Banker Now Regards $15.4 Million Lessons As a Serious Misstep
Ms. Wong Sues Dance Coach
Who Called Her 'a Cow';
Pursuit of Ballroom Glory
HONG KONG -- As the top Asia private banker for HSBC Holdings PLC, Mimi Monica Wong knows how to make wealth last. But these days, she is better known for the millions she lost perfecting her rumba.
Two years ago, Ms. Wong agreed to pay $15.4 million for eight years of unlimited Latin-dance instruction. About half of that sum she paid up front, in cash. The 61-year-old widow recently said she was "looking for the last bit of glory in life."
But the arrangement soured even before it took effect. Now Ms. Wong is suing her dance instructors in a Hong Kong court seeking the return of her $8 million pre-payment. The instructors, 15-time world Latin dance champion Gaynor Fairweather, of the U.K., and her Italian husband Mirko Saccani, are countersuing for the $7.4 million outstanding under the agreement.
Hong Kong has no shortage of big spenders. Home to some of Asia's great fortunes, the city of about seven million boasts the most Rolls-Royces per capita in the world. Yet even here, the equivalent of $5,000 a day for eight years is a lot to pay for dance lessons.
"It's just ridiculous," says Keith McNab, an Argentine tango instructor in Hong Kong who charges about $70 an hour. "No one could actually take enough lessons to make it worth it."
In a letter to a local newspaper, a Hong Kong civil servant said such sums could inspire a career change. "Ladies, I am now available to give dancing lessons," wrote John Shanahan, a senior officer at the city's anticorruption watchdog. "Payments are accepted in advance. Pole dancing costs extra."
But for many women in high-society Hong Kong, dancing is serious business. At glitzy charity balls, Chinese tycoons sometimes turn into wallflowers as their wives dip and twirl in the arms of a paid partner -- often a younger Western man. Among this crowd, it's not uncommon to fork over $500 for an afternoon social event called a "tea dance."
Hong Kong has "some of the craziest prices in the world," says Walter Wat, president of the Hong Kong Ballroom Dancing Council.
The sums approach the stratosphere when a dancer hits the international "pro-am" circuit, where aspiring amateur dancers, mostly female, take part in competitions with professional partners. Daily lessons are necessary to master the five dances that make up competitive Latin ballroom -- cha-cha, rumba, samba, jive and paso doble. There are also travel expenses, entry fees and the cost of costumes for two.
It was this kind of dancing that grabbed Ms. Wong. She rose to the top, just as she had in private banking, and she loved it. "It's like, you know, winning Wimbledon," she said in a recorded conversation with a friend that was referred to in court. Ms. Wong, Ms. Fairweather and Mr. Saccani all declined to comment for this article.
Off the dance floor, Ms. Wong has an impressive résumé. A graduate of Columbia University, she worked her way up HSBC, the world's biggest bank by assets, to become head of its private banking business in Asia. The daughter of a Hong Kong shipping magnate, Ms. Wong is known for her composure, elegance and perfectionism at any cost.
In 2000, Ms. Wong began taking lessons from Ms. Fairweather, who ruled the Latin dance world for 15 years with her then-partner Donnie Burns. The pair is credited with injecting a new flair to the form, and for slowing down the samba to allow for more swagger, according to Hong Kong dance teachers. For their service to dance, each was awarded an Order of the British Empire, a lesser honor than knighthood.
Under Ms. Fairweather's tutelage, Ms. Wong increasingly devoted herself to dancing. Often she would dash away from work at lunch for two hours of lessons, only to put in two more at the end of the day, according to statements made in court. Ms. Fairweather would labor over her student's dress designs, drawing floral patterns and hiring seamstresses to affix hundreds of Swarovski crystal beads, she testified in court. "To me, she was everything," the 49-year-old Ms. Fairweather told the court.
After two years of instruction with just Ms. Fairweather, Mr. Saccani became part of the package. According to court statements, Mr. Saccani instigated longer-term contracts with Ms. Wong for greater and greater sums, paid well in advance. After he began instructing Ms. Wong, according to court testimony, he bought a Ferrari.
In 2002, Ms. Wong paid $135,000 for a fixed number of lessons and competitions. Shortly afterward, she shelled out $1.3 million for a two-year package of unlimited lessons until 2004.
The work paid off. With Mr. Saccani as her partner at the 2003 Emerald Ball Dancesport Championships in Los Angeles, Ms. Wong won the title of "Top Gold Lady."
On top of what she had spent already, Ms. Wong then agreed to pay $15.4 million over eight years for exclusive access to Ms. Fairweather's and Mr. Saccani's services.
Ms. Wong swallowed the high prices because "she was desperate to continue and could not bear to throw away all her hard work," according to her closing statement to the court.
