Rising above their setbacks with music and dance, these kids are ready to rock!

Gabriel Ambrose (second right) during a rehearsal with the children from Hiichiikok Foundation Home For Children Care. 

Dance With Chance trailer.

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 – For Hip-Hop dancer Gabriel Ambrose, 16, meeting some children from the Hiichiikok Foundation Home For Children Care turned out to be one of his most “inspiring days” in life that led to his upcoming “Dance With Chance” musical stage production this Saturday, July 30th, involving the very same children.

“From the first time I met these children during a Flash Mob event, with one of them who could not stop the dancing, I just wanted to see these kids perform on stage. They were not even trained dancers, leave alone know the word choreography but they were such naturally talented kids, with so much of energy, rhythm and passion in them,” Gabriel told Weekly Echo in an interview.

A recent IGCSE graduate from Taylor’s International School Puchong, Gabriel said he was touched by the fact that some of these children were orphans, including many Orang Asli children, while some are from impoverished backgrounds who had come under the wings of the Hiichiikok Foundation.

“They have had gone through so much, and yet they were happy-go-lucky and determined children. I met them in their home and that is how I got around working with them to come up with the fund raising project that will help these children to continue to pursue their dreams of learning the performing arts, be it dancing, music or singing. It has been an amazing time coaching them for the show.

“I have had many artistes who offered to help train the children pro-bono for the stage show. We will have other guest artistes for the show, but they will be the highlight for sure,” he said.

For Gabriel, the stage performance will be about more than getting these talented children to perform or have fun.

“It is also about building their confidence, getting past their fears and learning to express themselves. Some of them have also gone through some really sad experiences, and finding a voice through the performing arts will only help them heal,” Gabriel, who took up Hip-Hop as a way to build his own confidence, said.

“I was a bit on the chubby side, and taking up Hip-Hop did help me. In school, I also went on to do stage musicals and have been competing nationally since,” a reluctant Gabriel, who is also the Director of “Dance With Chance”, said when asked on how he got interested in Hip-Hop.

“The Saturday show is all about the children.”

Gabriel, who recently received a scholarship to pursue further studies in Utah, US, said he hoped Saturday’s show will be a stepping stone for the children in the performing arts world.

He also hoped to promote an enjoyment of the performing arts among children not only at the Hiichiikok caring homes but in other homes as well, so that they can continue to “dance their hearts out no matter the things that life throws at them. They just need the support, so that they can pursue their dreams.”

–WE