Common Talk Weeklyshuang yu zhou kan
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Dancing flexes my soul
November 12, 2003
By Enid Chen

Dancing has become an inseparable part of my life. It's my own way of life." Wenny, a jazz teacher at the City Trend Fitness Centre said. "I will go on dancing till one day I cannot move any more."

Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wenny was brought up in a mixed-culture family. Her father is an Italian businessman while her mother is an Indonesian dancer. Even when she was a small child she showed her gift for dancing. She attributes her talents in dance to her mother, who taught her how to dance before she was sent to a dancing school to learn ballet at the age of seven.

Intrigued by dancing, she learned and practiced diligently. And her diligence paid off. After graduation from Flex-Point Dancing School in Jakarta in 1988, she began to teach Aerobics and Jazz courses and choreographed (编舞) dances for various foreign concerts and shows staged in Indonesia. This gave her valuable experience and inspired her to go further in the dancing field.

In 1993, she started to stage jazz and modern dance performances throughout Asia, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Between 1993 and 2000, she choreographed dances for performances by many famous Chinese actors and actresses such as He Jiajin, Zhou Huimin, Yang Caini and Tian Niu.

But Wenny was always on the move. In 2000, she made up her mind to go for further study in Rome Italy, where she studied jazz and other dances in the Busto Ariziezio Dancing School for two years. "To study jazz was never easy. Jazz is a fusion of movements between modern ballet and contemporary dance. If you can perform jazz really well, you can execute other dances very well such as modern dance, Latin dance, waltz and hip hop, because jazz helps build a strong foundation for the dances."

"To learn jazz, we had a special way to practice. The teachers would have sand wrappings around our lower legs and we had to walk back and forth with the wrappings. We tried to raise our legs against the weight of the sand. The practice was indeed painful, but it works." Wenny recalled in vivid details those difficult times at the dancing school. "I tended to be down to the earth and tried to focus my mind on how to improve my dancing skills. Nothing is difficult for one who sets his mind to it."

During the two-year study in Italy, Wenny set up a company of her own in Jakarta—Quick Dance Production. She established and led her own dance group. As a consequence, she was frequently traveling on the plane between Italy and Indonesia. "I enjoyed being busy. I learned at school but I taught in my dance group."

Last July, Wenny made up her mind to come to Xiamen, which was a new turning point in her life. "Before I moved to Xiamen, I traveled here several times. The last trip was in 2000, when I found there had been great changes in Xiamen. I fell in love with this beautiful garden city." Wenny smiled, "At that time, the public order in Indonesia was not good. People didn't feel safe living in the city. However, it’s a totally different case here in Xiamen. So I am here."

Language seemed to be a big barrier for her at first. To overcome the difficulties, she spent the first three months learning Chinese with a tutor. And again, she showed her talent and diligence. Wenny, who can speak Indonesian, English, Italian and Cantonese, is now able to speak Chinese fluently, although she cannot read or write. "I seized every chance to practice Chinese. Don’t be shy about the mistakes you make! Speak out loudly and you will make it." Wenny is not only a good dancer, but a good language learner as well.

Now Wenny has been living in Xiamen for more than a year. She has gotten used to the pleasant climate, the clean roads, the good traffic and the food and is considering settling down here. "Although so far I don’t have many friends here, I’m sure I will make more friends. Dancing will be my permanent career here." She firmly believes that dancing has brought her enough genuine happiness to keep her moving along. "Jazz is not only a beautiful dance that enhances the figure and keeps the body flexible, but also it flexes my soul. Whenever I feel depressed or gloomy, I dance and all the unhappiness and anxiety disappear."

Wenny，印尼与意大利混血儿。毕业于意大利 Busto Ariziezio舞蹈学校，曾为众多明星设计舞蹈动作，包括何家劲、周慧敏、杨采妮、恬妞等。去年7月来厦，现为都市风俱乐部健身舞教练，擅长爵士舞。 喜欢厦门宜人的气候，干净的街道，打算在此定居，并将跳舞作为其终身职业。