What upended the multimillion-dollar dance partnership was an incident on a Wednesday afternoon in August of 2004. At the Li Hua restaurant, a favorite afternoon dance venue, Ms. Wong and a group of other women were taking part in a mock competition.
That day, the banker was heavier in her step than usual, according to statements in court. In front of fellow dancers, Mr. Saccani shouted at her to "move your arse," and called Ms. Wong a "lazy cow," according to court documents.
Other dance teachers testified his verbal abuse contained threats of physical violence. Instructor Philip Redmond told the court he heard Mr. Saccani say, "If you do it again, Monica, I'll smash your head against the wall." Mr. Saccani denies having said anything beyond some "motivational" language, though he admits to shouting expletives at her.
Two days later, she cut short another practice session. That night, in the taped conversation submitted to the court, she told a friend that the money involved was "stupid," "crazy" and "completely out of hand." The two sides fell out further over the following days and Ms. Wong quickly won a court order to freeze the bank accounts of her instructors.
Ms. Fairweather and Mr. Saccani say they remain ready to fulfill the terms of the contract. "It's not fair to have such love and work put into a person and one day she's not there," Ms. Fairweather told the court.
The publicity around Ms. Wong's case hasn't been good for a private banker, a job that prizes discretion, other bankers say. However, HSBC stands behind its banker, and after a brief leave of absence to attend the two-week hearing, she is back at work helping Asia's wealthy plan their financial future. A judgment in the court case is expected later this summer.
At night, there is still the cha-cha. Ms. Wong has a new instructor, whom she is paying, according to statements in court, $21,000 a month.
舞著伦巴进公堂
王以智(Mimi Monica Wong)作为汇丰银行(HSBC Holdings PLC)杰出的亚洲私人银行家当然知道如何保留财富。但是如今，她为了提高伦巴舞技一掷千金的事情似乎更为外界所熟知。
王以智两年前曾同意支付1,540万美元享受八年无限次的拉丁舞指导服务。她已用现金预付了一半的学费。这位现年61岁的女士最近表示，她正在寻求人生最后的辉煌。
但是这个拉丁舞课程协议在完全生效之前就出了问题。王以智目前向一家香港法庭起诉她的舞蹈教练，要求返还预付的800万美元学费。她的舞蹈教练盖纳?费尔维瑟(Gaynor Fairweather)及其意大利丈夫米尔科?萨卡尼(Mirko Saccani)提出反诉，要求她根据协议支付他们应得的剩余的740万美元。费尔维瑟曾经15次获得全球拉丁舞蹈冠军。
香港从来不乏出手阔绰的人。这里聚集了亚洲的部分巨额财富，这个人口约为700万的城市号称是全球人均拥有劳斯莱斯(Rolls-Royces)最多的地方。但即使在这样的城市中，为八年的舞蹈课程支付相当于每天5,300美元的费用仍然不是件小事。
