Mrs Claus makes her festive debut

'Behind every great man, there's a great woman, and I am that woman,' said Mrs Claus, who has her hair in a bun, wears bifocal glasses and is armed with oven mitts for Christmas baking.

Mrs Claus, who is played by a local performers, is one of many acts in shopping malls this Christmas. They range from the traditional Santa Claus with long white hair and glasses to a group of dancers who try to get shoppers into the swing of things.

Sun Hung Kai Properties spokeswoman Cris Fung Yik-lam said it chose the Mrs Claus character because it wanted more interactive and creative performances in its shopping malls this year.

The acts include dancers in the World Trade Centre who teach shoppers how to do the swing, salsa and other dances, an elf who tells the story of Santa Claus and Mrs Claus, who tours various malls with her two elves.

'I just thought everybody's got a Santa Claus and I was just interested in finding out what his wife is doing this Christmas,' said Teresa Norton, owner of Strategic Entertainment, which produced the shows.

Charles Teo Chia-beng, a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, is the choreographer and one of the dancers at the World Trade Centre show. He said Christmas was an especially busy season for performers and this year was no exception.

Mr Teo and three other academy graduates perform ballet, swing, waltz, tap, 1970s disco and Latin dances and invite shoppers to join them.

The Mrs Claus show is targeted at a younger crowd in English and Cantonese. The two elves tell Mrs Claus, who is always busy making gingerbread, children's Christmas wishes in their show.

But other malls and shops still prefer the traditional Santa.

Swire Properties' Pacific Place and Festival Walk hired two actors from Canada and Australia to sit for pictures with children as Santa Claus this year.

Ms Fung said Swire had employed foreign actors because they had professional training and the traditional Santa look.

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