THE BUZZ

SPRING TRAVEL has not been this exciting. There are just so many things to see in so many places. And with friends and colleagues all over the world, we see a place alien to us in a special kind of way offering an unforgettable experience. I may be limited in terms of traveling because I'm almost on my 7th month of pregnancy but I am wishing all of these people the best of luck wherever they are and I am rooting for them in spirit.

LONDON:

Let me start with Miss Saigon opening its curtains again to lovers of musical theatre productions last Saturday. It is the 17th amongst the list of the longest running musicals of all time. It first ran from 1989 to 1999. But CAMERON MACINTOSH relives his golden years with one of his 7 Billion Dollar productions as he launches the new cast with the same remarkable helicopter scene. The photo on the left was captured last Saturday during a standing ovation.

Again, friends, Ela Lisondra and Ariel Reonal are currently part of the cast. You may want to fly there to have a first hand experience of why the people's feedback upon seeing it once again wish for the musical to run longer this time.

HAWAII:

FALANIKO PENESA,
Samoan Siva Afi Competition 2009

The Polynesian Cultural Center hosts the 2014 World Fire Knife Competition where 28 senior competitors are fighting over the championship title. This goes on from May 7-10, 2014 in the North Shore of OAHU. 

My brother-in-law, Falaniko Penesa, is one of the competitors who made it in the semi finals. 9 of them are left out of the 28 making the whole competition so exciting with a variety in their moves and presentation of the fire-knife dancing as a sport and art. Falaniko, known commonly as Frankie, sets his debut this year in the World Fire Knife by starting strong. Getting educated of the craft at a young age made him follow his brother, Hogan Toomalatai's footsteps, joining competitions back in Samoa, where he is originally from. Getting exposed to competitions since he was 19 years old, he got moulded into banging a contract in Hong Kong Disneyland, doing fire-knife for the Lion King show. In 2 years, he worked on a routine that he thought deserving to enter in the World Fire Knife Competition so, it's worth all looking forward to. We wish him the best in the competition knowing that this is his first time to join. You can stream it around in the afternoon (Hong Kong time) over the weekend to get hold of the Champion of 2014 succeeding a good friend who had been the Champion of 2012 & 2013.

PHILIPPINES:

Ariel Reonal, one of the cast of Miss Saigon, adviced of a good chance to hon skills in acting as you take in the beauty of Boracay.

Furthermore in Manila, Philippines, a good friend of mine, Patrick Mabanta, who had been really into krumping lately and who never failed to express himself when it comes to dancing, had invited me to this event in the Philippines and having a go-signal to share, this is all for those who are interested....

NO STUDIO! Just the Streets, the speaker and the KRUMP TEACHER!

2 hour Workshop for ONLY 100php!!

WHAT: THE GUTTER (Street KRUMP workshop, taught by 1K)
WHEN: May 10th 9pm-11pm
WHERE: Behind CCP on the Corner of Bukaneg street and Magdalena Jalandoni.

REAL HIGH QUALITY KRUMP for a DIRT CHEAP PRICE. You're crazy if u miss this. So come thru! Share this event page and invite your friends to learn KRUMP!

Also, The Manila Moshpit will start after the workshop which will be for free of charge as always from 11pm-12:30am.

SINGAPORE:

Singapore's Biggest Water Sports Festival is celebrating by holding Dragon Boat Races in Singapore this May at DBS Marina Regatta offering up to SGD20,000 worth of cash prizes for the winners to take all. They just have to win the 200m and 500m one on the 17th and 18th of May respectively. The most renowned Dragon Boat Racing Teams (both local and international) are up for a battle. Last year's participants were around 140 excluding Hong Kong. But this year, Hong Kong Disneyland's Team MUSHU (where a number of friends and my husband is in) will be one of Hong Kong's representatives working on earning a title. One thing's for sure about this team, they don't compete to disappoint. Hoping that they will be able to take home the beef, the races I'm sure are worth watching. So, keep abreast, decide on which team you're going to pick by logging on to their website and drop by Marina Bay to have a one-of-a-kind experience that will truly give you an adrenaline rush.

TEAM MUSHU, back-to-back champs of 500m LAMMA ISLAND RACES in Hong Kong

Related posts:

1. THE HEAT IS ON - featuring Tony Award winner, Lea Salonga
2. HUMBLE BEGINNINGS - Frankie Penesa Solomona in the newspaper - speaking of old school!
3. WHO'S GOT THE SWAG - some of the people who made a name in dancing...