The crowd: Everyone and anyone, from heartland aunties and uncles to tai tais and businessmen.
The hot spots: Community clubs or venues such as The Dance Floor at Safra Mount Faber for the regular folks; Upper Club at Chijmes or The Ballroom in Dempsey Road for those puttin' on the ritz. 
DANCING FOR LIFE: Mr Ken Tan was initially reluctant to join his home-maker wife, Susan, for ballroom dancing but eventually changed his mind. Now, the couple say that dancing has enriched their marriage. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND LIM
HOUSEWIFE Susan Tan, 56, got her first taste of ballroom dancing when she joined a social dancing class at her neighbourhood community club with some friends in 1992.
Charmed by the grand music and sweeping moves, she tried to persuade her husband, sales manager Ken Tan, 58, to join her. He was reluctant but had little choice when she told him to dance with her, or she'd find someone else to partner her.
Just a year later, they took part in their first dance competition organised by the People's Association.
As they were 'thick-skinned and didn't know better', jokes Mrs Tan in Mandarin, they signed up for all three categories: basic, novice and pre-amateur. They emerged champions in the basic category and fourth in the latter two.
Bitten by the competition bug, they began taking classes - almost every day - at Shawn & Gladys Danceworld at Bras Basah Complex in 1994. Mastering dances such as the waltz, tango and foxtrot, they started competing in local and regional Dancesport events, chalking up points and scaling the national rankings with every win.
The hobby cost them 'thousands of dollars' every month, most of which went to classes and costumes from Britain or Italy. But Mrs Tan reasons: 'What's the point in keeping money away where we can't see it? We might as well spend it on something we enjoy.'
Their dancing career's pinnacle came in 1998 when they were ranked No. 1 in Singapore and were picked to represent the Republic in Dancesport at the Asian Games in Bangkok. They were the oldest pair there, but came in a respectable seventh.
Dancing took a backseat, however, when work commitments started piling up for Mr Tan. Save for one event in Taiwan in 2004, they have not competed since 1998.
These days, the couple, who have two children and two grandchildren, dance only for leisure. Still, dancing together has enriched their marriage, they say.
Mrs Tan says: 'I may nag at him about his mistakes when he dances, but I'm still so happy.'
'What's the point in keeping money away where we can't see it? We might as well spend it on something we enjoy'
Housewife Susan Tan on the money spent on her and her husband's hobby