DouDouLe

Gupson trained Sharon to international standards in just 1.5 years, to be his dance partner in representing Singapore and later, Australia, on an international level. They made their debut teaching and performing Salsa in Australia at the first Sydney Salsa Festival 2002, and traveled together to the Hong Kong Salsa Congress 2003 where they performed and taught workshops together. Sharon also attended the Korean Salsa Congress in 2004 and 2005 with Gupson to teach and perform.

Sharon has danced salsa worldwide in such cities as San Francisco, Tokyo, New York, Washington DC, Kuala Lumpur and many more. Sharon was also chosen amongst all of the Australian female salsa instructors to be partnered with UK’s top salsa instructor, Supermario, at the Sydney Latin Fiesta in 2004 for teaching, and again at the Sydney Salsa Congress 2006.

Sharon represented both Australia and Singapore with Gupson, in performing in the West Coast Salsa Congress in LA in 2003, 2004, andin 2005 where she wowed audiences by performing as a male. Over 25,000 dancers attended the 4-day event last year, and representatives of over 42 countries and 235 US cities attended. The West Coast Salsa Congress is the largest such event in the world, with 8 bands, over 50 workshops at all levels & over 150 dance performances.

In 2006, Sharon was chosen to instruct, in addition to performing at the West Coast Salsa Congress with Gupson. Only 50 instructors from around the world are chosen for this prestigious position, and Spin City Dance is proud to present Sharon as Melbourne’s first and only salsa instructor ever chosen for this privilege.

Sharon regularly represents Melbourne at Australian salsa events interstate and locally. She has been chosen to instruct at every Sydney salsa/latin event held and consistently has full-house attendances at the workshops for these events. She has also instructed in Brisbane as well as Adelaide, and has been invited to Perth and Canberra to conduct workshops. Sharon has the unique position of being the only female instructor who is invited to teach at events without need for a dance partner, as Sharon dances effectively as both a male (lead) and a female (follow). Sharon also was instrumental in the success of the Melbourne Latin Dance Festival 2005, held at Dallas Brooks Hall.

In Jan 2004, Sharon partook in the Tropicana Australian Salsa Competition, where she emerged the Australian Salsa Champion with her Australian Dance Partner, Alex Bryan (Channel 7’s Dancing with the Stars). They also emerged the runner up in the 2005 Tropicana Competition. Sharon, with Alex, is also the Victorian International Dancesport Association Salsa Champion for both 2004 and 2005.

Sharon now adjudicates salsa competitions, such as the bi-annual Copacabana International Amateur Salsa Competition in Melbourne. In addition, she judged at the first Australian Salsa Championships in Sydney 2005, and was the only interstate artist chosen to judge the world qualifier Australian Salsa Championships in 2007.

In Jan 2004, Sharon partook in the Tropicana Australian Salsa Competition, where she emerged the Australian Salsa Champion with her Australian Dance Partner, Alex Bryan (Channel 7’s Dancing with the Stars). They also emerged the runner up in the 2005 Tropicana Competition. Sharon, with Alex, is also the Victorian International Dancesport Association Salsa Champion for both 2004 and 2005.

Sharon now adjudicates salsa competitions, such as the bi-annual Copacabana International Amateur Salsa Competition in Melbourne. In addition, she judged at the first Australian Salsa Championships in Sydney 2005, and was the only interstate artist chosen to judge the world qualifier Australian Salsa Championships in 2007.

Sharon teaches group and private lessons, and has pioneered Melbourne’s only on2 (New York Mambo) Salsa classes, as well as Australia’s first salsa-funk courses. In 2005 and 2006, she also taught a weekly elective course at the Victorian College of the Arts to the Dance Scholarship students, in Latin dance.

Sharon’s performances are highly sought after at events both dance related and otherwise, for their universally appreciable talent and humor in choreography. In 2007, she led a student team as well as a professional team to perform at the prestigious Sydney Salsa Congress, where they wowed international audiences. Through this effort, Sharon and her team were invited to teach and perform recently in Singapore, as well as at the Korean Salsa Congress 2007.

Sharon has always represented both Singapore and Australia when she attends events. The breadth of her representation of Australia (and Singapore) at international, national and local events is one of the widest in Australia, and her excellent achievement when overseas has helped to put Australia on the world salsa map.

Her teaching methods are clear and nurturing, and her ability to communicate to people the joy of dance is unsurpassed. More importantly, whilst Sharon has the ability to teach people how to dance with technical precision, she also teaches musicality, the importance of interaction and communication with your partner while dancing and the expression of ones’ self through dancing. With her emphasis on using dancing as a tool to enrich ones entire life in aspects such as posture and deportment and communication skills, Sharon’s students have benefited not only through fitness and a passion for salsa, but also in their personal lives, and their inter-personal skills.