Horace Luong Strictly Ballroom opened nine years ago with the intention to help spread the love of ballroom dancing through teaching dance classes at U of M and at the beautiful studio in Osborne Village. Since I didn’t teach too many classes, the business was never a financially lucrative venture given the effort put in. I continued with the business because it was therapeutic and was a change of pace of what I did on a day to day basis at work - I enjoyed meeting and working with people in something creative and the dance business has been an avenue for me to push myself – physically, mentally and artistically. I have been privileged to not only teach people their first ballroom dance steps, helping experienced dancers work on their technique, but also help choreograph first dances and preparing students for dance competitions.
To keep students safe, classes have been on hold for most of the past two years. The pandemic has been a challenge for all dance studios to say the least. With much disappointment, I have decided to close my business down. In a recent newsletter, I had mentioned that I will be starting the position of Associate Dean (Student Experience) in March. I am very excited about this leadership position and the opportunities it brings to our student community as we rebuild from the pandemic. However this also means that my academic career is on a trajectory which takes more time and without the ability to teach as many dance classes, it is not financially sustainable to keep the business running and not to mention the students' learning and development would be at the mercy of my work schedule.
I am grateful for all the friends I’ve made through the dance business and to all of you who have supported the business over the years. I will miss all the laughter, friendships, choreographing, and preparing for competitions. It’s not an easy decision however it seems to be the correct move given the circumstances. My email will still be active so please keep in touch!
Wishing everyone the best as we head back into some normalcy. I hope we can dance together at some point soon.
