· Hong Kong banker sues her ballroom instructors · Tale of high-spending and sequins grips territory
When millionaire banker Mimi Monica Wong decided to step out onto the dance floors of Hong Kong, she was so determined to be the belle of the ballroom that she hired the best salsa instructors in the world. Such was her passion and ambition that no expense was spared in the mid-life quest for the perfect paso doble. It was, said the 61-year-old widow, a search for "the last bit of glory in life".
And so she secured the services of 15-time world Latin dance champion Gaynor Fairweather of Britain and her Italian husband Mirko Saccani to provide exclusive lessons for eight years. Their bill: a staggering US$15.4m (£8.3m). The lessons began in 2000 and, for a while at least, it seemed the investment was paying off as Mrs Wong, partnered by Mr Saccani, started winning competitions.
But six years and $9.3m of lessons later, it has gone horribly wrong. The end came when, in front of 50 similarly well-heeled ballroom fans in a Hong Kong restaurant, Mr Saccani called his student a "lazy cow" and told her to "move her arse".
Mrs Wong is now suing her instructors for the return of her $8m downpayment, part of which has allegedly been spent on a Ferrari for Mr Saccani and plastic surgery for Ms Fairweather. The teachers have countersued, insisting Mrs Wong owes them almost half of the money.
With the verdict expected later this summer, newspapers and chatshows have dwelt on the insights that the case has provided into the glamorous lives of Hong Kong's ballroom dancers. Since the salsa craze hit in the 1990s, the wealthy territory has become a magnet for the world's top dancers. Most earn their living by teaching rich housewives, politicians and tycoons. Social kudos is awarded to the dancers who can demonstrate the most elegant steps at lavish charity balls, or afternoon "tea dances", some of which require an entrance fee of $500. If a husband is not up to scratch, many women hire a professional partner. Foreign dancers, who are thought to possess particular panache, can charge a premium.
The money involved in the dance craze is staggering. For an amateur woman dancer to look good enough with her professional partner to make a mark on the pro-am circuit, she must pay for daily lessons in the cha-cha, rumba, samba, jive and paso doble, as well as extravagant costumes, entry fees and travel costs. At the highest level, it is not uncommon for instructors to charge tens of thousand of dollars a month.
Hong Kong has "some of the craziest prices in the world", Walter Wat, president of the Hong Kong Ballroom Dancing Council, told the Wall Street Journal.
But there is no shortage of takers. Mrs Wong, daughter of a Hong Kong shipping magnate and head of HSBC's private banking business in Asia, is among the city's elite. True to her reputation as a perfectionist and winner, she turned to the best in the business when she wanted to excel at dancing.
When Mrs Wong started lessons with Ms Fairweather, who was awarded the OBE for her services to Latin dance. she would sometimes have two-hour sessions in her lunchbreaks and again after work. Mr Saccani joined the team in 2002, prompting longer term - and more expensive - deals. In 2002, the packages jumped from $135,000 to $1.3m.
In 2003, Mrs Wong won the title of "Top Gold Lady" at the Emerald Ball Dancesport Championships in Los Angeles, where she was partnered by Mr Saccani. A year later, he talked her into a deal worth $15.4m in return for unlimited lessons and exclusivity over eight years.
Having spent so much on elegance, grace and face, Mrs Wong told the court she was humiliated when Mr Saccani threatened her in front of more than 50 dancers at the Li Hua restaurant - the centre of the city's dance scene.
The court heard that the mood of the couple had soured because the attention of the audience was on Donnie Burns, Ms Fairweather's partner during her 15 times as champion, and his student Ling Nelson. Lawyers for both sides accused the other of being angry at being upstaged.
Witnesses testified they heard Mr Saccani tell Mrs Wong, "If you do it again, Monica, I'll smash your head against the wall", and that he threatened to throw her out of a window. Mr Saccani admitted calling her a "lazy cow" but said the language was motivational rather than threatening. "I didn't see her as my student. We were partners," Mr Saccani told the court. "I'm not abusive. I'm not aggressive."
According to local media, they have not danced together since. But Mrs Wong has reportedly resumed lessons with a new - and considerably cheaper - teacher, who charges a mere $20,000 a month instead of the $5,000 a day she was paying before.
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 8/3/2006
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