Strictly BallRoom
Competitive ballroom dancer Dolby Kwan trained under such champions as Donnie Burns and Gaynor Fairweather (pictured). He talks to Sean Kong Aicardi about the recent scandal, among other things.
HK Magazine: You look young. How old are you? How long have you been dancing?
Dolby: I’ve been dancing for 15 years, and I just turned 20 this April.
HK: Wow.
DK: Yeah, I know. I also scored 99/100 in the English Royal Dance Association Adult Ballroom Dancing exam, the highest score in Hong Kong; I was about eight or nine at the time.
HK Is dancing really a sport?
DK: Of course! The official term for competitive ballroom dancing is Dance Sport.
HK: Was it hard to find a partner at such a young age?
DK: Yes. When I was seven or eight, girls flew in from wherever they were from to take lessons with me.
HK: So what do you think about the HSBC ballroom scandal?
DK: I don’t want to point fingers, and I’m not in a position to say, because I’ve taken lessons from almost all of the dancers involved at some point or other. But for eight years worth of lessons everyday from two world champions plus competition partnerships, when you think about it, it’s not unreasonable. She’s had her fair share of training.
HK: So how much did you pay for your lessons?
DK: I don’t know exactly, but when people ask, I just tell them I’ve paid enough to buy a couple of Porches. A lesson from teachers like that would cost around $3,000 per day.