Come Dance with Me
The Ballroom Dancing Craze Has Taken Firm Root in Singapore.
Films about ballroom dancing and TV dance competitions involving celebrities, has led to renewed interest in dance. Now, Singapore is producing champions for East Asia.
If the cabin crew on your next Singapore Airline flight seem to move with more rhythm than usual, there’s a reason for this. Some of them are taking up ballroom dancing thanks to Inflight Supervisor Dennis Ng Yes Chye's recent certification as a Dance Teacher.
The revival of the craze for ballroom dancing can be traced back to 1993 and the Baz Luhmann film “Strictly Ballroom” that caused worldwide interest. This became a frenzy in 1998, with the release of the film “Dance with Me”, followed by “Shall we Dance” starring Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere and “Take the Lead” featuring Antonio Banderas.
Ballroom dancing was once more making headlines and Singapore, the nation state that takes on board everything new and exciting, was quick to hop on board.
It was in 1937 that Low Poh San and his wife Jenny (subsequently Singapore Professional Ballroom Champions) set up one of the first dance studios in the country. Low Poh San's son, Sunny, went on to form the Sunny Low Dancers with his sister Betty, performing regularly on Singapore television, in the process becoming Rock and Roll and Cha Cha King and Queen.
Now two up and coming dancers are continuing the tradition. Dennis Ng Yew Chye, an Inflight Supervisor at Singapore Airlines and his partner Sabrina Su, an Admin Assistant in a subsidiary company of SIA, have been quietly tucking away the medals for Latin American dance.
Since 2002 they have been winners in fiercely fought competitions including the Hougang Community Club Competitions in 2002 and 2003, the Singapore DanceSport Federation in both 2004 and 2005, the Singapore Lion City International DanceSport Championship in 2005, and the 7th Singapore Dancesport Federation Championships this year, with the latter few years in the Latin Master's Category.
Dennis was seen dancing up a storm at the New Year Festivities in Thailand’s Dusit Resort Hotel at Hua Hin, where his complete immersion in the dance brought many plaudits. Although he enjoys winning, and pushes himself to extremes to make sure he reaches the top, the most important thing is the dance itself and he is happy in both Competitive and Exhibition dancing. “The thing is to dance”, he said.
Dennis switched from line dancing to Latin in 2000. He met Sabrina, his partner, at the Tampines West Community Club, where their instructor, sensing a winning combination, teamed them together for a dance competition. They won, and have been winning ever since. He excels at Latin dancing, which comprises Cha-cha, Samba, Pasa Doble, Rumba and Jive.
Now Dennis has qualified as a teacher of dance as he wants to pass on this passion for the dance to others. Last November he was certified as a Professional Teacher of Dancing at Associate Level (gaining 93% average in all categories) by the Latin American branch of the UK Alliance of Professional Teachers of Dance. This is no small feat and he was given a "Highly Commended" rating.
Like all good dancers, love of music is at the root of the love of dance, and Dennis is a lover of musical theatre and music performance in general. He also has a very fine voice which he is nurturing, and with his repertoire of songs in Thai, Malay, English and Japanese he is finding himself a popular singer at concerts.
At the moment, he and Sabrina perform at various charity events including those organized by SIA’s Cabin Crew for Community Care, and the response to his recently organized dance classes for colleagues at Singapore Airlines Training Centre, has been overwhelming.
Now with Dennis Ng and Sabrina Su, East Asia has champions who will keep interest in Ballroom Dancing alive. Watch out for more from this handsome couple as they dance into people’s hearts.
And keep an eye on the cabin crew.
