Being a backup dancer was an opportunity for Lisa Surihani to share the stage with her husband, Yusry of KRU, writes Syahirah Mokhtazar
DURING KRU’s big concert in Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall recently, the talented Lisa Surihani showcased slick dance moves onstage, grooving along with the backup dancers from the On Stage Production dance crew.
The concert on Aug 6 was a prelude to KRU’s 25th anniversary celebration next year.
Lisa considers the experience a golden opportunity and in one of her latest posts in her Instagram account, wrote: “I didn’t want to let KRU down, especially Yusry.”
Being a backup dancer for the event was extra special for Lisa as it meant being able to share the stage with her husband, Yusry Abdul Halim, one of the three members of KRU.
Yusry and his brothers, Norman and Edry, formed KRU in the 1990s; the band is famous for catchy tunes such as Awas and Mengerti.
This however, was not the first time the couple had worked together professionally. Besides co-hosting a 13-episode travelling show together called Pasport Cinta Yusry & Lisa, aired in 2014 on TV2, Lisa proved she could carry a tune or two when the duo collaborated on the duet, Kekasih Abadi, the same year. The song was composed by Edry.
Despite having only a short time to learn and practise the steps taught by the On Stage Productions crew, she succeeded, showing her sheer determination to support her husband.
She says: “Initially, we were given two weeks to practise, but as the first week was used for band practice, we were left with only a week.”
She learnt and memorised the steps in under two days and practised whenever she could throughout the week. “It was so amazing and fun!” she says.
Her ability to learn dance moves so quickly may, perhaps, be credited to her dancing lessons in her younger days.
“I’ve always loved to dance. I did ballet more than 10 years ago; that was my official education for dance. In school, my friends and I were also involved in cheerleading but not the professional kind of cheerleading. It was more of a school-level type,” she says with a smile.
What made Lisa want to be a part of the concert crew? Other than the obvious fact that she’s married to Yusry and being a huge fan of KRU, she says:
“I had mentioned to Yusri and my brothers-in-law in passing about being their backup dancer. When it was confirmed that they would be performing, Yusry asked me again if I wanted to be part of the crew and if I was okay with daily rehearsals.
“I was like ‘are you kidding? Bring it on!’,” she says and laughs. “I’d performed onstage before, so I knew I wouldn’t get stage fright.”
MORE THAN DANCING
Lisa was more than just a backup dancer. Aware of how demanding Yusry’s schedule was, Lisa stepped in to assist him in his daily errands and work commitments.
“Prior to the concert, Yusry had so many things going at the same time. He was busy with post-production work for two projects. Post-production work for one project is intense enough, so having two is definitely very hectic!” she explains.
“I wanted to be there for him and to assist him as much as I possibly could. At the same time, he had to prepare for the concert, so I helped sort things out for him.He worked really hard for everything, so I figured he could use some help.”
On the other hand, Yusry showed on his Instagram account how much he appreciated her help. He wrote: “Throughout the fasting month, while I was arranging my half of the concert, she would come into the studio and sing the songs with me. Most of the time she remembered the lyrics better than I did.
“When it came to rehearsals, she was the drill instructor who made sure I remembered every move and didn’t cheat on the steps. For every costume change, she was there, like an F1 pit stop crew.”
Lisa said: “He didn’t say much at that time as he was in work mode, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Instagram post,” says Lisa.
POST PREGNANCY FITNESS
Looking slender and fit, Lisa talked about how she managed to get back in shape after her pregnancy. It was no walk in the park.
While losing weight was not entirely her priority after giving birth, she joined a health programme organised by Purely B, a Malaysian wellness startup company that aimed to promote and encourage healthy living.
For the programme, Purely B sent her two healthy meals for lunch and dinner as well as checked on her progress regularly. “I was doing pretty well and I actually lost some weight. But it wasn’t easy as I was breastfeeding and was constantly hungry. After the programme ended, I started binge eating again.”
So she gave the programme another shot but this time around, she incorporated various workouts like Bodytone, Xtend Barre, cycling and badminton.
“I’m loving this new lifestyle! I constantly feel pumped up,” she said.
Lisa talked about the programme and more on Astro Bella’s new health show, B Healthy, which airs every Sunday at 7pm on Astro Bella (channel 133) and Astro Mustika HD (channel 134).
The show discusses various topics on fitness and healthy diets. Hosted by the bubbly Amelia Henderson, it also features celebrities such as Lisa, Diana Danielle, Deborah Henry, Sazzy Falak, Natasha Hudson and Nana Al Haleq.