John Teng Dances (and Wins!) for Charity

By John Teng

There is no reason why middle age should be dull, boring, and predictable. So when I had the opportunity to stick my neck out and get on a stage and dance for a charity I jumped on it without thinking twice. To be clear, I didn’t have any formal dance training except for a handful of private classes for various forms of dance steps and a whole of bounding around on a dance floor just having fun!

I was paired up an amazing dance partner named Stacey who was so patient and fun to work with to prepare for the show.

On February 7, 2015, they teamed up to win the first-place trophy for “Dancing with the South Bay Stars IV,” an annual charity event organized by the Torrance Cultural Arts Foundation and held at the Torrance Armstrong Theater. The competition is modeled after the original television program, but in this event the “South Bay’s brightest stars” are paired with professional dancers to compete and raise funds and awareness for their favorite nonprofit organizations. Including John and Stacey, the competition showcased 12 teams, with everyone dancing their hearts out for their chosen charities and the capacity-filled house.

Formerly serving as Sunrider International’s Sales Manager for North American for eight years, John is now using his professional civil engineering license in his role as Sunrider’s World Real Estate Internal Auditor. Representing Sunrider, John selected Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches (A3M) as the charity his dance team would support. A3M is a bone marrow recruitment center that helps patients with blood cancers, with a particular emphasis in reaching out to people of mixed ethnicities who have a more difficult time finding a genetic match for bone marrow transplants. John’s reasons for choosing A3M, which are very near and dear to his heart, are explained here: https://johntengdancing.wordpress.com/