Shall We Dance?

     Cinderella, wearing a pair of glass shoes, looked absolutely fabulous. No one can take their eyes away from this lady. Prince Charming immediately asked her for the first dance. They moved across the dance floor like two fairies.

     While in the past a social activity enjoyed solely by privileged aristocrats, ballroom dancing has become accessible to all interested individuals.

     Two dance groups can be distinguished in ballroom dancing: standard and Latin. The former comprises of Waltz, Viennese Waltz, Quickstep, Foxtrot and Tango. The later includes Rumba, Cha-cha, Jive, Samba and Paso-Doble.

     Mr. Robby Lam, 52, an ordinary office worker, started to learn ballroom dancing together with his wife, Mrs. Lam Cheng She Yim, in 1992.

     Having a heavy workload and under immense pressure to finish all his tasks on time, Mr. Lam always felt "tired and stressful".

     "However, I could completely relax when dancing with my wife," he said.

     Apart from attending dance courses every Sunday, Mr. Lam is also a frequent visitor to restaurants with a dance floor during holidays.

     "If I can't go dancing for a while, I will feel bored and uncomfortable in my legs," Mr. Lam joked.

     Want to be an excellent dancer? Let the Lam's couple give you some advice:

     "First, a slim and light body ensures agility. A young age to start with is always more preferable as the learning process can be sped up. During classes, pay careful attention to teachers' demonstrations and bear in mind their guidance. Also, keep an eye on your own progress. The golden rule, of course, is "practice makes perfect"."

     "It can make old people healthier, more flexible and younger," he said, "we have become more positive towards life."

     "Our social spheres have been enlarged and my life is more colorful now," Mrs. Lam added.

     The couple's love towards each other is also strengthened.

     "Although sometimes there may be arguments, we have managed to keep cool and discuss with each other," they said, "we get to understand each another once more."

     The appealing power of ballroom dancing is beyond doubt. Many are driven to dedicate their whole lives to dance.

     Mr. Phoebus Wong Wing To, who runs a ballroom dancing school in Prince Edward, is one of them.

     Said he: "Standard modern dance emphasizes elegance. Men have to wear suits while women have to wear long dresses. To the contrary, "energy" is vital in Latin dance. Dresses are therefore shorter to allow flexible movements."

     Mr. William Chan Chi Wing, a 48-year-old businessman living in Ho Man Tin, concurred, "Ballroom dancing is an art."

     Although both Mr. Wong and Mr. Chan hold a serious attitude towards ballroom dancing now, they were just looking for fun when they first started.

     Mr. Chan was persuaded by friends to dance while Mr. Wong thought it would be very "cool" to dance at parties.

     The turning point of their attitudes appeared after they joined international dancing competitions.

     Said Mr. Wong: "I was astounded by the superb performances of those foreign dancers. They were just so professional.

     "I realized that I had to be more serious in order to achieve such high standards."

     Mr. Chan added, "Even though I won many prizes in Hong Kong at that time, I knew I didn't dance well enough when compared to foreign dancers."

     After such revelation, what came after was sure to be hard work.

     On average, Mr. Chan would practise three to four nights a week. When competitions came, it would be boosted up to six.

     Watching videos of performances of foreign dancers is another way of improvement suggested.

     "I would imitate the motion of the dancers in the video. It was the cheapest way to learn the skills of foreign dancers," Mr. Wong said.

     Nevertheless, according to Mr. Wong, it is necessary to go to foreign countries if one wants to get really professional.

     Said he: "The standard of ballroom dancing in Hong Kong is low compared to other Asian countries. There is not enough professional training offered here."

     After many years of practice, the hard work of Mr. Chan and Mr. Wong finally paid off.

     Mr. Chan won a ten-dance championship in Hong Kong while Mr. Wong got good results in many professional competitions.

     Although Mr. Chan and Mr. Wong are both enthusiastic in promoting ballroom dancing, they agreed that there is still a long way to go to make the activity really popular.

     Said Mr. Chan: "Although tuition fee are lower nowadays, expenses for ballroom dancing are still relatively dear."

     He gave an example: "A Latin dancing dress costs $4,000 while a standard modern one costs up to $20,000."

     Mr. Wong added, "Even the dancing shoes are specially designed. The bottom of the shoe is made of suede to prevent slipping on the waxy dance floor."

     Mr. Chan said the other reason for the slow development of ballroom dancing is that there is not enough support from the government.

     Said he: "The Urban Council has done some promotions by offering classes in every district of Hong Kong.

     "But this is definitely not enough. The government should help us organize large-scale activities.

     "For example, the government should not charge us so much when we rent coliseums to organize dancing competitions."

     Although Mr. Chan said it is difficult to promote ballroom dancing in Hong Kong, he believes the situation may improve in the next few years.

    Said Mr. Chan: "The Asian Olympic Games has recognized quicksteps, one kind of Latin Dance, as a competition category.

     "This may clear some misperception of ballroom dancing, and hopefully, the government will grant us more funds for promotion."

     Spending much of their lives in ballroom dancing, it is quite surprising that both Mr. Chan and Mr. Wong choose teaching people how to dance only as a part-time job.

     Said Mr. Chan: "When you were a full-time ballroom dancing teacher, you had to attract as many students as possible so as to earn enough profit.

     "Eventually, you will teach for money, but not for fun." Mr. Wong added, "I only want to teach students who really find delight in ballroom dancing. At present, I can choose students."

     When asked if it is tiring to teach ballroom dancing after a hard day's work, both Mr. Wong and Mr. Chan said they do not have such feeling.

     Said Mr. Chan: "I get a lot of satisfaction in teaching people how to dance. I will forget how tired I am when I see my students dance beautifully."

     Mr. Wong added, "Teaching ballroom dancing is my entertainment after work. I have a lot of fun in teaching.

     "After all, it is every ballroom dancer's dream to promote the activity."

More about balloon dancing