A millionaire Latin dance lover won a $7,9-million lawsuit against her former salsa instructors in Hong Kong on Wednesday, ending a courtroom drama that has gripped the territory with its tales of graceful steps, obscene language and outrageous wealth.
The high court ruled that Mimi Monica Wong (61) the head of HSBC’s private banking business in Asia, was entitled to a reimbursement of fees for lessons she cancelled after her teacher Mirko Saccani called her a ”lazy cow” and threatened to throw her ”out of the fucking window”.
Wong had paid the money in 2004 under an eight-year contract for unlimited, exclusive lessons from Saccani and his British wife, Gaynor Fairweather, a 15-time world Latin dance champion.
But the relationship soured when the Italian teacher told her to ”move her arse” in front of 50 similarly well-heeled socialites at a ballroom event. Wong told the court she suffered an emotional breakdown as a result of the insults.
Saccani admitted using strong language but said the aim was to motivate his student and dance partner. He and his wife unsuccessfully countersued for the $7-million outstanding on the contract.
Deputy judge Gerard Muttrie said he found Wong’s version of events more believable than the teachers’. ”I do not see why, even if Wong was in default, she should not have her money back, subject to any claim for damages which the defendants might have,” ruled the judge. ”They took her money, for services in the future which she would never take up.”
Hong Kong’s media have given front-page coverage to the case and dwelt upon the glamorous details of Hong Kong’s salsa scene. Since the craze hit in the 1990s many of the world’s top dancers have moved to the wealthy territory to teach rich housewives, politicians and tycoons.
The best foreign instructors, many of whom partner their students in competitions, can charge tens of thousands of dollars a month for daily lessons in the cha-cha, rumba, samba, jive and paso doble.
Wong paid $130 for her first hour’s lesson with the couple, but as her interest increased so did the amount she paid. According to the judgement, she was almost at the point of ”obsession” when she signed up to the multimillion-dollar deal.
During the trial Wong described her relationship with the couple as ”an affair”. Fairweather called the student ”my little project, my love and my heart”. Among the positive results was a Top Gold Lady award for Wong at a Dancesport competition in Los Angeles in 2003, when she was partnered by Saccani.
The $7,9-million deal was supposed to ensure success, but the relationship failed when Wong and Saccani quarelled after being upstaged by other dancers. – Guardian Unlimited Â