Before she was a New York Times Bestselling Author, Jean Kwok was a top female professional dance instructor at Fred Astaire Dance Studios in New York City’s East Side. With her critically-acclaimed new novel, “Mambo in Chinatown,” set to hit bookshelves today, we sat down with the author to explore how ballroom dancing changed her life for the better.
1) You mention in your bio that you learned you loved to dance while in college. Would you mind sharing the story of how you fell in love with dancing?
As a poor, immigrant child, I envied my friends who took dance lessons since there was no time or money for me to do the same. I first stepped onto the dance floor at high school parties and dances and realized I loved how free I felt, like I had made contact with a new part of myself. The first time I truly understood the power of dance, however, was when a friend dared me to take a belly dancing class. I remember it vividly. Drums beat and instruments wailed as the other women in the class undulated and shimmied. They were so beautiful, even though they may not have had magazine-perfect bodies, because they were in touch with themselves, their power and sensuality. I realized that dance was about developing your inner beauty.
I took belly dancing lessons for years and even taught for a while, and I also enjoyed ballet, African and swing when I was in college.
2) After Harvard, you went to work for Fred Astaire Dance Studios as an instructor. In only three years, you went from an untrained dance enthusiast to professional ballroom dancer to winning Top Female Professional honors at the Fred Astaire National Dance Championships. What kind of commitment did you make to dancing to achieve such success?
Well, I really didn’t have a choice! I worked for Fred Astaire East Side Studios in New York City, which had some of the best professional dancers in the world. I was hired by Armando and Laura Martin, four-time U.S. Ten Dance champions, and I was also coached by my dear friends Taliat and Marina Tarsinov, the Russian Ten Dance champions. My colleagues were people like Jose Decamps, now four-time world and three-time U.S. rhythm champion. Jose and I often went out dancing together after work with some of the other instructors. I remember double-rehearsing (like a double date) with my (female) friend, my dance partner, and Tony Dovolani (Dancing with the Stars), who worked at the Fred Astaire Midtown Studios then.
I was so fortunate to be trained by such fantastic dancers and teachers. I also worked incredibly hard, of course, and it was difficult at first because I’d just come out of college, and I was used to learning with my mind, not my body. I practiced many hours each day, although I was bent over the keyboard at night, writing.
3) You said on your website that as a young, immigrant woman you didn’t feel like you fit in until your time at Fred Astaire Dance Studios in New York. What was it about that experience that made you feel like you finally belonged?
Our studio was such a melting pot. It was a very international group, since Fred Astaire brought in top dancers from all over the world to be their instructors, and everyone was very kind to me. Marina Tarsinov helped me make my first competition dance dress, since I couldn’t afford to buy one. I remember her teaching me how to put on the rhinestones. So many details like that resurfaced when I was writing my new novel.
In the teachers’ dressing room, everyone would crowd around the mirror, trying to teach me how to put on eyeliner. I chatted with my students about everything from their current marketing campaign to art to the best Latin dance shoes. It really felt like we were all a family.
4) What does it feel like when you’re out on that dance floor gliding away?
Incredible. When I’m doing smooth or standard, it’s like flying. I love waltz and foxtrot — so fast yet so graceful at the same time, floating across the floor only to hover, change direction, then glide off again. When I’m dancing rhythm or Latin, I could laugh out loud from the pure energy and joy of movement. I have so much fun doing mambo or cha cha — the high-speed turns, Cuban motion, that feeling of being completely in sync with your partner.
5) What kind of changes did you see in your students when you were teaching ballroom dance?
I always told my male students, “It doesn’t matter if you’re short or tall, fat or skinny, bald or ugly – if you can dance, every woman in the room will line up to dance with you.” And that’s true for both sexes as well. I’ve seen it happen again and again. Dance transforms people, both male and female. It’s the added confidence and the training, which teaches you to be aware of your body and your inner self. Plus, having fun is always attractive. I learned when I was dancing that beauty is not about being born physically beautiful, it’s about unleashing the beauty inside, which is a message I try to bring across in my new novel.
6) You left Fred Astaire Dance Studios shortly after winning the Top Female Professional honor to pursue writing. Considering how transformative dance had been for you, why leave then? Why not pursue a career as a dancer or studio owner?
I did seriously consider staying in ballroom. It was very hard for me to leave. I guess my deepest dream had always been to become a writer, and I realized when I was dancing how hard you need to train to achieve your goals. Dancing taught me a great deal about discipline and passion. Those were valuable lessons and have helped me in everything I do.
7) Your new novel, “Mambo in Chinatown,” focuses on “a young woman torn between her family duties in Chinatown and her escape into the world of ballroom dancing.” How much of the novel is based on personal experience?
Like my heroine, Charlie, I was also clumsy and not considered to be very attractive by my traditional Chinese family. They loved me a great deal but found me to be hopeless as a good Chinese daughter. Just as Charlie finds her own hidden talents in the ballroom dance studio, I discovered myself as well. Now that I’m a bestselling author, I often have to do photo shoots or go on television or speak in front of large audiences. I call upon my ballroom skills then, from knowing what to wear to walking onto the stage with confidence.
8) Though you haven’t served as a dance instructor for years, do you still dance today?
I recently returned to the professional ballroom world both to do research for my novel and to film a promotional video for it. Marina and Taliat are now the owners of Fred Astaire East Side Studio, and they choreographed a routine for me to dance together with Jungie Zamora, one of their instructors. It was so fun. I loved being back in the studio and hanging out with the instructors and students again. On top of being a phenomenal dancer and teacher, Jungie is the nicest, kindest person imaginable and would forgive me every time I whacked him in the head during a lift! His partner, the lovely and talented Sheena Daminar, would come and do my part with him so I could see what I needed to do, then she would correct me so we could go through the entire routine smoothly. The other dancers gave me advice on my dress and hair. Taliat and Marina coached me on the dance floor and gave me a lot of advice about my book, which was extremely helpful. Everyone pitched in to help. It was just like being a part of the family again.
You can see the final video here.
9) Do you ever see yourself returning to the dance floor competitively?
I live in Holland and there aren’t any Fred Astaire Dance Studios here! The disadvantage of having danced at such a great studio is that I know how important it is to have good teachers. I remember when I would get a student who had been taught badly, and it was so sad because I’d have to beat those habits out of them before they could start to look graceful and strong on the dance floor. So I don’t know if competitive dancing is in my future, sadly enough, though I do dream of a television series called, “Dancing with the Writers.”
10) Finally, since many of our readers are present and future dancers, what would you say to those who are on the fence about trying ballroom dance or taking that next step competitively?
I was scared to step into the ballroom studio too, so I can understand how people might feel awkward or unprepared. The great thing about ballroom is that it’s designed for regular people. If you can walk, you can learn to dance ballroom. The other wonderful thing is that it grows with you. There’s always something to learn — a skill to polish, fun new moves. For those who are considering doing competitions, I would say that there is no better way to improve your dancing. It’s not about winning or losing; it’s about becoming as good as you can be. Not everyone wants that; some people just want to dance socially, which is fantastic, but for people who want to develop their skills as much as possible, I think competition is the obvious choice. My general philosophy in life is never to allow fear to hold you back.
Order your copy of “Mambo in Chinatown” or Kwok’s best seller, “Girl in Translation,” by clicking here.
