Put on your dancing shoes

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DESPITE not being able to further her career in dancing, it did not extinguish the fiery passion Grace Chiam has for dancing.

This burning passion in dancing led Chiam to set up the Danzity Dance House.

“I have been dancing since I was in primary school up to the time when I was in college where I joined the dance and drama club.

“I love dancing but I realise I wasn’t exactly talented and pursued other goals instead,” Chiam said.

She found her forte in the management field but the joy of dancing never left her steps through life.

“Although I do not dance professionally, I still have a lot of passion in dancing so I decided to open up a dance studio with a partner who is a professional dancer.

Flying high: Danzity dancers showing their moves

“Our objective is to build a platform for those who are passionate about dancing to develop their dancing skills and technique.”

In its seventh year now, the dance studio has nine instructors and 300 students from as young as four to 48, who are honing their dancing skills as well as performing gigs at events.

The going was however not just an easy dance for the school.

“It was all about survival when we first opened as we did not have any savings. Before we moved to the studio here in New World Park two years ago, we could only afford to rent a community centre for a few hours to practise. What the studio has today is a result of a lot of hard work and sacrifices.”

Asked if she has any regret in pursuing her passion instead of career, Chiam said: “I have poured seven years of my life into the studio and because of it, I did not get to work on my own career (in management).

“When I watch the dancers grow in my studio, it will always remind me of why I started this dance studio. This will always pull me through.”

However, Chiam admits she faced a lot of discouraging moments, especially when instructors resigned.

On a brighter note, the dance studio, which mainly focuses on street dancing like hip hop, popping and krumping among others, is looking to expand their dance genre to jazz.

“We already have a qualified jazz dance instructor to teach and hopefully, we will get to expand to other areas in the future,” Chiam added.