SINGAPORE - As Chelsy Tsan prepares to depart for the May 12-23 SEA Games in Hanoi, there is a sense of serendipity when it comes to the destination.

For this is the same city where the dancesport athlete discovered that she was good enough to pursue her craft at an elite level.

Back in 2019, Chelsy brought home seven medals - two gold, three silver and two bronze - in solo events at the CK Open International Dancesport Championships.

This time, as the 18-year-old returns to Hanoi, she will do so as a SEA Games debutante.

Said Chelsy, who is a part-time learning centre assistant: "While I had won one or two competitions when I was much younger, I never really thought too much about them. But 2019 was a breakthrough for me because winning those medals made me realise that I had what it takes.

"Winning those seven medals boosted my self-belief. That was my biggest accomplishment and the first time I was determined to go further in the sport."

Dancesport refers to competitive ballroom dancing and it made its Games debut in the Philippines in 2005, but was discontinued after the 2007 edition before making a return in 2019, when Singapore won their first medals at the Games - a silver and four bronzes.

Dances are categorised into rhythmical Latin dances and harmonic Standard dances. Dancesport will consist of 12 events this time, including six each in the Standard and Latin disciplines. Dancers are expected to glide over the stage in at least 90-second routines and will be scored on technical skills, choreography and style, musical interpretation, timing, posture and floor craft.

While Chelsy competed in a solo event in her previous trip to the Vietnamese capital, she will be able to lean on familial support this time. She will be joined by her elder brother Gary, 21, at the Games where the duo will compete in the Latin dance in cha cha cha, paso doble and jive on May 15.

Gary, a part-time ballet school administrator, made his Games bow in the Philippines in 2019 when he won a bronze medal in the paso doble with his then-partner Shannen Tan.

Tan has since retired, paving the way for the Tsan siblings to forge a partnership on the dance floor in June 2020.

This is the first time Chelsy has had a partner and she could not have wished for a better one. After all, it was Gary who inspired her to get into the sport.

But things are not always upbeat between the siblings.

"We do of course bicker from time to time. That is normal for us," said Gary. "But the good thing about that is that unlike with other partners, we are able to speak our mind without the fear of offending the other person.

"Communication is much easier with your sibling."

Practise makes perfect and for the Tsans, practise was perfected in their own home and sometimes, at the void deck of their Bukit Panjang flat during the pandemic.

With virus restrictions lifted, the pair now train at the Justino & Ching Dance Academy at the Bras Basah Complex.

Gary explained: "During the pandemic, as we could not leave the house, before our practice, we would shift our furniture from the living room to other spaces. We do not have ideal flooring at home and at times, our house becomes very humid from the weather and the lack of space, making our practices very frustrating."

Gary and Chelsy are not the only siblings dancing for medals at the Games. Jerome and Rachel Teo, who won a silver and two bronze medals in 2019, will represent Singapore in the Standard events.

But Chelsy stresses that "there are not many expectations" when it comes to medals as that will also depend on "what the other competitors are able to do".

Instead, the shy teenager, who can barely be heard even in a quiet dance studio, prefers to let her feet do the talking.

She said: "Since I was a child, I was not someone who was confident and dance helps me to express myself. I am not good with my words but dance gives me strength and confidence."

In Hanoi, dance may also give her another medal.

Fact file

Name: Chelsy Tsan Yan En
Sport: Dancesport:
Date of birth: Dec 27, 2003
Height: 1.61m
Weight: 50kg
SEA Games events: Cha Cha Cha, paso doble and jive (May 15)

Major achievements

2018: Gold at ADSF Asian Single Dance Championship

Special talent: Activities that involve critical and creative thinking like completing puzzles and drawing.