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Diva
updated 14 Oct 2010, 08:22
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Thu, Oct 14, 2010
The Straits Times
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My childhood sweetheart
by Adeline Chia

As you enter the living room of property developer Daniel Teo's bungalow, the first thing you see is a bronze statue.

It depicts his wife, former ballerina Goh Soo Khim, with her slender arms outstretched and her skirt spread out like a flower.

It takes a devoted husband to commission a statue of his wife, which he says cost a five-figure sum.

And indeed, he says Ms Goh, the former artistic director of Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT), is his first and only love.

They have known each other since Primary 1 in Nanyang Primary School, and have been married for 40 years. They have four children and six grandchildren.

Even now, MrTeo, 66, chairman and managing director of his family businesses Tong Eng and Hong How groups, seems as in love with her as he was from Day One.

His conversation is peppered with references to her.

When talking about the construction of their 8,000 sq ft house in Bukit Timah in the 1990s, he laments that he could not build a dance studio for her because the authorities did not allow a three-storey house in the area.

When talking about his multimillion-dollar art collection, he praises her good eye for art, especially Chinese painting. 'She is very sharp, she can tell where the artist 'bai bi',' he says, referring to a slip-up.

She is so much a part of his life that her name even crops up in his business. For example, she is the 'Khim' in Dankhim Investments, a holding company for his subsidiaries.

He plays a pivotal role in her dance world, too. The dance doyenne is the co-founder of SDT and was its artistic director until she stepped down last year after two decades.

He has been on the SDT board since its inception in 1988 and has been a silent force behind it. Besides donating money every year, he raises funds for it by pulling in his contacts from the property world. He also bulk-buys tickets to SDT performances to give to his friends.

SDT general manager Alvan Loo, 38, says: 'If Ms Goh is the mother of SDT, then Mr Teo is the father.'

The bachelor adds: 'It was not easy for her to helm SDT. I think she would not have been able to cope without him as her anchor. They are a couple that makes you reclaim your lost faith in the institution of marriage.'

Mr Teo does more than donate money and provide moral support to the dance company. He sometimes drives the dancers around and buys food for them. When foreign artists visit, he plays tour guide.

'All this comes out of my own pocket, I never claim from SDT,' he says with a laugh.

He attends all SDT performances, from glitzy Esplanade galas to free programmes at community centres. At dance functions, he is often spotted photographing his wife as she talks to people.

Ms Goh, who received the Cultural Medallion award for dance in 1981, says: 'My friends say he sets too high a standard for husbands.

'I count myself very fortunate that I have a husband who is not only supportive of my career but also has always been a shoulder for me to lean on.'

She wears the pants at home

Life! meets them at their home, which is shared with their two younger children: Claire, 29, who works in a bank, and Danton, 20, who is doing national service.

Their older daughters are married and have moved out. Rachel, 39, is a project manager in the family business, Hong How, and Dana, 37, is a doctor.

Like many couples who have been married a long time, Mr Teo and Ms Goh exude the air of two people who are entirely comfortable with each other. When there are no questions they have to answer, they settle into a companionable silence.

Unfailingly polite, the genteel pair also give off an old-world courtliness and charm. Mr Teo refers to their initial dates in the 1960s as 'outings' and Ms Goh speaks nostalgically about the love letters they used to write each other.

But there are differences. He speaks in a confident booming voice in English while the soft-spoken wife prefers to speak in refined Mandarin. She calls her husband by his Chinese name, Dong Xiao.

Slender and graceful, with a ramrod-straight posture, she still has something of the prima ballerina left in her.

Dance is in her blood. Her siblings include the late choreographer Goh Choo San and Goh Soo Nee, 74, co-founder of the Singapore Ballet Academy. Her niece, Chan Hon Goh, 38, is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada.

Mr Goh came from a business family and is the second of two boys and four girls. His father and uncle set up Tong Eng Brothers about 60 years ago. It started as a steel trading firm and went into property development later.

He is sociable and loves to entertain while she is reserved and takes a while to warm up to people.

He says: 'For diplomatic functions, she will avoid if possible. If the functions are in Singapore, I understand. She gets tired in the evening. Overseas, I really feel it. Most delegates bring their spouses.'

Does he ever feel that he lives in her shadow? 'At times. Of course, I feel happy for her. Not many people can achieve such recognition, especially when she is so low-key.'

He admits that he once asked her why she keeps her maiden name because people thought he was a Mr Goh. She explained that ballerinas and ballet mistresses go by 'Miss' and 'Madame'.

So, who wears the pants in the relationship? 'She's the boss, of course,' he answers with a long, hearty laugh.

Their eldest daughter, Rachel, says: 'As a child, my father was more approachable. My mother was the disciplinarian.'

If Ms Goh is really the one in control, she does not show it. She says they complement each other and adds: 'In many ways, we are very different. That makes the relationship unique. Because of our differences, we are able to give each other space and time to pursue our interests.'

Spending more time together

Mr Teo went to Nanyang Primary School and later to Catholic High School.

He spoke mostly Hokkien in his family and his childhood nickname was 'Dua Cheoh', or big elephant in Hokkien, because he was a stout child.

He was exposed to the property business when he was young. As the eldest son, he often travelled with his father, the late Teo Thye Hong, to survey land in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Because his dad was terrified of flying, they took one-week ship journeys to Hong Kong.

He did his A levels at Cobury High in Victoria, Australia, and his degree in architecture at the University of Melbourne.

The initial days in Australia were tough. 'I cried. I was so spoilt in Singapore, I had a maid and my own room. There, I had to do my own cooking and washing. It toughened me a lot.'

In Australia, he met up with Ms Goh, who was accepted into the Australian Ballet School. They married there in 1969 and he returned to Singapore in 1971 to join the family business, Tong Eng Brothers.

Among other things, the real estate firm owns 40 per cent of Tong Eng Building and all of Serangoon Plaza.

In 1979, he formed Hong How, whose businesses range from real estate development to the making of construction equipment.

Outside of work, his lifestyle interests go beyond ballet: He is an investor in a gallery called Wetterling Teo in Kim Yam Road, a South African vineyard and a 4ha bird farm in Mandai.

He says he has slowed down, though. He goes to the office on weekdays at about 11am and leaves at 5pm. In the past, he would work during weekends.

'I like to do things closer to my heart,' he says. His 'pet project' is developing a retirement village in Singapore, a dream he has been pursuing since 1997 but has had to put aside because of high costs.

He also spends more time with his wife now that she has retired. The couple have been doing qigong together for the past few years and like attending health talks.

Their grandchildren, aged one month to nine years, are also a constant source of pleasure. The entire family has dinner together three or four times a week.

They also attend dance performances, classical music concerts and art fairs.

Just like in their courtship days then, you suggest.

Ms Goh smiles. After a pause, she says: 'After 20 years with SDT, I do have some regrets. I always thought, 'One day, when I am less busy with SDT, I can spend more time with him to travel the world.' But he has been to many places for meetings, but I never went because I was too busy with work.

'When I think about it, he has given me a lot of support and in this department, I have not done as much. But in future, I hope to spend more time doing what we really enjoy doing together.'

Mr Teo smiles. He does not say anything and somehow, you know there is no need to.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times.


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readers' comments
so sweet! to think of his wife in everything he does really shows that he loves her!
Posted by rumple_baby on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 at 16:26 PM

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