SINGAPORE – On Thursday (Aug 11), two days after Singapore turned 57, the strains of Majulah Singapura rang through a hall in Germany over 10,000km away.
The packed crowd of several hundred spectators at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart were on their feet, applauding the national anthem and the efforts of the dancesport pair of Isabelle Tay and Rene Libera, who won gold in the Adult Rising Star Latin event at the prestigious German Open Championships.
It was the first triumph for the Republic at the competition, considered one of the toughest in the world.
Over the phone, Tay, 28, told The Straits Times: “I was holding back my tears because I felt very touched… (and) it made me think of my childhood when the national anthem was played in Primary School.
“It also made me think about the amount of support from my family. My parents taught me since I was a child and supported my dance career throughout.”
Libera, 26, is a German but World Dancesport Federation regulations allow for mixed nationality-pairings, if the host nation is agreeable.
Tay revealed that her mother Gladys, who is a part of the national coaching set-up, also played a key role. “She was coaching me on the phone throughout the entire event and watched on livestream until 6am,” said Tay.
The triumph was sweet for Tay, who rediscovered her desire to dance competitively after returning to Singapore during the pandemic having been based in the United States for her studies for a number of years.
She graduated summa cum laude from New York University in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and received her master’s degree from Stanford University last year. She is currently a PhD candidate in education at Stanford, doing research work in social psychology remotely.
Tay picked up dancing aged seven from her parents, who run Shawn & Gladys Dance Academy. Her grandparents also ran their own dance studio in the 1970s and 80s, and are considered pioneers of the development of dancesport in Asia.
Tay, however, had already decided to shift her focus toward academia by the time she returned to Singapore when Covid-19 hit. But being back home reminded her of her passion.
“It was then I realised I missed dancing a lot… it’s a big part of my life and identity,” she said.
Through her parents’ contact, she travelled to Germany to search for a partner – the country is known for its strong dance community – and eventually paired with Libera, who had also stopped competitive dancing for a period of time himself.
“It was very challenging for both of us to come back to dancing, prepare our bodies physically and dedicate ourselves to competing,” Tay said.
Standing atop the podium with the Singapore anthem playing, no doubt, made it all worth the effort.
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MCI (P) 031/10/2021, MCI (P) 032/10/2021. Published by SPH Media Limited, Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. Copyright © 2021 SPH Media Limited. All rights reserved.