Born in Kuala Lumpur, Ms Thooi first put on a pair of ballet shoes when she was six years old.
At the age of 19, she switched the fast-paced life of Malaysia for life in England to continue her classical ballet training.
Hooked on the dance form, she graduated with honours from the London College of Dance and completed a teaching certificate of ballet from the Royal Academy of Dance.
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READ NOWMs Thooi said she loved dancing because she could express herself.
‘It transcended me into another world,’ she said.
‘It was a hobby that became a passion and ultimately, a profession.’
Moving to Perth in 2008, Ms Thooi was forced to work three jobs.
She helped in a market, was a sales assistant and did relief dance teaching.
‘We had to put our emotions away and focus on rebuilding our lives here,’ Ms Thooi said.
‘Every day was a learning curve for us to cope with the changes of the culture and lifestyle.’
After six years of juggling jobs, the dance teacher opened her dance school, Central School of Classical Ballet.
She teaches five different grades at the Don Russell Performing Arts Centre in Thornlie and has hopes for her future in Perth. ‘I hope to able to continue to guide my students to grow into beautiful dancers with a soul, to remain humble, never be afraid of work hard,’ she said.