Our 31st Year

September 10, 1997
October 8, 1997
October 22, 1997
November 5, 1997
November 19, 1997
December 3, 1997
December 17, 1997
January 28, 1998
February 11, 1998
February 25, 1998
March 11, 1998
March 25, 1998
April 8, 1998
April 22, 1998
May 20, 1998
June 10, 1998
July 8, 1998

Other Years

December 3, 1997

by Peter O. Safir

Dr. Fred Chu describes a unique solution to one’s mid-life crisis. Fred, an ophthalmologist, and wife Anita, a neurologist, have become two of the top-ranked amateur ballroom dancers in the U.S. This September, Fred and Anita, known as St. Louis’s “Dancing Doctors,” were named top overall student dancing couple at the U.S. Dance Sport Championships at Miami Beach’s Fountainbleu Hotel, and Fred was named the top male student dancer. Fred says that Anita had always wanted to learn the tango, and Fred knew it took two to tango. So, just about three years ago, Fred took his first dance lesson and now the couple practices up to 15 hours a week and enters 10-15 dance competitions a year. Fred said that his feet “turned to jelly” when Anita pushed him towards the dance floor at the U Can Dance Studio for their first, free lesson. “If you had told me then that I would be competing for a national championship within four years, I’d have thought you were from another planet,” Fred was quoted in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Dancing was also a way to help Fred recover from surgery for colon cancer, as it helped build up his endurance and was a good distraction. And how do Fred and Anita have the time and energy to dance competitively while continuing their active medical practices? Fred says, “In a way, at the end of the workday, your mind is worn out and your body is worn out. But you grab a snack, and you’re ready to dance.”

Larry Warter writes that son Brian (’96 Engineering) will be marrying Elizabeth Hill (’96 Psychology) this January at the PU Chapel. Larry continues to work for Fuji Photo Film USA as director of new product development.

© 1997 Peter O. Safir and The Princeton Alumni Weekly. Used by permission.