By Christopher Cussat
Hines Ward may have proven to the world that football players from Pittsburgh can dance with the stars and win national dancing competitions, but more recently, Tuan-Anh L. Ung, M.D., has handily shown that Pittsburgh doctors are also fancy footed forces to be reckoned with!
It’s true, Western Pennsylvania’s newest dance champion is Dr. Ung—who is very familiar to many local residents as one of the friendliest doctors in Monongahela Valley Hospital’s Emergency Department. This past March, he won the Top Student Award in the Full Silver Level at the World-Dance-O-Rama.
The 2012 World-Dance-O-Rama was held from March 21-25 at the New York City Sheraton—a prime location for one of Arthur Murray International Dance Studios’ most attended and glamorous events. The much-anticipated competition recorded more than 12,000 entries from all over the globe and commemorated the 100th Year of the Arthur Murray School of Dance.
Generally, these events are conducted over a period of four full days. In addition to competitive and social ballroom dancing activities, these gatherings are packed with dance-related itineraries, special day trips, dinners, city tours, as well as professional ballroom and Latin dance shows. World-Dance-O-Ramas are open for all levels of dancers to come and experience the true size and breadth of the Arthur Murray Dance Family—and are held throughout each year in various locations all over the world.
Dr. Ung and Ashley Geidel, who is his instructor at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in McMurray, Pa., danced 38 times during the course of the competition. Their dances included the Waltz, Cha-Cha, Viennese Waltz, Rumba, Fox Trot, Tango, Swing, Bolero, and Salsa. With 14 years of dancing experience under his feet, Dr. Ung successfully took on and surpassed national and international competitors. Not only is he a great dancer, but he obviously likes both the sheer enjoyment and hard work of competitive dancing. “It was a great deal of fun as well as challenging,” said Dr. Ung. “I competed against very skilled dancers from many countries such as Italy, Taiwan, and Australia.”
World-Dance-O-Ramas attract some of the best international dancers who range from teenagers to retirees and septuagenarians. Each participant competes amongst others who are within 10 years of his or her age. Skill levels include Beginners, Bronze, Silver, and Gold—and each category has full and associate members.
Although Dr. Ung loves dancing, he is first and foremost dedicated to spending most of his time providing compassionate medical care to people who visit Monongahela Valley Hospital’s Emergency Department. For more information on the Arthur Murray McMurray Dance Studio visit www.ballroomdancing.org/index.php or call (724) 942-4707.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.