gone, and we were just tired and hot from the heat radiating from the concrete tiles.

Waiting for the flash mob to begin in the hot, hot sun
Waiting for the flash mob to begin in the hot, hot sun

Our guess was that one of the speakers was spoilt because we noticed one of the speakers had “disappeared” during the time between the two lead-in songs. We didn’t notice the “disappearance” because we ourselves kept disappearing – into the airconditioned cool of the shopping mall.

However when the music for the flash mob came on, the squad zoomed in onto the unsuspecting crowd and we put on quite a fantastic show. There apparently was a weirdo group that walked right into the middle of the flash mob and just stood there, interfering with the dance, but fortunately that didn’t stop the squad from doing well. I didn’t notice this group because I was quite far away from them, but you can see them towards the end of the video below.

 

You can actually see me in parts of the video, but I’m not telling you when or where I was in the video because I made a few obvious mistakes during the flash mob. Well you can’t blame me, I only really learnt the dance that morning itself.

My sister and I had a quick tea with Callista Chuah before we went off as my sister had a bit of birthday present-shopping to do.

And… here’s the disappointing news. KYLIE’S CONCERT HAS BEEN CANCELLED! With barely an apology from F1 Rocks, the only reason we were given was that it was “due to unforeseen circumstances”. Both Kylie’s and Kelis’ concerts were cancelled, and they were supposed to be on the coming Friday and Saturday respectively. I don’t really care for Kelis, but it was Kylie I wanted to see.

We picked up this many free VIP tickets! Too bad we couldn't go.
We picked up this many free VIP tickets! Too bad we couldn’t go.

In place of Kylie Minogue, we were given free VIP tickets to see Nicole Scherzinger of Pussycat Dolls and Korean girl group SNSD perform instead, although strangely this replacement concert was not organised by F1 Rocks. Sae Min and I collected the free tickets, but unfortunately due to another engagement, we could not watch the concert.

But still… it’s extremely disappointing news for all the members of the Kylie Dance Squad who took part to see Kylie. I feel really bad for the organisers of the flash mob who took a lot of trouble to gather people, to choreograph, to teach, to organise rehearsals, to arrange the venue…

We can’t help wondering what’s going on internally. It’s bad enough that Malaysia is beginning to be known for its habit of banning concerts, and now without even reason Kylie (and Kelis) have been cancelled without so much as an explanation. I can’t help wondering… did Kylie even know she was supposed to perform in Malaysia in the first place??