Shaun is one sassy hip-hopper

By Nicole Williams
WHEN he is dancing, Shaun Harvey feels free.
So it is no surprise that Shaun spends as much time as possible dancing.
The Pakenham resident teaches dancing at Lind-Elle School of Dance in Narre Warren and is always auditioning for the chance to take his dancing further.
“I dance because I want to, not because I have to,” Shaun said.
“Being on stage is like being set free.”
The 21-year-old started dancing later than most, being introduced to the art when he was 16 and only through the influence of his twin sister.
“My twin sister was a dancer first and I decided I wanted to join in.”
Shaun was spotted in a Rock Eisteddfod by Patrick Studios Australia, which invited him to join.
At Patrick Studios, he studied all forms of solo dance including jazz, ballet, tap, hip-hop, contemporary and acrobatics, until May last year.
After only three years of dancing, Shaun choreographed a Rock Eisteddfod with a teacher from Lind-Elle and started teaching there not long afterwards.
He has been teaching at the dance school for three years and is happy to be among other teachers he can learn from and dance with. He teaches jazz, ballet, hip-hop and contemporary but said his favourite was contemporary because there are fewer restraints.
“I like contemporary because it’s free and there’s not real rules to it,” Shaun said.
“But I am also very hip-hop.”
And said his hip-hop style was sassy rather than gangster.
As well as teaching at the dance school, Shaun is also in the advanced jazz class with other teachers.
Shaun likes to see students improve and enjoy dancing and it is what keeps him involved in teaching.
“It’s watching other people succeed through my instructions, watching them grow,” Shaun said.
“Passing my feeling towards dance to them is such a great feeling.”
So much so that Shaun wants to make teaching dance part of his career.
“I want to study to be a VCE dance teacher, but also further my dancing overseas and get out in the world.”
He has auditioned for work on cruise ships and in musicals, even for Universal Studios, Singapore.
At the moment, he is heavily involved in amateur theatre in the local area and is rehearsing for a Dandenong Theatre production, Fast Forward/ Rewind, as a solo singer and featured dancer.