Dancing on Hong 鸿

Facing the Results: The Trap of the Amateur Debut

Mon, 25 May 2026 11:41:04 +0800

I’ve been reflecting on my recent Amateur event debut. On paper, it’s a milestone: first time competing in this category, and I walked away with the championship.

But context matters. It was a small-scale, local competition with only three couples on the floor. The field consisted mostly of newcomers, some crossing over from Latin events, and the heavy hitters from KL didn’t show up.

Winning a title under those conditions creates a strange mental loop.

3rd Midas Dance Championship 2026

Tue, 05 May 2026 00:39:36 +0800

I recently competed in the 3rd Midas Dance Championship, held on May 2nd, 2026, at the Ponderosa Golf & Country Resort in Johor Bahru. This marked a significant milestone for me: my debut in the Amateur Open category.

TDL Cup • Malaysia International Dance Championship 2025

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:27:08 +0800

Dance Camp and Competition In Kuala Lumpur

I was in Kuala Lumpur last week (December 5th – 7th) for the TDL Cup 2025 dance event. The schedule included two days of an intensive dance camp, followed by the competition on the final day.

Competition Results

Knowing that Quickstep is our primary weakness, we strategically avoided events featuring it when possible. Here are our results from the competition:

Johor Open Dance Championships 2025

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 09:47:07 +0800

Johor Open Dance Championships 2025 was held in Loon Sing Restaurant (Taman Daya), Johor Bahru on 2^nd August. I am competing in Pre-Amateur & Raising Star events, working toward Amateur level.

Discussion: Accelerated Improvement in Ballroom Dancing

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 10:52:58 +0800

I just came across this Reddit discussion from r/ballroom on how a 14-year-old female ballroom dancer can quickly improve her technique. The original poster, currently in bronze level, expressed feeling behind compared to her peers who are in gold/pre-champ.

The consensus among users is that significant improvement in ballroom dancing requires time and consistent practice. Key advice includes:

Solo Practice: Practicing alone is highly beneficial for improving pattern knowledge and technique.
Coach Guidance: Dancers should ask their coaches for solo drills and exercises to work on turns, leg and hip action, and posture.
The 5-to-1 Rule: A common suggestion is to practice 5 hours alone for every hour of lessons.

The overarching theme of the discussion is that there are no shortcuts to becoming a better dancer; consistent training over months and years is essential for development.

Malaysia Open Dance Championship 2024

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:14:17 +0800

Malaysia Open Dance Championship 2024 was held on 17^th November, at Berjaya Times Square Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. I competed in Novice A, Novice B, Combined Age Above 80, and Pre-Amateur.

Dance Competitions In August 2024

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 23:12:55 +0800

Attended Danspiration and Johor Open dance competition in August 2024. Such arrangement of competitions in consecutive weeks pushes me to train hard consistently.

Frustrated With Mistakes

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 10:10:27 +0800

While I was practicing dancing last night, I was frustrated with making basic mistakes. The continuous swing movement from beat 2 to 3 in Waltz, body moving forward while stepping forward. These are basics, but I was not doing it well. This frustrates me, as I was thinking an advanced dancers should not be making such mistakes.

Using Your Strength in Dancing

Thu, 11 Aug 2022 10:09:08 +0800

After the competition, my teacher said that I was not using my full strength in dancing. I got defensive, and get the impression that he was assuming that I wasn’t doing my best in the competition. It took me some time to realize that doing your best and being able to exert full strength are 2 different things.

Wilayah Open Dance Championship 2022

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:27:18 +0800

Attended Wilayah Open Dance Championship 2020, organised by Amy Lee (Amy Dancesport Centre) on 10 July 2022. This is the first time I attend a physical competition since COVID lockdown in Malaysia.

Dance Etiquette

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 10:00:26 +0800

Because there are multiple people on the dance floor, dance etiquette helps to ensure that everyone has a good time. This applies to lesson time, practise sessions, and dance parties.

Leading In Backward Movement

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 15:24:01 +0800

Sometime when I move backward, I feel that my partner is overtaking me, and I am not catching up with my partner. An example is during step 3 and 4 of Quickstep’s Quick Open Reverse. Especially when it continues with more backward steps in following figure.

How Lowering Is Hurting My Knees

Tue, 04 Jan 2022 00:33:33 +0800

My knees are injured. I am undergoing a series of treatment and they are slowly recovering. Multiple factors contribute to the injury. Besides flat feet, incorrect posture/action plays a part too.