Steps

Spent the entire Deepavali day watching the entire series of a TVB drama called "Steps" (Mou Dou Chuen Sing). It was a fantastic dance-oriented drama featuring the following stars:

• Steven Ma as Ching Ka Tsun
• Bernice Liu as Lee Sum Ying
• Wayne Lai as Lee Lik Keung
• Kate Tsui as Yeung Sze Man
• Fala Chen as Ching Ka Man
• Claire Yiu as Donna Yau Lam Lam
• Matthew Ko as Mai Dik Sung
• Stephen Wong as Yau Sheung Dat

Synopsis (from Wikipedia)
Dance lover Lee Sum Ying (Bernice Liu) is going to audition for a place in the Hong Kong Dance Company. Before the audition starts, she bumps into her brother Lee Lik Keung (Wayne Lai) and his colleague Ching Ka Tsun (Steven Ma) at a supermarket, where she is accidentally run over by Tsun’s trolley and hurts herself. Due to her arm injury, Sum Ying did not perform well in the audition and failed the assessment. At the invitation of Tsun’s mother, Sum Ying goes to teach Latin dance at a local community center, in the hope that she can save up enough money for further studies abroad.

Sum Ying has a very warm personality and is well-liked by many of her students. Her popularity eventually lands her a teaching job at a dance workshop, which makes another dance tutor, Ching Ka Man (Fala Chen) who is also Tsun's sister, incredibly jealous. Ka Man dislikes Sum Ying so much that she means to make things difficult for her in every possible way.

Yeung Sze Man (Kate Tsui), the daughter of Tsun’s boss, is appointed to take charge of the company. In order to improve staff morale, Sze Man has announced a series of reforms. She needs her staff to learn dancing so that they can get more physical exercise. Sum Ying is hired as the dance teacher of Tsun and his colleagues. Tsun, who has some knowledge in dancing, has soon resumed his interest in this expressive form of art.

Sum Ying and Tsun have gradually developed a close bond with each other and even decided to take part in an international dance competition as partners, but the pair’s relationship is put to the test when Tsun and Keung later fall out over business matters. The discord between the two men has put Sum Ying in dilemma…

My own synopsis on the ending
The drama revolves around several key characters where everyone is somehow related to someone else in one way or another.

Quick legend on the relationships diagram below:

• Blue Lines = Siblings
• Pink Lines = Best Buds
• Red Lines = Couples
• Yellow Lines = Rivalry
• White Lines = Dance Partners
• Grey Lines = Colleagues

All's well and the ending was a good one. Lee Lik Keung (Wayne Lai) married Yau Lam Lam (Claire Yiu) and Lam Lam's brother; Yau Sheung Dat (Stephen Wong) moved in to stay with Keung and Sum Ying.

The company that Sze Man was in charged off did successfully well and everyone got a 15% increment. Sze Man also continued to head the company. Although Sze Man's relationship with Mai Dik Sung (Matthew Ko) didn't work out given that the latter has a wife and a sick daughter, she eventually accepted Dat.

Ka Man learnt the lesson of the life when she realised that Anita (her mother's enemy) was only using her to cause tension / headache to her own mom. Out of anger, she accidentally pushed Anita down a fleet of stairs where Anita broke her leg. Ka Man was sentenced to a 9-month jail term.

The dispute between Tsun and Keung also ended when the misunderstandings were cleared and when Tsun helped persuade old Mr. Yeung (Sze Man's father) to re-hire Keung back (at much better terms...).

Despite the injury on her eyes that cause her momentarily blindness, Tsun and Sum Ying managed to complete the dance they started at the international dance competition. They even emerged triumphant as the judges honored their exceptional sportsmanship with a special prize. Best of all, Tsun finally proposed to Sum Ying at the end under fake "snow" flakes which both parties secretly planned (separately).

And that... was the end of the great new TVB drama. I would give it a rating of 4 1/2 out of 5 stars for:

• Chemistry between Tsun and Sum Ying
• Beautiful dance steps
• Super nice soundtracks
• Simple and easy going plot

And lastly, if there are any key learning from the drama, I would say they are as follows:

• Mutual Trust
  Drama: Ballroom dancing emphasizes on mutual trusts and synchronized steps to rhythm... In the drama, there was this part where Tsun was dancing with Sum Ying when the latter suddenly couldn't see (eyesight / corner issue from an accident), they could still complete the dance cos' Sum Ying trusted Tsun wholeheartedly that he'd lead her properly.
  
  Learning: We often find it hard to wholeheartedly trust someone. One may often wonder if there is a hidden agenda behind the facade that the other person is projecting. But really, is there a need to be suspicious all the time? Perhaps it is good to be optimistic and be genuine to all parties to avoid unnessary misunderstandings.
  
• Jealousy
  Drama: Jealousy is one of the deadly sins that one should not practice. In the drama, Tsun's sister - Ka Man is soooo jealous of Sum Ying that she did stupid things that eventually landed her own ass in trouble.
  
  Learning: Don't compare. Everyone is special in their own ways. The more you compare, the more you cause heartache to yourself. Just be happy and thankful that you are what you are.
  
• Look Beyond the Surface
  Drama: There was also this part where Ka Man went under her mother's rivalry's tutelage - Anita cos she thought Anita recognizes her ability as a dancer. In the end, she realised that Anita was only using her to get even with her own mother.
  
  Learning: Learn to look beyond the surface. Not everything is what they seemed to be and of course, family comes first no matter what cos when you are in trouble, friends may abandon you but your family will be there to support you thru thick and thin.