31/12/2016
Well, here it is: our final year-in-review post. What a fantastic, amazing, incredible journey it has been for us. When we opened our doors on January 1, 2009, we never imagined that we would get to meet so many people from so many different walks of life. It has been enlightening to say the least! We began our time at Studio 23 full of excitement and hope, and we end it full of humility and gratitude - for everyone who has supported us through the past 8 years, for all the goals we were able to set and achieve, for all the experiences we were able to have, and for all the lessons we were able to learn.
This brings the studio’s time to a close, but life goes on, and we can’t wait to visit Kuching again and again to see how everyone is getting on! In the meantime, you can still get in touch with us through this page. We will keep this page running during this transition period as we work out details for another dance studio to take over our premises.
And of course, we do want to say that THERE ARE STILL CLASSES AT THE STUDIO LOCATION! BJJ and Core Strength classes are running as normal, and the dance instructors will be picking right from from where they left off. So the both of us won’t be there, but the show will go on :)
It has been nothing short of a privilege to meet you and be a part of your lives. God bless you all, and here’s to a great 2017 for everyone!
Serina & Albert
Studio 23: 1.1.2009 - 31.12.2016
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JANUARY: Our 2016 began strong, right out of the starting blocks, with the Shine danceathon! The event was held at City One to benefit Purple Lily, a local NGO aimed at advocating for, educating and providing aid for women in Sarawak. We joined a collection of other Kuching dance studios for a whole day of all genres of dance! On the BJJ side, we also got off to a great start in 2016 as the team went to KL for the Copa da Malasia and came home with a bunch of medals!
FEBRUARY: We had to start February by announcing that our plans for a Valentine’s Day project had to be postponed. We needed a little more time to prepare for… well, if you don’t remember what happened, then keep reading :) The month rolled on with the studio acting as the venue for a special Salsa workshop, organised by Daphne Seet and featuring Güpson Pierre, visiting from Singapore. Finally, we were so thrilled to welcome the one and only Natalie Nazario from NYC to Kuching for a series of masterclass workshops (and a few sightseeing trips)!
MARCH: Natalie’s visit to Kuching ended in March with more classes, and of course, a hafla! She knocked our socks off with the premiere of a new choreography, never before performed! The BJJ team kept themselves busy by attending the Fight Fest competition in Kota Kinabalu, winning a couple of medals and bringing home more than a couple of great memories - and then almost right away it was time for the tryouts for season 4 of the Malaysian Invasion MMA competition, at Plaza Merdeka.
APRIL: At long last! We were all set for what is a definite candidate for one of the “best moments at Studio 23” with our Valentine’s project. It was a flashmob performance, that just happened to have a special surprise for our dance troupe’s very own Tiffany Siew: a marriage proposal by her (very) long-term boyfriend, and pillar of the BJJ team, Norman! This kicked off an insane run of four big performances in a week, including three during the first weekend! We feel tired just remembering it, honestly.
MAY: World dominance? Maybe in a way, for just a moment? That’s kind of how we felt as in the very same weekend, Serina performed in New York City, while back home, our Studio 23 dance troupe performed at a combined birthday and wedding anniversary celebration for the governor of Sarawak. Serina’s performance at Jebon was her second - the first was back in 2012, when she was 2.5 months pregnant with Alyssa! The BJJ team kept on with business as usual, heading over to KL and doing their thing at another instalment of the Copa da Malasia.
JUNE: Serina’s New York City adventure culminated with another performance, this time at the Theatrical Belly Dance Conference. This was certainly a high-level affair, as evidenced by its directors: the world-famous duo of Ranya and Anasma! We were very fortunate to spend some time with Anasma, and she agreed to take part in our last production, the sequel to our 2011 show Dance Me A Story!
JULY: This was our quietest month of the year, as we got down to the business of laying the groundwork for DMAS 2. We knew it would be our final show and wanted to make it the best we could, and that took a lot of very careful planning! On the BJJ front the team decided to not be all that quiet, as Alex and Raphael made solo journeys to competitions in Singapore and Taiwan, respectively, with both guys winning gold!
AUGUST: We took the opportunity in August to announce that after 8 years, Studio 23 would finally be closing at the end of 2016. It was a huge, very difficult decision for us and we needed to take a lot of time to make it, but ultimately it was the right one for us and our family. It wasn’t all glum this month, as the BJJ team brought a good-sized contingent to KK for the Sabah BJJ Open, and came back with a very good-sized haul of medals :)
SEPTEMBER: This month was centred almost completely around the auditions for DMAS 2. All the dancers, after weeks of intense practice, performed in front of our panel of judges from KL to win spots on the cast of Dance Me A Story 2: Scattered Showers. That same weekend, we had a number of dancers volunteer to perform in aid of the Sarawak Children’s Cancer Society for Gold Ribbon Week at Vivacity. And of course, we capped September off with an impromptu workshop by one of the judges, Lili Kosin!
OCTOBER: The highlight of October was our participation in the Grand Finals of the MIMMA competition, and we brought two team members to the show! Unfortunately, the results didn’t go in our favour. Bryant was not successful in his quest to unseat Meeraj as Middleweight Champion, but he is young, strong and full of potential for the future. Likewise, Joanna lost her title as Women’s Champion to a very deserving Jihin, but nevertheless gained a lot of respect for her heart and never-give-up spirit. We’ve always said that win or lose, we care more about who our teammates are - and become - as people, rather than focusing on what they won. This is a perfect example as we are so proud of both of them for going out, putting themselves on the line and giving 100%.
NOVEMBER: This was a month packed with rehearsals, rehearsals and more rehearsals! Everyone was running at full speed, from our Production and Technical Teams based in KL, to our dancers, costume designers, tailors, printers and contractors in Kuching - and even from Bali, where co-Directors Serina and Anasma met up for a crazy 3 days of wall-to-wall planning sessions and training sessions for both dance and drama.
DECEMBER: The past month has been dominated by our final production, Dance Me A Story 2: Scattered Showers. It was an intense, exhausting ride to get here. There were so many highlights within this: Anasma’s first ever visit to Malaysia, performing at DMAS 2 and conducting a series of next-level workshops. The first time we have held a production over 3 nights. An amazingly decorated and very touching farewell party for us at the studio. And finally, the end of our time in Kuching with a special dance session this morning to cap the year off.
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer. Thank you for joining us on our journey, and for lighting the way with your trust, your encouragement, and your friendship.
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Linli. This was our favourite view from the studio for our first seven years. It's one that doesn't exist any longer due to the new shopping mall being built, so we hope you enjoy looking at this as much as we do.
