Launch of DANSA - documentary on NTV7 and book DANSA - A Dance Journey

Yesterday was the launch that all involved in the production of DANSA had been hoping for.

Held at the Sheraton Subang now known as Grand Dorsett, the guests included members of the media, sponsors who helped make the show possible as well as family and friends.

It has been a very long challenging road leading up to this day and everyone is so proud and happy with the launch yesterday.

Many of you who read this blog will already be familiar with DANSA as it aired on TV3 earlier this year. Some of you competition winners will even have the notebooks and t-shirts!

This time, it will be aired on NTV7 starting 15th October, every Thursday at 7.30 pm but an English version of it.

And we also launched the book yesterday, my very first publication and a project I am very proud of.

While we were shooting DANSA, I hired my friend Aiemax @ Fazari Madehi, a fantastic photographer whom I first met when performing in the dance theatre production Titiwangsa' with Ramli Ibrahim at Istana Budaya a few years ago, to travel with me and to take photos of all the different places we travelled to, the costumes and dances.

This 200 page hard cover coffee table book features over 250 photos from all the different locations with 13 chapters featuring the dances, a special behind the scenes chapter with pictures of the DANSA crew on location and two forewords - by respected local theatre activist Prof Dr Hatta Azad Khan who was my boss at Istana Budaya and Hugh Wooldridge, a respected theatre director and producer in London who works very closely with Andrew Lloyd Webber.

The book titled DANSA - A Dance Journey will be available in all major bookstores starting middle of next week priced at RM130 and I will be doing a signing session at MPH Mid Valley on Saturday, 10th October and 3pm. I would love to see you there.

But as I am so excited about this book being out and the show going on air again I am going to give one away to a lucky winner now!

As always there is a question.

Name at least 10 of the dances featured in DANSA - the documentary (those who watched the show on TV3 and who read this blog regularly will be able to find the answers).

Email you list of answers to sasha_a_b@yahoo.com with the title 'DANSA - A Dance Journey book competition' along with your name, address, IC number, handphone number and what name you would like it to be autographed to (eg your name may be Nuranisa but you like being called Ani)

Competition is open until the right answer comes through.

I would also like to say here a big thank you..I am so thankful, sincerely appreciate and am thankful for all of the love and support from my family, close friends and colleagues through the whole project of DANSA. There were many times when we felt like we were never going to finish the show! And I wondered if I would ever be able to successfully complete the book!

This is the first time I have worked on a project with NTV7 and it has been an incredibly wonderful experience. They are all so enthusiatic.... big big BIG THANK YOU to Emilya, Rowena, Cheryl, Shahril and Tony for all your hard work and for believing in DANSA! I cannot thank you enough!

Jovian, as always, everyone loved my costume.

And The Grand Dorsett Hotel for the fantastic venue and food!

And to all you blog readers, thank you too! Please do come to MPH Mid Valley next Saturday, 10th October. I would love to meet you!