My First Job

My first job paid RM4.50 an hour - and I was only 10 years old then. No, I was not a victim of child labour. I was actually doing a part-time job that I enjoyed.

I was introduced to this job by the new girl in school that year. CH's family had just moved to PJ and she joined our Standard 4A class. She was very talented - excelling in both the piano and ballet. She told us that when she grew up, she wanted to do a degree in Fine Arts or Performing Arts - that was the first time I ever heard of such a degree. She also had a talent in fashion designing. My fondest memories with her were our endless pursuits in designing our own wedding gowns, lol! We became bosom buddies. I remember she was into classic movies - she would dream of Clark Gable (Gone With The Wind) and Omar Sharif (Dr Zhivago) and I would roll my eyes.

Anyway, CH's aunt owned the only ballet school in town then. CH told me that the ballet school was always on the look-out for part-time pianists for its ballet classes and encouraged me to join her to play piano part-time there. At that time, I was already sufficiently advanced in piano and I thought why not? It was not difficult getting the part-time job - and I do not think it was purely due to nepotism!

Money was not the key motivation for taking up the job. I played for a few classes, perhaps around 2-4 hours a week - and although it felt good to be paid, the money I earned was just put aside as savings. I wouldn't say that I was needy or that the money was handy or anything like that.

There were two reasons why I chose to play the piano there.

One was the innate desire to spend my time meaningfully. I was coping well in school, there was money to be earned, and I could spare the time - so, it seemed a worthwhile endeavour and a good way to spend my free time.

The other reason was that I felt I could learn a little ballet that way - what other legitimate way was there to gatecrash ballet classes for free?? I do not love ballet, the way I love the piano, but I was fascinated and keen to learn more about this dance form. There is something romantically appealing to see classical ballet dancers in their ballet shoes and tutu. In fact, at one stage, my bedroom walls were all covered with pictures of ballet dancers.

Indeed, I managed to learn some ballet from the classes that I "attended" as a pianist. Well, in theory, at least. I learnt what was a plie, an arabesque and a grand jete. I learnt the 5 basic positions of ballet. I learnt the techniques for executing a piroutte and even a double piroutte. Again, I stress - the theory part, not the practical. At home, I would hold on to a bar and copy those movements and try to practise on my own, but, hmm...not very successful-leh. I was never known for my grace *blush*.

Playing piano for the ballet school had its challenges. Most of the time, we had to play the pieces on sight. Photocopying was not common at that time and we could not bring home the pieces to practise. Thus, I could remember occasions when I would cringe in embarrassment for bungling some pieces big-time. But the key thing was to continue playing, regardless - do not stop! The ballet students and their teacher would be very upset if the pianist stopped in the middle and they had to begin all over again.

I do not know whether ballet schools still have pianists in the studios nowadays or they prefer to use CDs now, which would be more cost-effective. But having pianists had a lot of advantages - we could play, on demand, slower, faster, we could "rewind" to the exact bar that the ballet teacher may want to repeat. And our reaction time was immediate. Hah, try to beat that!

This part-time job would not be possible without my mother's support. She drove me to the ballet school and drove me back. I did this for a couple of years until other activities took up my time and I had no time to spare. But it was a good experience while it lasted and I would always remember my friend who shared so much with me. CH was only in my school for about 2 years, before she followed her family to Seremban - it seemed they were always on the move. We have since lost touch.

Postscript: The last I heard some years ago, my friend, CH, eventually did go to the States and got the degree that she coveted. While I was writing this piece, I casually googled her name to see if I could find out more about what she is doing now and I was really happy to see that her name covered more than 1 page of Google Search! She is now a successful published composer of children's music, based in the States. Always knew she could do it :)