Meet Lee Lee Lan, one of Malaysia’s most prominent ballet pioneers that made me fall in love with dance

Originating from the 15th century during the Italian Renaissance which eventually turned into a concert performance in France, ballet is an artform that spans a truly wide and exhaustive scope of techniques that can take decades to truly master. Since then, ballet has become a widely known dance with various schools around the world incorporating their own set of cultures and teachings.

Lee Lee Lan, a trailblazer in Malaysian ballet

Growing up in a typically Asian household, I was always told to develop other skills in life outside of the academic world. It was always my mother’s dream to learn Ballet and when I turned 3, I was enrolled into a ballet school named the Federal Academy of Ballet. After many years of training under the same instructor, Ms. Sandra, I had no choice but to switch to a different instructor as our schedules could no longer match up.

As I stepped into the Ballet studio, fearing that my next instructor would be stricter than the one who came before her, I was instead welcomed by a very soft-spoken and elegant woman. She was none other than Lee Lee Lan, or as we would call her, Mrs. Lee. She greeted me with a soft smile before making us get ready for class.

Despite being a willowy woman who moved with utmost grace and gentleness, students such as myself would never mistake her commitment and dedication when it came down to teaching ballet. Mrs Lee was a strict instructor, and I distinctly remember dreading how she would get us to practice doing cartwheels every week.

“How am I going to pull this off?” I used to ask myself.

For the 3 years where she guided me in my dance journey, I gradually grew to become more in-tune with my body and learned to not just like ballet, but truly enjoy it. In fact, I still hold on to one of the most important pieces of advice that she gave me while under her tutelage.

“It’s great if you’re good at dancing, but it’s better if you enjoy what you’re doing.”

When the news of her passing came about last year, my ballet friends and I were saddened that a true legend has left the world. But one silver lining that did come about from her passing was in witnessing how the dance community came together to pay their tribute to a woman who made dance her life and strove to take the Malaysian ballet scene to greater heights.

In hindsight, it was heartwarming to realise how much of an impact she had not just to me, but to so many other people’s lives.

Growing up with a Ballet mom

Speaking to the late Mrs Lee’s son, Larry Lee, who is currently the vice principal of the ballet studio she founded, he shared that his childhood growing up with her didn’t feel to be any different from that of any other children.

He described that his relationship with her was exactly like any other mother-son relationship, only with the added involvement of dance peppered throughout his life.

“It wasn’t difficult growing up with a mom who did Ballet, in fact I was involved one way or another. Whether as the backstage technician, camera man, computer engineer and even the plumber”, he said.

As Larry recalls the time spent with his late mother, he said that just as she was in the dance studio, she similarly strict at home but made a point of teaching her children well. He adds that she was a firm believer of discipline and hard work in many aspects of her life.

“Everyone has to be punctual regardless as she thinks that being punctual is a form of discipline”, he says.

When asked about Mrs Lee’s relationship with Ballet, Larry shared that Ballet was the centre of everything she did. She would take any opportunity to learn new dance forms and music as well, but ballet was always the foundation for all her pursuits. And it all started from a ballet concert that she had attended with her parents as a child, which inspired her love and lifelong passion for ballet.

“I think her love for Ballet grew from there and she was fortunate to have Ethel Foxcroft as her teacher. Ms. Ethel offered her free lessons as she wasn’t able to afford it back then”, he said.

A glimpse of Ballet through the career of Lee Lee Lan

Evidently, her enthusiasm for ballet eventually led her to transition into a professional career, first by teaching ballet part-time while studying at the University of Malaya. Intent on promoting ballet throughout Malaysia, Mrs Lee would go on to establish her own ballet studio in 1967, which gradually evolved to become not just a training ground for a new generation of ballet dancers, but also a platform through which she advocated for the art form with.

To date, the Federal Academy of Ballet has grown to encompass five different branches located across the Klang Valley and is often regarded as one of the pioneering ballet schools in the country. A number of prominent Malaysian dancers and dance instructors have trained under her direction, including Joseph Victor Gonzales, Vicknendran Siva Lingham, as well as David Lee and Andrew Pan.

What’s more, she would go on to establish the Dance Society of Malaysia in 1986 and was appointed by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing as their very first Asian Examiner for Ballet, Modern and Tap.

And despite the trials and tribulations that she has faced in establishing her career and her tireless promotion of ballet in Malaysia, Mrs Lee’s love for ballet never once faded and even said that she had enjoyed every step of the process.

“I’ve never worked a day in my life, it feels like I’m just playing every day.”

Through dance we unite

Growing up under the wings of one of the most recognised faces in dance, Larry shared that he was always exposed to the art form and eventually, he took up a bit of Ballet and tap dancing. While it did pique his interest, he eventually majored in engineering and said that it was eye-opening to see the art of dance through a different lens, even if he may no longer be actively practicing it himself.

As my interview with Larry came to a close, I asked him for a piece of advice that his mother would dispense to all aspiring ballet dancers.

“Finish your ballet education, if one day you decide not to be in the corporate world, you can always teach Ballet.” he said.

Rest in power Mrs. Lee, we remain ever grateful for all that you’ve done for the dance community in Malaysia.

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