Serving with Joy

SINGAPORE- The Chinese New Year (CNY) period marks a busy period for Ms Cai Shi Ji 31, artistic director of Dance Ensemble Singapore (DES Arts) - a contemporary Chinese dance company in Singapore, as the number of dance engagements go up.

Ms Cai choreographs the CNY dances and rehearses with the dancers and prepares them for the performances.

"Performing and bringing a deeper cultural meaning to CNY is always a joy for me and I enjoy it tremendously," she says.

"Many would regard Chinese dance as passé but we try to bring a new meaning to Chinese dance in a Singaporean way, so that we can proudly say that it is our culture," says Ms Cai, who explains that DES Arts is a unique dance company - not only does it perform traditional Chinese dance, it strives to bring a local identity to their art form.

Her day begins at 6am on the eve of CNY with performances at three to four schools, after which her group will return to DES to have a retreat and do spring cleaning - a 20-year-old tradition.

She will head for her aunt's home in the evening with her parents - her mother is the head of DES and her dad is the artistic manager. After dinner, the family heads to MediaCorp where Ms Cai and her group will perform.

To Ms Cai, family bonding during CNY goes beyond the usual eating and resting.

In her family's context, it means working together to preserve Singapore's Chinese heritage through dance.

"It doesn't have to be only during CNY that the family bonds together as care and concern should always be there - my family places a lot of emphasis on that," she says.

Happy to deliver

Throughout her 28-year career at Thomson Medical Centre (TMC), senior nurse manager Sister Voon Soo Feang (above), 61, has spent most of CNY in the Delivery Suite, assisting doctors in delivering babies - several of them became the first CNY baby, the most recent one in 2012, the year of the Dragon.

She recalls how one time, what was supposed to be a quiet night as the nurses were not expecting any babies to be delivered turned out otherwise. An expectant mother walked in at about 10pm, more than halfway in labour.

The team immediately contacted the patient's doctor. A few moments after midnight, the baby was delivered and became the first CNY baby in Singapore that year.

This year will be the same. Asked how she feels working during CNY, she says: "I feel good. Generally, everyone is in a happy and joyous mood during this festive season."

"My family and I will have our reunion dinner a few days earlier, so that everyone gets to enjoy a sumptuous dinner together to welcome another year of good health and happiness. CNY is about celebrating a new beginning and enjoying family togetherness," she says.

"I'm always happy to see babies delivered on CNY - it's an auspicious day and having a new addition to a family on this day just makes it even more special and joyous," she adds.

Ensuring guests' satisfaction

For Mr Anthony Yeo (above), 43, assistant food and beverage manager at Fairmont Singapore, working during CNY - on the eve, and on either one of the CNY holidays - is par for the course.

Rather than a chore, Mr Yeo finds joy in working during this period.

"I enjoy the camaraderie with my team as we work together to ensure that each guest's reunion celebration is a happy and memorable one. Seeing our guests enjoy their celebration at our restaurant gives me a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement," he says.

With the high volume of guests, Mr Yeo ensures that the restaurants are operationally ready in preparation, execution and delivery. He also makes sure that hotel guests who order festive takeaways such as yusheng will receive their orders on time.

Guests' satisfaction is of utmost importance to us, so I work very closely with my team to make sure that service extended to our guests is to satisfaction," says Mr Yeo who has worked at the hotel since 2005.

To get around his busy work schedule, he and his family spend time preparing for the festivities, such as buying new clothes and potted plants as well as spring cleaning and decorating their home.

"The weeks of preparation for the festivity provide my family with the opportunity to gather together for the CNY celebration," he says.

On new year's eve, he has his reunion dinner after work, past 11pm. His mother sets aside food for him and other family members wait for him to have supper or a few drinks together before heading home.

"As a Singaporean, I count myself lucky to be able to enjoy the CNY celebrations with my family, compared to my foreign colleagues, who may not have the chance to celebrate with their families in their hometown overseas," he says.

Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.