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Show ST. GEORGE NEIGHBORHOODS All the world's a stage 12 — for the week of September 8, 2008 — The Spectrum www.thespectrum.com M@ St. George woman starts dance studio in China with partners’ help BY BRIAN PASSEY How To HELP bpassey@thespectrum.com ST. GEORGE — At a time when more and more of the products we purchase come from Asia, it’s rare to hear about Americans exporting something to China. That’s what Ilene Hacker of St. George is doing. She’s exporting dance. For 27 years Hacker was involved with two local dance groups, the Super Steppers and the Prime Time Performers. She sold those _ businesses last year and focused her efforts on China, where she and her Chinese business partners Zhong Dance opened Xing Training the Art and Center in June in Hangzhou, a city of 8 million in the Zhejiang Province, about 100 miles southwest of Shanghai. “I put-a lot of hard work into it,” Hacker says of her efforts to open a business in China. “Every time you jump one hurdle there's another.” Hacker says it was a struggle to get the proper business permits and licenses from the Chinese government because of all the red tape for U.S. citizens. She says the only U.S. businesses commonly seen in China are large corporations like McDonald’s, KFC and Wal-Mart. “They are used to having foreigners come and purchase their goods not the other way @ Experienced dance instructors interested in teaching in China may | contact Ilene Hacker at hacker@infowest. ‘com. More information is available at www. ipsdance.com. around,’ she says. Capitalism is still a new idea in China so none of her business partners have ever owned their own business. Communication is also a challenge; two of her partners only five Chinese can _ speak English. Hacker has traveled the world with her dance teams, including multiple visits to China, but it wasn't until February of 2007 that she began the process of creating a permanent presence in one of the many countries. she had visited. Since that time she has been to China multiple times, staying anywhere from a week to two months at a time. “It’s just an amazing country, but you do have to remember you're in a communist country, she says. “You get over ‘there and feel like you're very comfortable and then all of a sudden you get pulled over and they demand your passport.’ Hacker first met one of her Chinese business partners, Pinghua Hu, _through a mutual friend during a 2006 trip to Beijing with the Super Courtesy Ilene Hacker Tiffanie Shoell, Ilene Hacker and Erin Brophy stand in front of Hacker's Zhong Xing Art and Dance Training Center in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China in June. Hacker started the studio after selling her Super Steppers business. Steppers and the Prime Time Performers. She returned to China in February 2007 to tour munications China, visiting loca- tions like the Great Wall, the ancient city of Pingyau and the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian. During that trip Hacker, Pinghua and his wife decided to go into business together. | At first they couldn't decide on what to export to the United States but after seeing Hacker teach’a dance class in his hometown, Pinghua. suggested importing pre- cision jazz dance from America rather than exporting goods to the United States. After several more trips to China to organize the business it finally opened in June. : Teaching in China “Former Super Steppers and other instructors trav- eled with Hacker to China to teach dance classes there. Among the instructors who visited China with Hacker this past summer were Erin Brophy and Tiffanie Shoell; members of the Dixie State College Dance Team. Brophy, a senior com- major, says she and Shoell concentrated on advertising and promotions for their first month and helped set up the dance program at the center during the second month. They also trained their replacement, another American instructor, before leaving. Brophy says the dance students were grateful to learn from American instructors and took their lessons seriously. They were eager to learn, she says. “It was one of the best opportunities because, you realize how important language is, Brophy says. “I miss it. It was absolutely amazing. When I first got there it was definitely a culture shock” ~ Brophy says..they went out exploring on their bikes every day and tried all sorts of different foods. Hacker says she witnessed a bicycle crash between two Chinese men while out riding with Brophy and Shoell one day. “Both of the young men were riding their bikes and looking at the two beautiful American girls when as a communications major, e See DANCE on page 13 |