Imperial Ballroom

"We are Ming and Irene, proud owners of Imperial Ballroom dance studio. I grew up in Malaysia and immigrated to the U.S. in 1989. Ming grew up in Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. the same year. We teach ballroom dancing - we met through our mutual love of dancing. We’ve been bringing the Chinese community together through dance since 1995. We teach ballroom dancing, give private lessons and group classes, do social dances, and also do studio rental."

"Growing up in Malaysia, I always saw people dance, but I didn’t have the opportunity because I was always working. When I came here and started working in Manhattan, a coworker friend started inviting me to ballroom dancing in Flushing, and Ming was teaching. I had a few lessons with him, and then we moved on to become dance partners and sought out coaches to teach us." - Irene

"I think my parents are pretty unconventional - they’re artists and dancers and they willingly show affection all the time. I think growing up with artists for parents pushed me towards art. I had a lot of creative pursuits growing up - nail art, beading, knitting, painting, and drawing. They fostered a lot of creativity in me, and I was always very grateful for that." - Angelina

"Teachers find us. One of the ways they find us is through social media, sometimes they message us on Facebook, and we’ll tell them to come by. We’ve gotten people from Russia emailing us that they’d like to teach. They can stop by our studio, we will always welcome them." - Irene

"There was an 84 year old grandma. She didn’t know how to dance at all. We taught her to the point where she knew how to perform. She glowed from dressing up and being able to perform in front of people." - Irene

"We grew up with the sense we knew everyone here, because they watched us grow up. These people have been coming here for decades. The parties were a community - we were laughing, eating, dancing together. The parties were a huge part of my childhood, and I really loved them." - Angelina