Our Instructors
Han Ly
Han Ly grew up in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island where he always participated in local musical theater camps. He knew from a young age that he loved being in front of an audience. After high school Han moved to Vancouver to attend university, and he took dance classes occasionally. It wasn’t until his sister, who danced competitive ballroom, was without a partner and asked Han to dance, that he discovered his passion for ballroom. He agreed to compete, like any wonderful brother would, and they ended up beating out the competition. After a couple of successful competitions, Han found it a bit odd to dance a passionate, sexy rumba with his sister and the pair put competitions on hiatus, so that he could focus on his fourth year of university.
Han graduated with his bachelors of business administration during the recession of 2008, and decided to give ballroom another chance while he figured out what would come next in his life. He met his current partner, Crystal Li, and the rest is history. To this day, Crystal and Han perform and compete ballroom together; they own and teach out of their studio Imperial Ballroom, and the pair have represented their country at the world games multiple times. Recently, the duo won first at the Canadian national championships, ranking first in Ballroom for all 10 dances, becoming the first British Columbians to receive this title.
Ballroom has taken Han all over the world for competition; including England, Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and throughout the United States of America and Canada. He currently trains with some of the industry’s best; most notably, Shirley Ballas, his dance mom.
Crystal Li
Originally from Hong Kong, Crystal grew up participating in performing arts – from Chinese dance to musical theatre, she has done it all. She found that her passion truly lies in the genre of ballroom and when she paired up with her current partner Han Ly – the rest was history. Crystal and her partner Han have been dancing together for over 10 years. They started out as local competitors and have moved on to travel around the world to compete at the world’s most prestigious events such as the Blackpool Dance Festival in England, UK. They are the current Canadian National Champions in Latin & Ballroom (10 Dance) and have represented Canada to the World Games – placing top 12 in the world. The main dance influence in Crystal’s life is her long-time coach – Ms. Shirley Ballas – the “queen of latin” herself and now the current head judge on BBC’s “Strictly Come Dancing”. Shirley has been a strong role model in Crystal’s life and teaches her that no talent beats hard work, this art form is constantly evolving and we must continue to challenge ourselves and push our limits.
Crystal’s success in the ballroom competition world led to her first TV appearance in iZombie Season 5, where choreographer Heather Laura Gray sought her out to perform in a ballroom dancing scene. After that opportunity Crystal fell in love with the film/TV industry and continued on to appearances in Terror 2, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl and Nancy Drew.
Crystal is the current Artistic Director/ Co-Founder of Imperial Ballroom; the premier and award winning ballroom dance school in Richmond BC. With years of experience working as a performer, choreographer, instructor and most recently a competitive judge – she alongside her partner Han Ly, have coached the Provincial Juvenile & Junior Latin Champions and brought their collegiate team (UBC Latin Formation Team) to win multiple international titles.