He was supposed to catch here, but he caught me here.
(Chris) You moved too fast! Too fast!
Hi! Hi!
When was the last time you tried something new?
2-3 weeks ago, I went for my first free trial for Muay Thai.
I recently learnt how to rock climb for the first time ever.
It was quite scary; you had to go all the way to the top and release yourself.
You would start falling down.
I tried skateboarding, something that I'd never tried before.
I tried being vegan for a week - that was new for me. I tried skateboarding, something that I'd never tried before.
I tried being vegan for a week - that was new for me.
But other than that, I pretty much have my own safe space in my own personal life.
Naturally I am not - I am born an introvert.
It's only when people tell me, "Hey! Zhin, you're really good at this!"
I'll be like, "Whoa, I'm confident!" But before that, I won't be confident at all.
I think that I look very confident sometimes, but in reality, sometimes when the camera is off,
I'm like, "Actually, I don't know if this is ok or not."
I'm filled with self-doubt, so no. Not very confident.
On today's episode of Singaporeans Try, you will be doing ballet!
Oh my God!
Did not expect that at all.
Have you seen their shoes? They stand on their toes.
I can't even stand on my two feet to dance. How am I going to stand on my toes?
Whoa! There's a piano and everything!
Why is it so big?
I think I need to do this.
Chris! If not you cannot step inside!
My name is Wen Yee (Ms Tong), and I'm a ballet instructor here at Singapore Ballet Academy.
I've been teaching full time here for about two years.
I started dancing at the age of 4 and I have been here since.
What's nice about ballet is that it works the entire body, your mind and your soul.
We are going to start with a warmup, and then we will move on to the barre,
so that when the dancers come to the centre, they will be adequately prepared.
Hey, there's this video. You have to watch this.
Ballet fail compilation. Hey, there's this video. You have to watch this.
Ballet fail compilation.
Where? Where got fail? Oh...
If you don't balance your upper body right... But I must clap for this woman.
She immediately stood right back up.
Never done this in my life, never thought I'd ever do it in my life.
I'm super scared.
It feels like mittens.
(Wen Yee) I'll just demonstrate how to tie it...
You secure them by tying underneath, at the arch.
Just make sure it's secure, because if you jump, or move, it should not come out.
Good morning, teacher.
When you point, point from your ankles.
Sit up straight.
Try not to slip down. One more time.
Chris, open the toes. Open upwards. Fantastic!
You close, and point out.
We are going to start with plies.
Plie is the very first thing we do at the barre.
This is the first position. Very good.
We are going to bring your right arm in front of you, back to first.
(Producer) Xenia, why?
I didn't breathe. I forgot.
Out, and close.
You are too close to the barre. Now it's too far.
(Ms Tong) Excellent!
I'm just going to copy them, because I cannot remember everything.
(Ms Tong) Arms up, back to the side.
Shake up your legs!
It started off really scary. I think that as we did it slowly,
the instructor just brought us through the paces.
It was a lot more manageable than expected.
So far.
This whole ballet thing - super out of my comfort zone.
Never ever thought that I'd try ballet.
I think that I felt very tense the entire time.
Even having to stand up straight - your body posture -
was a conscious effort for me.
Plus, I'm going through this with three others. So I think that I feel really confident with them.
The thing is, we all know we are not going to get it right the first time.
But the fact that they are also trying their best - it kind of boosts my confidence a little bit.
We did the basic moves so far,
and all of these are actually very familiar to me because I used to dance ballet for a few years.
If you asked me at the very start of the class whether I was confident about getting everything right,
I'd be like, "No!". I'm getting about 20% right.
But 20% is better than 0% at the start.
(Ms Tong) So you will have to give your left hand, and you will have to give your right hand.
Keep the palms up.
You walk, towards... walk like this. Walk nicely.
Not like this.
This is the Queen, so you go for your Majesty.
(Counting)
(Ms Tong) Don't forget to breathe. Because otherwise, you will get really faint and tired.
He was supposed to catch here, but he caught me here.
(Chris) You moved too fast! Too fast!
I just learnt the choreography. The individual parts are pretty easy.
I do not know how everything will come together.
The entire experience of learning is very satisfying.
Seeing yourself being able to remember, and being very happy, and enjoying the entire dance.
It's something I've never tried before either.
Going through all the steps again is like revisiting my memory from long time ago.
More confident than I was before I started, so I'm glad I tried.
I'm quite surprised by how much we have learnt,
and I think that we are all quite happy that it is time to show what we have learnt.
(Ms Tong) Good job! I'm so proud of you guys! Thank you so much.
It was really good - very eye opening, very unexpected.
For me... it was very tiring, mentally and physically.
It was very nostalgic to be doing something that I haven't done in such a long time. It's been 10 years!
I didn't know that I still had it in me.
I learnt the most about myself.
When I try new things, it's always the fear of looking stupid, or not being able to do something well.
But the fact that I actually tried it, did it and performed...
That was the best feeling, because it just made me realize that all these fears were not necessary.
The mental block that I had was that I (thought I) couldn't come back to something that I'd done before.
The only thing that was stopping me from trying again was my own brain.
I told myself that I couldn't go back... that I am very stiff now.
But that's not true!
Today was extremely refreshing because of the instructor herself.
Yeah, she was super nice! Yeah! It just felt amazing. Today was extremely refreshing because of the instructor herself.
Yeah, she was super nice! Yeah! It just felt amazing.
Chris also helped me.
He would secretly say, "Ok, Xenia, jump to the right."
Dance isn't as scary anymore. Trying something new - it's fun!
Don't care about what people will think of you. Just do it.
The moment you actually step out of it (the comfort zone),
that's when you realize that this is the opportunity you should have jumped into right from the start.
Do it with friends. If you fail together, it's more fun.
Yeah, just laugh at your friends.
Thank you MCCY for making this video possible.
If you are looking to try something new this year, check out their links in the description box below.
Also, comment to tell us what you've always wanted to try, but have yet to do so.
So, as usual, if you like this episode of Singaporeans Try, please remember to Like, Share and Subscribe.
Watch our other videos over there! Bye!