Encore for a tea dance

Shanghai's historic Peace Hotel hosts a gracious afternoon tradition that evokes the city's 1930s heyday. Belle Taylor checks out the scene in the right shoes. Belle Taylor

The room is an art-deco wonder. The musicians are world-class. And my dance partner is a professional who glides over the floor as if he were waltzing on clouds.

Too bad my own elegance isn't quite up to scratch with the surroundings - I keep tripping over my own two feet.