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Dance teacher
par excellence
Vishnusaram Owen de Abrew needs no introduction
to the dancing public in Sri Lanka.
Owen de Abrew is still going strong on his dedicated approach to
teaching of Ballroom dancing in the English style. He still continues
teaching the young and the adult couples with great interest.
He is now going on his eighty fifth year and his birthday anniversary
was celebrated recently.
Commencing his dancing career in the a fifties while working at
Radio Ceylon , Owen was fortunate in winning a four-dance standard
Ballroom Championship, soon after he tuned a dance teacher to promote
Ballroom and Latin American dancing.
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| Owen de Abrew |
Owen de Abrew School of Ballroom Dancing presented
students for medal Examiations through the Ceylon Amarteur Dancing
Association. He also trained students for Competition dancing and
through his. efforts presented the first couple in Sri Lanka to
compete at the World Dancing Championship held in the United States
of America. They were Mr Dushmutha Kanagoda .& Miss Manoji Samararatne.
In 1989, De Abrew received an Award for his outstanding contribution
to Ballroom Dancing in Sri Lanka, from the National Association
of Teachers of Dancing, U.K.
His next move was to promote his son Ravi de Abrew to the teaching
profession. Ravi was trained by Tony Fernandez, a British qualified
dance teacher and in the year 2000 Ravi be came the Second Generation
Ballroom and Latin Dance teacher in the island.
By the year 2004, Owen had gone the hard way to complete his fifty
years of teaching dancing.
The Ballroom Dancers Federation Inter Lanka, felicitated him at
the Galle Face Hotel on 1st August 2004. The trophy was presented
by Ms Yvonne Saunders, fellow Examiner, BDFI U.K. on behalf of the
BDPI Sri Lanka
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