The New Paper - 21 Sep 2003 Mayday, mayday he's doing the ballet! By Chang May Choon IT was the most embarrassing two minutes in all his 30 years. During Mayday's comeback rock concert in Taipei last month, drummer Ming traded his drum sticks in for a white tutu and tried his best to dance to the graceful tune of Swan Lake. Big mistake. So hilariously clumsy did he look - especially with a toy swan head sewn to his tutu - that the whole 40,000-strong audience exploded into hysterical laughter. Even his fellow band members - vocalist Ashin, guitarists Monster and Masa, and bassist Stone - roared as he leapt into the air and then attempted to do a pirouette. 'I was already doing my best to dance, but still, everyone was laughing away madly,' the lanky, bespectacled drummer told The New Paper in a phone interview, chuckling. 'They must think my dance is the ugliest one they've ever seen. My confidence was totally shattered.' RECORD SALES But Ming has only himself to blame. Earlier on, he had promised reporters that if ticket sales crossed the 40,000 mark - a daunting record held by Michael Jackson for 10 long years - he would don a ballet suit and dance. Even Taiwan's reigning prince of R&B, Jay Chou, had failed to break the record with his 35,000-people concert last year. 'It seemed impossible to achieve, but deep down, I was hoping we could do it,' he recalled. 'When they (his record label) finally told me on the night before the concert that we managed to break the record, it felt incredible. 'I was very happy, but at the same time, my head was splitting. I was thinking, 'Oh no, must I really dance?'' Luckily, he was prepared - after days of practice under the guidance of a ballet teacher recommended by a friend. SECRET PRACTICES 'The other guys didn't know about it, but I had been secretly practising in front of the mirror, after our usual rehearsals,' he recalled. 'But it was so tough to get the moves right, like how to position my hands and kick my legs. 'Whenever I tried to spin, I'd tumble and fall. Even my teacher was laughing at me.' He was hoping his newly-acquired ballet skills would give the audience a pleasant surprise. As it turned out, 'they were surprised all right, but only because my moves were so ugly'. His bandmate, Ashin, agreed. He said teasingly: 'It's torture watching Ming dance! He's really not cut out for dancing.' Surely his moments of folly would be included in the VCD version of the concert, which is slated for release much later? Ming paused to think, then said: 'Maybe I'll request for my dance to be edited out. 'If it's recorded, it'll mean (it's there for) eternity. Then I can't salvage my reputation anymore. 'What if my kids see it in the future and ask, 'Why is daddy dancing like that in front of so many people? What a disgrace!'.' Already his buddies have been teasing him mercilessly, he groaned. 'Whenever they see me, they'd say, 'Ming, your dance was so ugly'! The laughter is still ringing in my ears. My heart is scarred,' he added in a dramatic tone. Why not train harder to redeem himself? 'It's impossible. I know my limits. I'll stick to drums next time.' Familiar old hits for S'pore fans A MORE mature Mayday will deliver familiar old hits and new songs included in its upcoming fourth album when it performs at the Indoor Stadium next month. One of the new tracks has Indian influences, said vocalist Ashin. Besides jamming, the five guys, who have reunited after a two-year hiatus for some of them to complete national service, will also don more stylish costumes, like leather jackets and red checkered pants, compared to their usual T-shirt-and-jeans ensemble. So far, about 50 per cent of the 8,000 tickets have been snapped up by eager fans. The tickets went on sale on Sep 1. And while Ashin had promised fans that the boys will also be dancing on stage, who knows, if you persuade him hard enough, Mayday's drummer Ming may just do the Swan Lake routine for you. Live! -- 女人其實和太監一樣，像被閹割。 沒有權力、沒有地位… -- “若要愛情暫保新鮮，開罐後請即冷藏。” ～罐頭愛神 -- ※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw) ◆ From: 202.156.160.229 ※ 編輯: wenning 來自: 202.156.160.229 (09/21 06:29)