香港的一位阿根廷探戈教练基思?麦克纳布(Keith McNab)说，这简直太荒谬了。根本没有人能够让这笔钱花得物有所值。麦克纳布的舞蹈课程每小时收费约为70美元。
一位香港公务员在给当地报纸的一封信中写道，这笔巨款已经可以刺激人们改变职业。香港反贪污监管机构的高级官员约翰?沙纳汉(John Shanahan)写道：“女士们，我现在也可以教授舞蹈课程。学费预付。学习钢管舞另外付费。”
对于香港上流社会的名媛阔太们而言，跳舞是件入流的事情。在眩目的慈善舞会上，中国商界大亨们有时会落得坐冷板凳，而他们的夫人却和有偿舞伴在舞池中起伏、旋转。这些舞伴通常是些来自西方比较年轻的男士。对于参加慈善舞会的这个群体来说，花费500美元参加名为“下午茶舞会”之类的社交活动是常见的事情。
香港标准舞总会(Hong Kong Ballroom Dancing Council)会长屈网权(Walter Wat)说，一些世界上最离谱的价格就出现在香港。
当雄心勃勃的舞者（多数是女性）和她的职业舞伴准备参加职业与业余选手混合巡回赛时，舞蹈课程的价格也就达到了顶峰。如果要掌握拉丁舞比赛必备的五种竞技舞蹈－－恰恰、伦巴、桑巴、捷舞以及斗牛舞，日常的舞蹈课就非常必要。另外，还要承担旅行支出、参赛费用以及两人的舞蹈服装费用等。
正是这种竞技舞蹈抓住了王以智的心。就像在私人银行业务方面的优秀表现一样，她很快跻身舞林高手的行列，而且她十分热爱舞蹈。在她提交给法庭的一份与朋友的录音对话中，她说，这就象在温布尔登比赛中获胜一样。王以智、费尔维瑟以及萨卡尼拒绝就本文置评。
暂且不论舞蹈，王以智在其他方面拥有非凡的经历。她毕业于哥伦比亚大学，之后在汇丰银行扶摇直上，现在已经成为这家按资产计全球最大银行的亚洲私人银行业务的负责人。身为香港海运巨头的女儿，王以智一直以其冷静、高雅以及完美的形像远近闻名。
王以智于2000年开始师从费尔维瑟学习舞蹈。费尔维瑟曾经和之前的舞伴唐尼?伯恩斯(Donnie Burns)统领拉丁舞界15年。香港的舞蹈教师说，这对搭档为这种舞蹈形式注入了新的风格，他们在跳桑巴时减慢速度以进行更多的摇摆动作。这些创新使他们声名远扬。为了表彰他们对舞蹈业的贡献，他们曾双双获得大英帝国勋章。
在费尔维瑟的指导下，王以智对舞蹈的热情日益高涨。根据递交给法庭的一份声明，王以智经常在午餐时间从工作中抽身去上两个小时的舞蹈课，这什么作只是为了每天能够多练习两个小时。费尔维瑟在法庭作证时表示，她亲自为王以智设计舞蹈服装，亲手在服装上绘制花朵图案，并雇佣裁缝在舞裙上固定了几百颗施华洛世奇(Swarovski)水晶。现年49岁的费尔维瑟在法庭上说，对我来说，她就是一切。
在费尔维瑟单独教授王以智两年之后，萨卡尼加入了这个协议。根据提交给法庭的声明，萨卡尼曾怂恿王以智签订期限更长、金额更高的协议，而且要求提前支付高额学费。根据在法庭上的证词，在萨卡尼开始教王以智舞蹈之后，他购买了一辆法拉力(Ferrari)。
王以智在2002年支付了135,000美元，用于固定课时的舞蹈学习以及参加数次比赛。不久之后，她又为在截至2004年的两年内享受无限次课程的一揽子协议支付了130万美元。
王以智的努力和金钱最终获得回报。她和萨卡尼搭档参加了在洛杉矶举办的2003年“绿宝石体育舞蹈冠军赛”(Emerald Ball Dancesport Championships)，她获得了“Top Gold Lady”的称号。
此后，王以智的学费不断上涨，最终飙升至八年1,540万美元，她因此可以独家享受费尔维瑟以及萨卡尼的舞蹈指导服务。
根据王以智对法庭的结束陈词，她之所以容忍这么高的学费是因为她特别渴望继续业余舞蹈生涯，而且无法放弃以前付出的艰苦努力。
发生在2004年8月某个星期三下午的一件事使这个数百万美元的舞蹈搭档关系走向末路。当时王以智和萨卡尼在备受舞者喜爱的午后舞场丽花大饭店(Li Hua)中，和另外一群女士参加一场模拟比赛。
根据在法庭上的声明，那天王以智的舞步比平常略显迟缓。萨卡尼在众多舞者面前大声呵斥王以智“动动你的屁股”，并称后者为“懒惰的母牛”。
其他舞蹈老师证明萨卡尼当时确实出言不逊，而且言辞中包含暴力威胁。菲利普?雷德蒙(Philip Redmond)在法庭上说，他听到萨卡尼说“莫妮卡（王以智的英文名字），如果你再这样做，我就把你的脑袋在墙壁上撞烂。”萨卡尼否认他说了激励性言语以外的任何话语，不过他承认曾大声咒骂王以智。
这个事件两天之后，王以智缩短了另一个舞蹈练习的时间。根据提交给法院的录音，当晚，她对一位朋友说，为此付出的那些钱真是很愚蠢、很荒谬，而且已完全不受她控制了。在之后的几天内，双方的关系进一步破裂。王以智很快就获得法庭的批准令，冻结了她的舞蹈老师的银行帐户。
费尔维瑟以及萨卡尼说，他们准备继续履行合同的条款。费尔维瑟对法庭说，她对一个人投入了这么多爱以及精力，但是一天这个人却突然要离开。这样对她很不公平。
其他银行家表示，关于王以智这个案子的公共宣传对这位私人银行家没有任何好处，因为这个职业最看重的就是判断力。汇丰银行在为它的这位银行家作后盾。在因参加听证会而缺席工作两周后，王以智又回到了工作岗位，继续帮助亚洲的富翁们规划起他们的财富未来。
这个案件预计将在夏天获得裁决结果。
在夜晚，恰恰舞仍在继续。王以智已请了新的老师。根据法庭上的声明，她每月向新老师支付21,000美元。
Kate Linebaugh
