00:00Chia Ying was wanting so persistently that she wanted to work
00:04because she said,
00:05if I don't work, I will be a useless person
00:09and I have to add my age.
00:17Hi, my name is Wong Chia Ying.
00:20I am 32 years old.
00:22I am a founding member of DADC.
00:26I am a DADC divestor.
00:29And also a tour trainer.
00:32I also advocate for work.
00:36She is my elder sister.
00:38She is very smart
00:42and also fully supports me
00:45for any performances.
00:47Hello everyone, I'm Joyce.
00:49I'm Chia Ying's elder sister.
00:51While I can as much as I can,
00:53I support Chia Ying in terms of her
00:55dancing performances as well as her activities
00:59in DADC as well.
01:02My sister was diagnosed with Down's syndrome
01:04when she was four months old.
01:06Since then, my mum has been taking her to specialists
01:11to understand her condition better
01:13and of course, educate us
01:16on how to take care of a kid with Down's syndrome.
01:20We are thankful that Chia Ying's condition
01:24isn't as severe.
01:27We treat her like a sister and nothing less.
01:30So, she goes out with us.
01:32She goes on a trip with us.
01:33She eats with us.
01:35She does a lot of things with us.
01:37In fact, when she was very young,
01:39we noticed that Chia Ying has a good sense of rhythm.
01:42And whenever there's music playing, even on the TV
01:45she will start to come up, stand up and dance like that.
01:49And then, sometimes ask us to follow her.
01:51So...
01:53And then later on, her foundation in dancing
01:57was established when she was studying in Katong Special School.
02:01So since then, she has the opportunity to perform
02:05in various school events, charity events.
02:08She was also selected to be the female lead dancer
02:12for a post-National Day concert
02:15held at the Esplanade twice.
02:17That's where we knew that Chia Ying has the gift of dancing
02:22and she's not afraid of dancing on stage.
02:25I feel very happy.
02:26To dance at the Esplanade, the two-year Esplanade.
02:30Because I can dance, I can teach them.
02:34I feel very fun on the stage to dance.
02:41There are many audiences to watch us dance.
02:46Chia Ying started with Katong Special School
02:48later on to Adult Special School.
02:50Later on, they found her a placement at an internet cafe.
02:53That's actually her first job.
02:55So while working there, it was in fact okay
02:58until a few good years later.
03:01They had a change of management and
03:04we started noticing that the people there
03:08do not really understand how to deal with people with disabilities.
03:15There were times that we experienced that
03:18they suffered from verbal abuse
03:21as well as limited time of rest while they're at the job.
03:27For us, we actually encouraged Chia Ying not to work
03:32because we feel like she doesn't have to suffer
03:38this kind of abuse from the employer.
03:42But Chia Ying was wanting so persistently that she wanted to work
03:47because she said,
03:48If I don't work, I will be a useless person
03:52and I have to add my age.
03:54And we had to respect her decision as an individual.
03:58After she quit her job, we were wanting her to pursue her passion.
04:03So I came across DSA, Dance Industry Association.
04:07So I got her to join Fusion Dance.
04:11So after a few sessions of Fusion Dance,
04:12the instructor actually recommended Chia Ying to join VADC
04:19where they actually focus on the Indian classical dance, Peranakanacham.
04:24So after that, we brought her to meet Kavi,
04:30the director of the Maya dance.
04:32And since then, her journey has been flourishing and doing well.
04:38I feel very happy.
04:40While I was working here, I learned a lot of things.
04:45Also, my boss teaches me a lot of handwork,
04:48paperwork, band testaments, laptop work.
04:51I also do some housekeeping schedule tasks for the colleagues to follow.
04:57I give them the housekeeping schedule tasks.
05:01When he's not sure, he can ask me.
05:05I am the talk trainer.
05:07My main job is to teach the students different types of dance.
05:12Modern dance, Eastern dance, Journey dance, Fusion dance,
05:16contemporary dance, even ballet dance.
05:20I also teach seniors also.
05:22For those seniors who are a bit sick,
05:26I need to give them more encouragement to do some warming up,
05:33dancing, and cool down.
05:36When my grandma is at home, nothing to do,
05:39I teach her basic movements first.
05:42Then, I teach the rest.
05:44I really enjoy teaching seniors.
05:51It's a way for her to have the opportunity to give back to society.
05:56Because elderly people have mobility restrictions,
06:02the movements that they came up with
06:05actually provided them some kind of enjoyment and relaxation.
06:09It's a delight to see that the seniors actually enjoy it.
06:14The elderly follow the movements.
06:17She sometimes just asks,
06:19Grandma, you have nothing to do?
06:20You do this? You do this?
06:22She learns, she is aware, she becomes aware,
06:26and she loves what she's doing right now,
06:29especially what's provided in this DADC space.
06:33I am an HD Anniversary of the Tok Tong Award last year, 2023.
06:39Dominate means it's a return to Island for Maya Indigenous Centre.
06:43My sister and my brother came over to Island
06:46to see me receive this award for the hard work and dance,
06:52more effort, and performance outside.
06:55I'm very happy, I really appreciate it.
06:58I'm very happy with the result this time.
07:00Her dedication in dancing and her commitment to strive for perfection
07:04kind of made her stand out in the team,
07:08and I think she was ready for this nomination.
07:13She is the only one in the family that actually frequents Istana
07:17because of performance.
07:19She had the opportunity to perform in community chess events,
07:24as well as charity events held in Istana.
07:28She's involved in a few productions by Maya Dance as well,
07:33like Body in Motion.
07:36SIDS also, SIDS 2022 and SIDS 2023.
07:42She worked with Hafiz.
07:45The title was called Child Warrior.
07:47He felt Jiayin was very spiritual, very inspiring,
07:52and she doesn't give up.
07:54So, that actually embodies the elements of a child warrior.
08:00And she's baby-faced, that's why also,
08:03that's why that child warrior theme kind of becomes very fitting to her.
08:09I feel you to be proud of me
08:13because parents support me
08:20to do any performances in different places.
08:26This year, July, I go to Australia.
08:30It's my first time going there.
08:34I feel very happy.
08:36I also can, with my parents, also join.
08:40I thought that for performances, for dancing,
08:45and also have the workshop.
08:47When I am working here,
08:50my boss, Luke, asked if I was undone.
08:54So, I'm very happy to dance with my team, the SDC members.
08:58I continue to work, continue dancing,
09:02continue more effort to performing outside different places.
09:07I've done too many things.
09:09Down syndrome, can you eat?
09:11Don't give up.
09:14Well done, yay!
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