EVER since my school days, I’ve been actively involved in social gatherings and dancing. The weekend dances at Saratok Secondary School were eagerly anticipated by the senior students. I was an exception to the norm, being the only junior boy who dared to join the dances starting from 1969 when I was in Form Two. These dances were organised at least once a month.
During the dances, there were song requests, and the senior boys and girls in charge of the event would play the requested songs for the dances. When a song started playing, there would be a rush among the boys to choose a girl to dance with from the group seated on the opposite side of the school dining hall, which served as the dance venue.
I remember one time when I was the last one to approach the opposite side and ended up inviting Miss Christine Grootefield, a tall Canadian peace-corps teacher, to dance. Due to her height and my being only fifteen and several inches shorter, I ended up dancing between her cleavage. I’m sure some of the senior boys were envious of me, although I felt a bit embarrassed.
Other times, I would choose one of the senior girls who joined the party. However, only a few junior girls were willing to participate, and most of them were the main attractions for the senior boys, leaving little chance for a Form Two boy like me to choose them.
Two years later, when I was halfway through Form Four, the school principal put an end to the dances but allowed the social gatherings to continue. These gatherings provided opportunities for students to showcase their musical talents by performing in bands and singing. I was actively involved in singing performances, but I missed the dances, especially during our senior years.
While studying at Sibu’s Methodist Secondary School, attending Lower Six in 1973 and Upper Six in 1974, I had the chance to go dancing in some Sibu nightclubs, particularly the popular Paris Room and Merrido Hotel. My eldest brother Edward would bring me along whenever the opportunity arose during those two years. We were led by a kind community leader, Temenggong Jonathan Bangau Renang from Bawang Assan, who happened to be the first Iban to visit China. He went to the Canton Trade Fair in 1960.
Temenggong Bangau, who has since passed away, was in his 60s at the time and always took care of us. He would treat us to lunch and dinner before bringing us to the Paris Room or occasionally the Merrido Hotel, where another nightclub was located. I remember being asked a few times to sing during the dances, and as a gesture of appreciation, a few bottles of beer or stout would be sent to our table as compliments from the establishment.
Bangau would invite some other friends to join us, including Hilary Sering, who was a senior clerk with SESCO and married to a Bawang Assan lady, just like my brother Edward, who was a senior technician with SESCO. Johnny Engkamat, also from Bawang Assan, and John Lee Kwok Thien, who was of Chinese-Iban descent, were also part of our group, along with a few others.
It was in the Paris Room and Merrido that I started learning proper dance styles such as the waltz, folk trop, rhumba, and the popular cha-cha. My brother Edward was a champion in cha-cha and always made sure to choose a partner from among the cabaret ladies participating. I also did reasonably well in cha-cha.
There were times when we went to the club without Bangau. I recall one incident in 1974 during my school break when a few of us, led by Hilary Sering, joined the crowd at the Merrido Club. Edward, John Lee, another guy whose name I can’t recall, and I ordered four big bottles of Guinness Stout, which cost about 10 ringgit per bottle back then. We also called for two GRO ladies to accompany us for the occasion. However, we discovered that the two GROs were seated with another group at a different table. Instead of pursuing them, the four of us simply left through the backdoor without paying for the drinks. We had a good laugh about it as we had nearly finished the four big bottles of Guinness Stout. I’m sure the bill was taken care of by the establishment, considering the GROs were with another group.
In Penang, I took on a leadership role among the Sarawak and Sabah undergraduates when we went on nightclub-hunting rendezvous. Our favourite destination was the President Club along Penang Road. We were charged 35 sen per dance, but we would settle for three coupons with one ringgit. As undergraduates, we weren’t in the best financial position, but we were wise enough to start with a few bottles of beer. Then, I would make my way to the microphone to sing a few songs
accompanied by the resident band. In no time, the joint would send a bottle or two to our table as compliments. The dim lighting in the club helped hide the fading looks of the cabaret ladies, most of whom were older than us. But we didn’t care about their looks as long as the music played and we could continue dancing.
During that time, the movie “Saturday Night Fever” had gained popularity, introducing disco music. The disco era brought about new dance styles, mostly involving imitating the moves of the young John Travolta from the film. Another influential movie was “Grease,” starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. These two movies paved the way for more extravagant disco music and dance steps.
At the President Club, the Sarawak and Sabah boys became regular faces, initiating the trend of disco dancing following Travolta’s steps. We actively participated in the club for about three years, and our last visit was in my final year in 1978, after a successful poker game at our rented semi-detached home in Pantai Jerjak. I was accompanied by seniors from Sabah, Sarawak, Pahang, and Kedah, and we had a fantastic time.
I realised that the lessons I learned from dancing in Paris and Merrido in 1973 and 1974 were very useful for future dancing experiences as an adult.
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the New Sarawak Tribune.
