Posted in Uncategorized on September 27, 2009 by ttw094brc
This is an incredible year to be involved in the Thrill The World tribute to Michael Jackson. I’m on fire because I know Bangkok is gonna rock the Thriller dance. It’ll be a performance the King of Pop would be proud to have associated with his iconic dance video. There is a giddy excitement building around this event, and, guess what? You can be a part of it. There are now two dance classes you can attend to learn the video dance sequence for the October 25th performance. Every Thursday evening, starting October 1st, you can attend classes at:
1. The International School of Bangkok, 39-12 Soi Nichada Thani (Nonthanburi, Thailand) from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.. The class will be taught in the school’s dance studio which is located near the tennis courts; OR
2. The Newsong Bangkok Church, Sukhumvit Soi 39 (Bangkok, Thailand) from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., in the basement level of the building.
Check out the new “Dance Rehearsal Schedules” listing under the pages directory for the most up-to-date rehearsal times.
Once you start dancing, you’ll be burning up with zombie fever, too. Don’t worry, we won’t try to put out the flames–we’ll let you burn until October 25th. That’s when we’ll set the dance stage on fire.
Don’t forget to bring your 100 bahts when you come to your first rehearsal.
Posted in Uncategorized on September 25, 2009 by ttw094brc
Thanks goes out to the dancers at Siam Youth Center who allowed us to participate in their weekly prayer service and ended it early so they could join our dance rehearsal. I must say, the word out in the streets about the Siam Youth Center having some of the best “hip-hop, crunk and B-boy” dancers in Bangkok, is absolutely true. They are BAAAD (as in very good!). Our lead dance Instructor Jaleea Price, Director of Dance at the International School of Bangkok (ISB), was amazing. She was assisted by an equally talented dancer/choreographer, Danielle Atwood. Before the evening was out, Jaleea and Danielle transformed a group of ordinary Bangkok denizens into very credible, dancing “Thriller” zombies. We now have a core group of people to assist Jaleea with her huge task: to get us ready to impress the world with our moves on Oct. 25th and to make folks in Bangkok and the rest of Thailand proud of our effort. We’re working on adding a new dance location and more rehearsal dates. Stay tuned to this site for updates.
For those of you who missed the first class …take a look at photos from the class on our facebook page. Hope to see you all at one of the upcoming rehearsals. If you’d like to join our team, scroll down to the “How you can help heading” on this page, review the list of areas where we need help and contact us at: ttw09.bangkok4brc@gmail.com to discuss your volunteer plan.
Don’t forget to bring your 100 bahts when you come to your first rehearsal. While having fun is part of the attraction of our dance effort, we’re also trying to raise money for the Bangkok Refugee Center. In other words, please show up with your initial donation and a personal pledge to raise an additional 900 baht for a total donation of 1000 baht. You’ll also be required to fill out a registration form. If you’re under 18 come with a parent or guardian who can give permission for you to dance.
Posted in Uncategorized on September 18, 2009 by ttw094brc
Hello, Bangkok!
“Thrill The World ’09 4 Bangkok Refugee Center” is part of the worldwide effort to have as many people as possible simultaneously perform the zombie dance from Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” video. This is the place for Bangkok’s wannabe zombies to register, get information about rehearsal times, and general updates about the BIG EVENT. We’ve received notification from the Thrill The World organization that our registration has been received and we’ve now been placed on the official schedule. The Thrill The World ’09 4 Bangkok Refugee Center’sofficial performance date and time is: October 25th, 7:30 a.m.. Dance groups in neighboring countries or performing at the same time and/date or at a later time on the same date:
Malaysia Sunday, October 25th, 8:30 a.m.
Cambodia Sunday, October 25th, 7:30 a.m.
Vietnam Sunday, October 25th, 7:30 a.m.
Update: Good News. The Bangkok dance will be performed twice! Once to comply with the guidelines of the TTW’09 organization and a second dance later in the day or the evening before to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the finished opus.
