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Is it your deepest wish to be onstage with the stars, experiencing the applause, the screams and the dreams? Your dream, then, is the reality shared by the dancers who work side by side with the singers, musicians and other performers who lead the bill.

Hong Kong's dance industry is in full flower, and one of its top performers -  Sunny Chan Hiu-pan - is a proven star. The ambitious 28-year-old is devoted to dancing.

After reaching the top of his profession, Sunny decided to branch out into choreography with superstars like Aaron Kwok Fu-shing, Edison Chen Kwoon-hei and Andy Lau Tak-wah in mind. His vision for Hong Kong dance is to nurture young talent in his own studio.

Name: Sunny Chan Hiu-pan

Birthdate: March 7

Birthplace: China

Work: Director, dancer, choreographer

When did you start dancing?

I started dancing when I was 14. I succeeded in the Beijing Dance Academy's audition and majored in Chinese dance there for six years.

You won the Tao Li Cup when you were younger; can you tell us more about the prize?

The Tao Li Cup is a national Chinese dance competition which attracts more than 2000 dancers from all over China every year. At the final stage, there are only eight to ten competitors left, and I was the winner of the 19-year-old and under category for two years.

Why did you come to Hong Kong to be a commercial dancer?

Well, it is a rather stunning change. I had a teacher in Beijing who was also a graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy. He was very interested in foreign pop music and later became a singer in the Mainland. At that time, so-called 'commercial dance' was not popular but he watched a lot of Western music videos so I was also attracted by it.

TVB sent me an invitation letter and here I am. I came because there were more opportunities in Hong Kong. Also, commercial dance was fresh and young to me while the style in the Mainland was very traditional. And Hong Kong provides me the space to create and the freedom to try anything new and different.

You were the main character in a dance drama called Emperor Ch'in. What are the differences between Chinese and commercial productions?

They are different worlds. In the drama, I acted as the Emperor and we could express ourselves only through dancing. So I had to exhaust everything I learned and dance for one hour and a half continuously.

Commercial performance usually includes singers as the main attraction on stage. Audiences watch the show for the singers. In a dance drama, the dancers are the main characters.

How do you feel about dancing?

Frankly, I didn't like dancing much at first. I thought the dancers were very pretentious because Chinese dancers wear layers of make-up. Since Chinese dance is traditional, there is a gap between the dance and daily life. In fact dancing is an exaggeration of basic gestures. It is better in Hong Kong because the dances are more natural and related to daily life.

What makes a good dancer?

A good dancer needs to be good at body language because dance is non-verbal. We must dance from our hearts and reveal our feelings with the body. It's not enough to use only our eyes and face; every inch of the body has to be expressive.

You can't tell the audience before the dance what messages you are trying to convey.

It is essential to have good technique because sometimes choreographers have no more than an image in mind but probably can't dance their own steps. So we as dancers must help the choreographer to act out the picture.

Some dancers like to make themselves stand out by asserting their own style. Those dancers should not distort the choreographer's originality. The dance is created by the choreographer, and we must respect their art. You wouldn't like to see someone messing up your dance, would you?

How do the standards of Kong dancers compare with those overseas?

Generally, foreign dancers are better because they have better technique and look more powerful. Hong Kong people can't tolerate hardship, which is responsible for their poor technique. They think appearance is everything and don't like harsh training like stretching your leg to touch your head (laughs). And Hong Kong's industry is too commercial; everything has to be swift.

How do you feel performing for an audience who may not notice you're there?

I never have any hard feelings. I gain a great satisfaction beling the lead dancer. Besides, you must accompany the singers to lift the atmosphere. You can't hide yourself away in the corner because you think the audience doesn't care about the dancers.

As a choreographer, what do you think is important?

Self-cultivation is most important. You must have a good musical sense. You must also have a wide knowledge about the different perspectives of dancing. Frankly I didn't study much but my sense comes from daily life. You must also know the artists' styles, strengths and weaknesses.

When choreographing, you must be very tactful to hide an artist's weakness.

Do you think para para will become a special school in dancing?

I believe para para belongs to the aerobic kind that's just for fun. I think it's only a trend; people won't be doing para para in 60 years. It's not ballet or jazz, which are classical and eternal.

Sally is a summer intern from the Hong Kong Baptist University.



Dance tells stories from the heart