The hip hop magic of Michael Jackson has made Lincoln University commerce graduate Leon Liu a campus star.
For the past two years at the University’s international concerts Leon’s dance, music and light routine has generated high voltage excitement and wild applause.
It all started back in Beijing when Leon was 17 and saw a video of Michael Jackson. Straight away he began trying to do the entertainer’s famous moonwalk and other dance steps.
On coming to New Zealand, to study commerce and management at Lincoln University, Leon met up with another Michael Jackson fan, Allan Liu, also from China.
“We would watch Michael Jackson videos together and try to imitate his routines,” says Leon. “I tried to pick up every single movement. It’s very detailed.”
The two dancers rehearsed in Leon’s room in Lincoln University’s Hudson Hall, where he was a Residential Assistant, helping with the supervision and mentoring of halls’ students.
“We would watch our images reflected in the glass of the windows. We used the windows as mirrors because they were nice and big,” explains Leon.
From there they progressed to practising in the University’s Recreation Centre.
Their debut performance was at Lincoln University’s International Night on 6 August 2005 and the act won the Best Performer’s Prize.
They performed again in 2005 at a couple of functions for the Malaysian Students’ Association, then last year Leon invited Sarah Zhang to join the group. Sarah, who is also from China, has Latin dance experience and built some of these into the act. The 2006 audience went wild!
Sarah, who says that Western ballroom dance is very popular in China, was keen not to lose her dancing skills so was happy to join Leon.
Leon, whose mother is a dancer, but more in the traditional Chinese style, says that dance gives him a “good feeling”,
“It gives me good vibrations,” he says.
Leon concedes that Michael Jackson has had a lot of bad publicity about aspects of his life but he says that his dancing is good. He has never seen Michael Jackson live but would love to go to one of his concerts.
“He’s definitely the king of hip hop!”
Leon’s tastes in dance are wider than Afro-American, he is also a big fan of Irish-American Michael Flatley and his high-energy Irish “Riverdance” routines.
Leon is quick to acknowledge those who have assisted him with his dance presentations - Allan Liu, Yang Zhong Yu, Sarah Zhang, Liu Rui and Eunice Ho.
“I thank them all for their help and support,” he says.
An award-winning marketer too...
Leon Liu is not only a popular dancer but he is a top sales representative as well. Leon works for TelstraClear and he scooped the company’s top in-house residential sales award for 2006. He won TelstraClear’s 2006 award for Top Sales Representative of the Year for InHome Residential Direct Sales.
Winning the title capped off a successful year for Leon after he won the Top Residential Sales Representative of the Month award five times in a row, from May to September.
TelstraClear’s Manager Direct Sales, Jacques Lumb, says Leon’s impact since his arrival at TelstraClear has been significant.
“Leon is an excellent team player and his selling ability is impressive. A component of the award recognises direct door-to-door sales, which can be considered the hard leg work of sales,” says Mr Lumb.
“Understanding what a potential customer wants, and the depth of his knowledge of TelstraClear residential products gives him a winning sales formula,” he says.
In addition, the team of which Leon is a member, won the title of Top Residential Sales Team for TelstraClear for the second year in a row.
Leon, who came to Lincoln University as an international student from China, majored in Marketing for his Bachelor of Commerce and Marketing degree and graduated in April 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ian Collins,
Communications Group,
Lincoln University,
Canterbury.
Tel: 64 3 3252811 ext 8549