People ¢ Lianne Ong is the Editor of Methodist Message. / Photos courtesy of Sharon Liew with studio photos by Bernard Teo
Sharon Liew
Meet Sharon Liew, who runs an inclusive dance school
W
hen Sharon Liew embarked on a career in dance in the 1990s, inclusive dance—that is, persons with disabilities (PWDs) dancing alongside persons without disabilities—was unheard of.
First steps in teaching children with disabilities
Into her third decade of teaching community dance classes, and running a private dance school that supports inclusive dance, she credits her victories in the dance industry, in particular in inclusive dance, to God. “My dance journey is God-led. I wouldn’t say I was or am the best dancer. But God gave me a purpose in life with dance,” Sharon, a member of Wesley Methodist Church, says.
The fund-raising concert introduced her to a community of parents with autistic children. Soon, Sharon found herself volunteering at ARC, teaching dance to a select group of students in an after-school programme, so that these students could improve in their physical coordination and artistic expression.
Sharon, 51, studied dance in the UK at the London College of Dance/ University of Buckingham, supported by a scholarship from the National Arts Council, Lee Foundation and Shaw Foundation after her A-levels. Upon returning to Singapore, she landed a job with the People’s Association where she brought dance education to the heartlands, a role she still plays today. At the same time, she started a dance school company, Dance Spectrum International (DSI) so that her dancers could take on private performance engagements.
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METHODIST MESSAGE April 2022
In 2003, DSI held a fund-raising concert in support of the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), the pre-cursor of Pathlight School and the first autism-focused school in Singapore.
Pathlight School officially began in 2004, and DSI and Pathlight worked towards its first collaborative performance in 2006. This was a milestone for DSI in inclusive dance. After volunteering and then working as the dance instructor for Pathlight’s Dance Talent CCA for 10 years, Sharon tendered her resignation to focus on DSI. Several students from Pathlight continued to take lessons at her school. One such student is Alief Fiqhry Ayob, 23, who has danced with DSI since 2017. Alief, who works full time at Professor Brawn Cafe as service staff, says dancing with DSI “feels like a family with all my friends”.
