Too angry to care..
I am enraged! I am furious, livid and just downright mad!!! (not just using lots of words for fun here.. I mean it!)
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I attended a formal function (that involved dinner and a show) this weekend, together with WS and a group of friends. I had quite a nice time dressing up and getting prepared (see accompanying photos) with PY and was quite excited about the night. (I also had a great weekend with WS but that's a story for another day, I promise!)
So there I was, with WS, having a pleasant dinner and watching the show, (and looking forward to the Chinese dance since I am a Chinese dance 'expert', having choreographed many myself over the years.. hehe..) minding my own business. I was generally happy and enjoying myself.... UNTIL the Chinese dance was actually performed.
Boy, was I outraged!!! I realised, from the moment the music came on and as the dance progressed, that it had actually been ripped off the dance that I choreographed for Nottingham's Malaysian Night in 2003!
Ok, I know what you're thinking. I must be completely 'perasan' (i.e. arrogant) to think that someone would actually imitate my dance. Sure, the song is a popular one that could have been chosen by anyone (Coco Lee's 'A Love Before Time'), and the steps are fairly universal (there are only so many things you can do with Chinese fans) but there were more reasons than that:
1) The opening sequence of the dance was exactly the same as mine. Right down to onset, tempo and formation.
2) There were too many sequences in that dance (50-75%) which were same as my dance for it to be a coincidence. (By sequence here what I mean is a specific step that is being danced at a particular bit of the song.. i.e. they were dancing the same steps to the same bits of the song as my dancers did)
3) Not only were the sequences the same, but most of the formations were too dammit!
4) Finally. the dead giveaway was seeing my own steps being used in the exact same way as I used it. You see, there are a few steps in my original dance that was so-called 'created', or should I say modified-from-the-usual by me, i.e. I've never seen it being used anywhere else (and I have seen many Chinese dances in my day..) And there it was, being performed before my very eyes!!!
So you can imagine how infuriated I was! Not only did I get to experience a live performance of my 'baby' being pirated, but I had to also watch it being performed poorly! And all I could do was sit there, seething, and ranting to my friends around me. (Rest assured though, I'm fairly well brought up and therefore, tried my very best to be gracious about it and not make a complete fuss. I would have walked up to the choreographer and confronted her, but she herself was busy with the whole night's performance. This issue may be too trivial for her to be concerned with..)
And yes, I have so-called 'proof'. I later found out that the choreographer (who has a few good friends in Notts, of which I know) had managed to borrow a copy of our Nottingham Malaysian Night 2003 production, "Irinah", and therefore, had access to all the dances and performances on it. So, this goes to prove that I'm not making this up!
As much as I can understand the possible reasons to why the choreographer did what she did, (lack of time to fully choreograph a dance, lack of manpower, and seriously, what are the chances that the original choreographer from Nottingham's production 2 years ago would be here to witness this?) and how S said that "Imitation is the highest form of flattery", nevertheless, I am still completely enraged!
I am enraged that the people involved lacked the courtesy to just kindly inform me that they're intending to rip off my dance. I mean, I know I didn't copyright the dance or anything, but wouldn't you think it's not only common courtesy, but basic decency to just let the original choreographer know anyway? I'm not asking for any acknowlegement of any sorts, I had that in my day, I'm merely asking for some respect and perhaps, gratitude for my 'help'.
Ok, so maybe they didn't have a clue where the dance came from and who choreographed it. But it's not as if they saw it once on the night it was first performed, had it memorised by heart and reproduced it from pure memory. Cos' that would be a decent excuse since it would be impossible to find out who the choreographer was.
But that's not the case at all, is it? They managed to get hold of the VCD so they must have the access to such information. They could have easily informed the party who lent them the VCD, then the party could have easily come let me know. Is it so hard to just ask? After all, it wouldn't matter what I said, but at least I would be in the know!
I bet all of you out there think I'm being selfish and self-involved and self-everything. But I think I'm allowed to be possesive, and therefore, certainly have the right to be angry. To be honest, in this case, it doesn't matter what people think. If you've never been in my position, you wouldn't understand. And even if you have been, and did not react the same way I did, then that makes you a better person than I am.
All in all, my blood pressure was pushed up momentarily thanks to this episode. Let this be a lesson to all - don't count on luck being on your side if you intend to do something you're not supposed to. Chances are, it'll turn around and bite you in the arse, as it did with the other 'choreographer' (and me, for that matter)
As I mentioned in my previous entry, I attended a formal function (that involved dinner and a show) this weekend, together with WS and a group of friends. I had quite a nice time dressing up and getting prepared (see accompanying photos) with PY and was quite excited about the night. (I also had a great weekend with WS but that's a story for another day, I promise!)
So there I was, with WS, having a pleasant dinner and watching the show, (and looking forward to the Chinese dance since I am a Chinese dance 'expert', having choreographed many myself over the years.. hehe..) minding my own business. I was generally happy and enjoying myself.... UNTIL the Chinese dance was actually performed.
Boy, was I outraged!!! I realised, from the moment the music came on and as the dance progressed, that it had actually been ripped off the dance that I choreographed for Nottingham's Malaysian Night in 2003!
