Folk dance at SGSS

White, with gathers at the neckline and little puffed
 sleeves. Blue belt and a huge ribbon made from
crepe paper completed the outfit.

I WAS also a folk dancer at SGSS, from primary three right up to primary four. One, two, bow, skip, skip, skip or one, two, bow, step, step, step. You've got the rhythm?

Mum was too busy to sew my folk dance costume. Anyway she was a bit grumpy after just completing my Lantern Dance samfoo. So I did it myself. But mum had to sew the belt -- a bit complicated as it needed to accommodate the "stiffening" (the plastic thing you put in between the layers of cloth). It was supposed to be a broad belt, up to three inches thick. But somehow mum mistakenly made it only two inches thick. The teachers frowned but didn't say anything. Anyway, the good thing was that I could always easily recognise mine from the pile when dressing up before the performance,

The best part was the huge bow which was added on only just before the actual performance. We all stood in a row. The teacher called out "Next!" and we ran forward for the bow to be pinned to the back of our dress. So this bow (especially when we were doing the one, two, skip, skip, skip) bounced quite a bit -- making us feel so very pretty.

Another bonus was a new pair of shiny black shoes from Bata -- required as part of the ensemble. (Not for my mum though, as she had to pay for them.)

As with the Lantern Dance, we were invited to dance at nearby churches and schools.