Owen de Abrew (born 22 April 1920, date of death unknown) was one of Sri Lanka's leading ballroom dance personalities, he was known as the 'King of Ballroom dancing' in Colombo.

Fifty Years in Ballroom Dancing in Sri Lanka

De Abrew, who celebrated 50 years in Ballroom Dancing, was felicitated in Colombo by the Ballroom Dancers Federation of Sri Lanka in August 1994. He started his dance career under the guidance of Carl Cooke and won his first Ballroom Dance Championship in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

in 1952, at the National Ballroom Open Event. He started teaching dance as a career in 1954. De Abrew has taught the waltz or foxtrot and Latin dances such as cha cha and rumba, among other dance forms to thousands in Sri Lanka.

Presenter of music programs on Radio Ceylon

Own de Abrew was also a guest presenter of many radio programs in the late 1950s and 1960s, over the airwaves of

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...

. He presented a popular radio programme called ''The Ballroom of the Air.'' The station ruled the airwaves in

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

and millions tuned in to hear Radio Ceylon. Owen de Abrew brought with him a flair and creativity to English

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

programmes on the Station. He continued giving his input when Radio Ceylon became the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. De Abrew worked very closely with broadcasting legends Livy Wijemanne and

Vernon Corea Vernon Corea (11 September 1927 – 23 September 2002) was a pioneer radio broadcaster with 45 years of public service broadcasting both in Sri Lanka and the UK. He joined Radio Ceylon, South Asia's oldest radio station, in 1956 and later the Sr ...

at Radio Ceylon throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Ballroom Dance Awards

The National Association of Dancing of the UK awarded Owen de Abrew a medal for outstanding contribution to Ballroom Dancing in Sri Lanka in 1989 and Owen de Abrew received this award from John Dilroy who was the UK's Ten Dance Champion, Fellow and Examiner of the Imperial Society. Two of de Abrew's students represented Sri Lanka at the World Championships in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in 1988. Owen de Abrew has handed the ballroom dance mantle to his son Ravi de Abrew who is a dance champion in his own right in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

References

External links

Owen de Abrew felicitated - TV Times, Sunday Times, Sri Lanka

* ttp://www.dailymirror.lk/inside/young/020628.html Dancing All the Way - Ravi de Abrew
Dance teacher par excellence - Sunday Times, Sri Lanka

Senior Dance Professional - Daily News, Sri Lanka

Dancing His Cares Away - Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrew, Owen de 1920 births Year of death unknown Ballroom dancers Sri Lankan male dancers Sri Lankan dancers Sri Lankan radio personalities

Fifty Years in Ballroom Dancing in Sri Lanka

Presenter of music programs on Radio Ceylon

Ballroom Dance Awards

See also

References

External links