Ok, I know what you're thinking. I must be completely 'perasan' (i.e. arrogant) to think that someone would actually imitate my dance. Sure, the song is a popular one that could have been chosen by anyone (Coco Lee's 'A Love Before Time'), and the steps are fairly universal (there are only so many things you can do with Chinese fans) but there were more reasons than that:
1) The opening sequence of the dance was exactly the same as mine. Right down to onset, tempo and formation.
2) There were too many sequences in that dance (50-75%) which were same as my dance for it to be a coincidence. (By sequence here what I mean is a specific step that is being danced at a particular bit of the song.. i.e. they were dancing the same steps to the same bits of the song as my dancers did)
3) Not only were the sequences the same, but most of the formations were too dammit!
4) Finally. the dead giveaway was seeing my own steps being used in the exact same way as I used it. You see, there are a few steps in my original dance that was so-called 'created', or should I say modified-from-the-usual by me, i.e. I've never seen it being used anywhere else (and I have seen many Chinese dances in my day..) And there it was, being performed before my very eyes!!!
So you can imagine how infuriated I was! Not only did I get to experience a live performance of my 'baby' being pirated, but I had to also watch it being performed poorly! And all I could do was sit there, seething, and ranting to my friends around me. (Rest assured though, I'm fairly well brought up and therefore, tried my very best to be gracious about it and not make a complete fuss. I would have walked up to the choreographer and confronted her, but she herself was busy with the whole night's performance. This issue may be too trivial for her to be concerned with..)
And yes, I have so-called 'proof'. I later found out that the choreographer (who has a few good friends in Notts, of which I know) had managed to borrow a copy of our Nottingham Malaysian Night 2003 production, "Irinah", and therefore, had access to all the dances and performances on it. So, this goes to prove that I'm not making this up!
As much as I can understand the possible reasons to why the choreographer did what she did, (lack of time to fully choreograph a dance, lack of manpower, and seriously, what are the chances that the original choreographer from Nottingham's production 2 years ago would be here to witness this?) and how S said that "Imitation is the highest form of flattery", nevertheless, I am still completely enraged!
I am enraged that the people involved lacked the courtesy to just kindly inform me that they're intending to rip off my dance. I mean, I know I didn't copyright the dance or anything, but wouldn't you think it's not only common courtesy, but basic decency to just let the original choreographer know anyway? I'm not asking for any acknowlegement of any sorts, I had that in my day, I'm merely asking for some respect and perhaps, gratitude for my 'help'.
Ok, so maybe they didn't have a clue where the dance came from and who choreographed it. But it's not as if they saw it once on the night it was first performed, had it memorised by heart and reproduced it from pure memory. Cos' that would be a decent excuse since it would be impossible to find out who the choreographer was.
But that's not the case at all, is it? They managed to get hold of the VCD so they must have the access to such information. They could have easily informed the party who lent them the VCD, then the party could have easily come let me know. Is it so hard to just ask? After all, it wouldn't matter what I said, but at least I would be in the know!
I bet all of you out there think I'm being selfish and self-involved and self-everything. But I think I'm allowed to be possesive, and therefore, certainly have the right to be angry. To be honest, in this case, it doesn't matter what people think. If you've never been in my position, you wouldn't understand. And even if you have been, and did not react the same way I did, then that makes you a better person than I am.
All in all, my blood pressure was pushed up momentarily thanks to this episode. Let this be a lesson to all - don't count on luck being on your side if you intend to do something you're not supposed to. Chances are, it'll turn around and bite you in the arse, as it did with the other 'choreographer' (and me, for that matter)
posted by Jean at 12:21 AM
2 Comments:
Dear Jeanie,
Firstly my apologies for making you feel so angry. It was honestly never my intention to do so.
With regards to the song, it was chosen before I saw your performance of it. Because, well, it's one of the only Chinese songs I know. Sad to say it's a bad way to choose a song, but well it's the truth.
With regards to 'ripping' of the moves, yes I took ideas from your original dance mostly to do with sequence, as well as moves from several of my sister's Chinese Dance School's vcds here in England where the teachers are from Hong Kong and China. And sorry to say, much of it was very similar. So to my simple mind [similar = popular]. My sister even asked for their help and showed me moves when I went back home over easter.
Once again I apologise which I guess is all I can do. You can either take it or continue to be angry with me which I accept. I do however wish that you did 'confront' me in person as I would have liked to apologise in person rather than in a... comment. If you would still like to talk/confront me I would be happy to provide you with my e-mail/mobile number as I am not the kind of person who ever runs away from her actions.
As for me I move on. Happy and content with the fact that I managed to write and direct the entire production and choreograph and teach 4 different dances. I have no regrets and am damn proud of my fellow Manchester Malaysians for what they managed to achieve in just 3 weeks.
I thank you very much for coming to Manchester over the weekend and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed the rest of the show.
Best Regards,
Safia
Hi Safia..
Firstly, thank you so much for your apology. I appreciate it very much, honestly.
Like I said, I can understand the reasons or circumstances as to how this has happened, and honestly, it's both your bad luck as well as mine that I happened to be there..
Also, I did want to talk to you that night, but to be honest, felt that it would be entirely inconsiderate of me to do so since you were busy running the show. If that in any way offended you, it's my turn to be sorry.
All in all, this has been an interesting episode. Thank you again for apologising and despite everything, I think you guys put in a lot of effort into the night and that should be applauded.
(Don't know if replying to this comment is a good idea, as I'm unsure if you'll ever come back after this! haha..)
Post a Comment
<< Home