Veteran entertainer tap dances her way back into the limelight

Who says Liza Wang Ming-chun is a diva? She does. The ageless local entertainer's next pursuit is staging a Broadway-style show, Liza the Diva, at the renovated Hong Kong Coliseum in April.

The announcement was made on Monday afternoon at the W Hotel. The 61-year-old (right in picture) revealed she will be joined by such guest artists as long-time partner Law Ka-ying and actors Liu Kai-chi and Gary Tam Wai-kuen.

However, Wang revealed the show's true nature by tapping her way to the stage when she arrived to talk about the extravaganza.

'I have always loved dancing but I've not had many opportunities to do it on stage,' she said. 'I learned a little tap dance before but nothing too serious. Now I realise it can be quite tiring.'

Helping Wang step up to the challenge is Mandy Petty (left), a jazz and tap instructor from the Academy for Performing Arts' school of dance.

'[Liza] is a very good and fast learner. And she is the best student I have ever had,' Petty gushed. 'When she first told me that she had done some hip hop dance for TVB, I was very impressed and immediately thought, 'Wow, we can definitely work together'. And when she dances, you will never know her real age. Liza is very determined to get every step right and she pushes herself all the time. Sometimes I say, that's enough, and she would say, 'No, let me do it again, I want to do it again, I want to get it right'.'

Liza the Diva will run on April 17 and 18 at 8.15pm.Tickets are HK$800 and HK$400, from Urbtix (2793 1123).