For more information about the Thrill the World ’09 organization cut and paste the link below into your internet browser or click on the link in the “blogroll” directory on this webpage.
http//www.thrilltheworld.com/about
The Zombie Dance
Two local choreographers have graciously volunteered to teach the “Thriller” dance to our zombie crew. Ms. Jaleea Price, Middle School and High School Director of Dance at the International School of Bangkok, is the Dance Coordinator for the Thrill The World ’09 4 Bangkok Refugee Center organization. She will be assisted by, Ms. Danielle Atwood, a dancer and choreographer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who currently resides in Bangkok. The first rehearsal will take place at the Siam Youth Center. Word is that the some of Bangkok’s best hip hop and “B-Boy” dancers can be found at the center. Our goal for the first rehearsal is to teach a group of “assistant dance instructors” the Thriller dance steps so they in turn can teach other zombie dancers at a large group rehearsal that’ll be held in the next week to two weeks. Only folks who are willing to commit to learning the dance steps well enough to become “assistant dance instructors” are invited to attend the first rehearsal!
Newsflash: The first rehearsal for the “TTW ’09 4 BRC” assistant dance instructors has been set for this Thursday, September 24th, 6:30 p.m., at the Siam Youth Center. Follow these directions to get to the center:
Exit Siam BTS toward the Paragon’s farthest entrance. That’s the entrance across from Siam Square and there is a MK Trendy there. Go down the steps to the square and find Soi 5. You will make a left on the next available soi and go behind the Novotel by turning right at the next corner. There will be a sign for the Siam Youth Center and a bigger sign for the Winning 11 game studio that is below. Go up the steps carefully, dance practice will be two flights of unever steps up.
Update: Another training date has been scheduled for people willing to learn the “Thriller” dance to serve as assistant dance instructors–but other participants who want to learn are welcome to attend the class. The new training date for assistant dance instructors is October 1st from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m… The class will be held at the International School of Bangkok, 39-12 Soi Nichada Thani (Nonthanburi, Thailand). The class will be taught in the school’s dance studio which is located near the tennis courts.
We hope to add a Saturday dance class to the rehearsal schedule in the next couple of days. If there are any changes in the date, time or location of the rehearsal, they’ll be posted on this site as soon as possible —so check back to confirm! Questions regarding the dance schedule and/ or general inquiries about learning the dance should be sent to Ms. Price by email at: ttw09.bangkok4brc@gmail.com.
You should also visit our new facebook page. The link is posted under the “blogroll” directory on this webpage. We’ll be posting photographs taken of the people, places and, of course, all the dancing we see, as part of a visual documentary of the evolution of this amazing grassroots movement here in Bangkok.
Locations for the large group rehearsal and final performance are still being scouted out but a few prime sites are under consideration.
In the meantime, here’s a link to the official Thrill The World ’09 “Learn to Dance” video downloads. Cut and paste the link into your internet browser or click on the link in the “blogroll” directory on this webpage. In other words, download the videos and start practicing your moves now!
Check out the King of Pop performing the zombie dance in the original Thriller video clip:
Bangkok Refugee Center:
The following information about the plight of refugees in Thailand was provided to me by Mr. Arthur Mangan, Former Volunteer Coordinator for the Bangkok Refugee Center. I want to give a big shout out to Arthur, “You’re Missed!”, and I want to let him know his recruits are carrying on in his absence.
Information on Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Across the globe asylum seekers and refugees are some of the most vulnerable and desperate individuals. They have been forced to flee their home country as a result of persecution, conflict and violence, environmental degradation, and serious violations of human rights. Many must rely upon the care of others to persevere and survive.
Refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand are no different. They have no access to gainful employment in order to become self-reliant, and lack access to Thai public basic social services.
Who is a Refugee?
Under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugee (“Refugee Convention”), a refugee is defined as someone:
•Who is outside his/her country of nationality or if the person does not have a nationality, outside their country of former habitual residence;
•Who has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and
•Because of that fear is unable or unwilling to return to the country of nationality or country of former habitual residence.
