YOU could say she's hip to be square.

With make-up and dressed in funky clothes, Miss Guan Chong, 25, has the looks to match her cool moves.

But behind her showy personality lies a serious (some would say square) mind, one bent on becoming a professor.

The third-year Marketing and International Business PhD student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) balances her academic pursuits with her passion for hip hop, which she picked up when she was 18.

Said the native of Shenyang, China: 'After finishing my university examination (at Peking University), I had nothing to do for three months. Street dancing was big in China at the time due to the influence of the Korean pop culture.'

After watching street dancing on TV and online, she decided to join a dance club in Peking University.

But her passion for dancing did not get in the way of her studies - she managed to top her cohort of about 30 students in her final year.

She said: 'All along, my results weren't that bad. I'm usually in fifth position for my level. In the third year, I just decided to put in more effort and studied harder for the exams.'

She intends to go back to China after completing her PhD, .

She is a member of two dance clubs in NTU - Soul Funky and NTU Breakdance club.

Since she started her doctorate, she has co-authored a book on the mobile communications market in China, two journal papers and three conference publications - all the while keeping up with her dancing.

She said: 'I try to go for dance classes as often as possible. I'd just sacrifice a bit of my sleeping time.'

Besides her dance club activities, she also takes part in other hip hop and breakdancing classes.

She said: 'Learning from different instructors helps you to learn more styles. When you mingle with different groups of dancers, you can learn from them as well.'

Satisfaction and modernity

But why street dancing?

She said she wanted to stand out from other PhD students.

'Because we are all doing PhDs, I find it gives me a higher sense of satisfaction when I do street dance.'

She said most of her course-mates engage in activities such as cooking, watching movies and playing card games.

Her other reason for picking up street dancing was because it was modern compared to traditional forms like Chinese dance.

'It's more popular among young people now and it's probably easier to find friends to dance with. Dancing alone is boring.'

She has taken part in two dance group competitions in Singapore. Her group failed to make it to the finals both times.

Said Miss Wang Ying, 26, a fellow doctorate student: 'She is a different person when she is dancing. When she's doing research, she's quiet but when she's dancing, she's enthusiastic and attractive.'

While Miss Guan's passion for street dancing is strong, she is realistic about its limits.

She said in mock horror: 'I will die if I work as a dancer. I won't be able to survive. Even the best dancers have day jobs. Dance is just what makes their lives more interesting.'

She hopes to be in academia as an assistant professor when she graduates. Even then, she said, she would still find time to dance.

'I just want to dance as much as I can. It's a good way to relieve stress and hang out with people.'

This article was first published in The New Paper