Gene Kelly

This Saturday morning turned out to be different than most Saturday mornings. After waking up, I had to put on my dancing shoes, put my hat on sideways and head out to the studio to make a music video featuring a bunch of clumsy administrators impersonating kids dancing. It was for an ad promoting a talent night later in the year and we figured if we could make a fool of ourselves, we could ask the kids to do the same thing.

I know I would be a great dancer if I only had rhythm and/or could remember patterns. Unfortunately, I can do neither as Sylvia’s feet can attest. Luckily, I arrived early for the shoot and had a private dance lesson. In a few minutes, I actually learned quite a bit about dancing. I learned that about 90% of songs in the world have 8 beats, an intro, verse, chorus etc. The dance instructor put on the music( hip hop) and got me to clap the rhythm as a first foray into dancing. It did not work for me in kindergarten and still doesn’t work for me 55 years later. After a failed twenty minute clapping lesson, he decided he nothing more to lose and taught me the basic steps. It was actually great, until he put on the music! Even then, I could almost do it until he decided to make a routine for me and asked me to morph into about three different patterns and gestures.

Finally, three other male teachers finally came and one of them, luckily, was the music teacher. He could count, thank God .In one of the routines, I was at the front for some reason, the music teacher in the middle, because he was the smallest and the tall guy at the back. We had to put on a small show with lots of movement, arm waving and jumping. I hope I never have to see the video!

Overall though, it was great experience trying to learn something I have no talent for. It is a great reminder what our kids go through on a daily basis as they are constantly being challenged to learn a whole lot of new things in a language foreign to most of them. Wow, you have got to admire them.

Saturday night, we went to the American Chamber of Commerce annual ball and I am again reminded of one of the points in BLINK by Malcolm Caldwell that resonated with me.. 90% of the leadership of corporate America are tall men over 6 feet. As the leaders of these multi-national corporations got up to make their presentations they all looked like either linebackers or CIA agents. They had short haircuts and square shoulders and talked ‘American’ It is as if everything said in his book was true. Here were all the leaders of American business in South East Asia and they absolutely fit the mold. They were tall, they were men and they all had lots of confidence. Incidentally, our school had students dancing, of all things, and they put on a great show, especially the five year olds doing the Salsa!