Who is an asylum seeker?
Persons who claim that they are refugees are referred to as “asylum seekers” prior to their claim being determined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The RSD process can be lengthy and asylum seekers are often waiting many months and sometimes years for a decision in their case. During this time they receive no financial or material support from the UNHCR. The non-government sector can only provide extremely limited assistance leaving people destitute, homeless, starving and often physically and mentally unwell.
These are people who badly need the most basic services such as food, water, shelter and protection from harm. Other challenges confronting these desperate people are a lack of health and educational services. Many of these people are victims of human rights abuses. The most vulnerable are women and children.
Fundraising
In addition to having fun, Thrill The World ’09 4 Bangkok Refugee Center (BRC) wants to raise money to assist individuals and families who are serviced by the BRC. Each participant must pay a 100 baht registration fee and agree to use his/her best efforts to raise an additional 900 bahts. Our hope is that each dancer will make a 1000 baht donation to the BRC. If an individual dancer wants to raise and/or donate more than 1000 bahts for this worthy cause, we’ll gladly accept it. Individual fundraising efforts must comply with all applicable legal requirements ( including licensing in some instances) and be conducted in a safe and prudent manner. The TTW ’09 4 Bangkok Refugee Center fundraising goal is: 100,000 baht. A goal we can easily reach if every dancer does his or her part to raise money for the BRC. One fundraising idea already being discussed by prospective zombie dancers is soliciting donations from sponsors. The basic idea is for the sponsors to agree to donate a specified amount to the BRC upon the participant’s successful mastery er..umm or rather his or her successful performance of the zombie dance. To assist us in deterring unscrupulous people from taking advantage of charitable minded donors by pretending to be participants in the Thrill The World ’09 event when they aren’t, DON’T START INDIVIDUAL FUNDRAISING DRIVES UNTIL YOU HAVE REGISTERED WITH US AND PAID YOUR 100 BAHT REGISTRATION FEE. If your name shows up on our official registration list, prospective sponsors can at least verify you’re registered as a participant. Deadlines for receipt of all registration fees and donations will be announced on this site.
Registration:
Registration forms can be downloaded to your computer from the “Pages” directory on this website. There is a form for adults (18 years and older) and a registration form for minor’s (under the age of 18). Copies of both forms will be available at scheduled dance rehearsals. The forms must be completed and returned with the 100 baht registration fee at the time of the participant’s first dance practice. The deadline for dancers to raise the additional 900 baht has not yet been set–but the clock is ticking. Visit this site often for updates.
Many of us dancing in the Thrill The World’09 event are Michael Jackson fans. You gotta believe he’d be excited to see that his music is inspiring people all over the world to come together and dance.
Are You Interested In Helping?
This is a grassroots movement. It’s success depends upon people with skills, time and talent coming together as part of an organic, creative collaboration. If you can help the TTW ’09 4 BRC in the following areas please contact us at ttw09.bangkok4brc@gmail.com:
Corporate Sponsorships–If you’re a business looking for a way to be part of this amazing event or you’re a person with a business contact who might support it, we’d like to hear from you.
Final performance support volunteers- We’ll need a sizable crew of volunteers to help with crowd control, to handing out water, and setting-up and breaking-down of equipment or other props which might be used.
Event Promotion- We need people who can help spread the word about Thrill The World ’09 4 Bangkok Refugee Center. Whether this is accomplished is through online social networking, twittering or sms telephone messaging–from our perspective, it’s all good and we can use your help.
Audio/Video Technicians– If you’re handy with a video camera and/or know how to set up and use audio systems we need use your help. Especially, if you have your own equipment!
IF YOU WANT CHANGE, YOU”VE GOT TO BREAK DOWN SOME WALLS!
The following URL will allow you to sample the latest song from Shimona, an up and coming local artist. The song is aptly entitled, “Break These Walls”. It’s through the spirit of hope and love that people find the strength to build new lives. It’s in that same spirit that we start our fundraising efforts on behalf of the refugees at the BRC.
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