Sharna Burgess is known to millions around the world and in the United States as one of the professional dancers and choreographers for ABC’s hit dance show Dancing With The Stars. This season she is dancing with U.S. Olympic gold medalist, Charlie White. Last season she was partnered with former NFL Football player turned ESPN personality, Keyshawn Johnson and before that she tore up the floor with comedic actor, Andy Dick. Before joining Dancing With The Stars, she was the female lead on Broadway in Burn The Floor.
Born in Australia, Sharna started training in ballet, jazz and gymnastics at age 8 and went on to win numerous ballroom competitions in just a few short years. At 15, she was chosen to represent Australia at the World Ballroom Championships in both standard and Latin styles. In 2000, she performed at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.
The world of dance soon brought her to London where she joined the UK touring production of Strictly Ballroom. In 2006, choreographer Jason Gilkison picked Sharna for a 6 year run of the touring show Burn The Floor, selling over 4 million tickets in 30 countries. During this period she appeared on Dancing With The Stars in Australia, Dancing With The Stars in the US and So You Think You Can Dance in Holland. It was shortly there after in 2009 that Sharna took the reigns of the female lead on Broadway in Burn The Floor. After a successful Broadway run, Sharna set her talents on choreography when she was asked to choreograph the Hollywood film, Street Dance 2 in 3-D.
The beautiful and talented Sharna Burgess takes time from her busy Dancing With The Stars rehearsal schedule to talk exclusively with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You started at the very young age of five years by taking ballet, jazz and gymnastic lessons and reached the pinnacle of success by 2009 when you landed the female lead on Broadway in Burn The Floor. What factors do you think were responsible for you to achieve this?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: That is really tough to answer. It’s a collection of things. At the core of it, I believe my success is due to two things. I have incredibly supportive and understanding parents who sacrificed so much for me and also by having sheer determination. Giving up was never an option for me. I believed with all of my heart that I would someday make all of my dreams come true. You have to have faith in yourself.
All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What exercises comprise your fitness or workout routine that you can share with us?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: I am totally addicted to hot yoga. I simply can’t get enough of it. In between seasons, I am usually taking classes at least four times a week. I love the way I feel at the end of class, completely refreshed, stretched and ready for what’s ahead.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Do you have a special diet or strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: I don’t try to restrict myself too much. I have that personality that if you tell me I can’t chocolate then the first thing I crave is chocolate and most likely I will find some. I do like to snack on fruits and vegetables and green smoothies. I found out that if I keep my snacking clean and don’t eat after 8 pm, I feel much better.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You have glowing skin and gorgeous hair. Do you take some kind of skin treatment to keep it young and glowing and what do you do to your hair to make it so stunning?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: Thank you!!! I don’t actually have a skin treatment. I do take vitamins. I take biotin for my hair. I also have various vitamins I take for my skin, hair and nails. I feel vitamins are helpful. My hair on Dancing With The Stars usually looks amazing on TV because we have an incredible team that can work wonders for all of us in the cast. They always make us look and feel amazing.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What advice and motivation can you give to the budding dancers who are your fans?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: My best advice for young dancers as silly as it may sound is to never give up. This is a very hard industry in which to succeed. If this is what you want every morning, the minute that you wake up and you never lose sight of your dreams, then you have a strong chance to make it. Just be patient and always dedicated to your craft.
To be successful, you have to be more than just a good dancer. You need to be a good businessperson and understand what is going on around you. Protect yourself and be informed. Remember that dancers have shorter life spans than most other careers. We have to start planning ahead for the years after dance. Do you want to be a choreographer? Director? Creative Director? Own a studio? Teach? The list of possibilities can go on and on but they won’t unless you plan ahead. Although dance is your first love and your passion (as it is mine) you need to think of dance as an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling stepping stone towards something later that you can sustain for life.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar: How did you feel before and after your memorable and distinguished honor of performing for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games Closing Ceremony?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: OMG! Words can’t describe my feelings. I lived every single second of the experience. It was like walking on air. It was the most insane and surreal feeling of my life.
Sharna Burgess on Women Fitness:
WomensFitness.net is an amazing site. Thank you so much for having me on your site. I am honored. Please stay happy and healthy!
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Tell us about your experience of working in Burn The Floor. It was wildly successful both on Broadway and in selling over 4 million tickets in over 30 countries and 160 cities. You had the incredible fortune to tour with them for 6 years?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: Burn The Floor was more than I could have ever dreamed of. Those 6 years were some of the hardest and best years of my life. I would not be the choreographer that I am today had I not worked under the direction of the incredible Jason Gilkison who taught me everything I now about choreography.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You choreographed the feature film, Street Dance 2 in 3-D. You not only created some of the most electrifying Latin and salsa dance scenes on film to date but you also worked with renowned choreographers Rich + Tone Talauege to fuse the worlds of hip hop & Latin together. Tell us about this innovative unification.
Ms. Sharna Burgess: It’s hard to describe. It was all a mix of latin, afro-cuban, salsa and hip hop of all styles. It was a wonderfully creative process with Rich and Tone and I wish I could do it all over again. If you want to check it out, you can definitely get it on Net Flix.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You moved from your native Australia to the United States. For a dancer adjusting to a new culture must be difficult and then adjusting to a dance career in another country only adds to the difficult change. What advice would you give to fellow dancers in a similar situation?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: I feel that today our various cultures are so intermixed that I don’t notice a difference that would make it difficult for me. Sure things are different like foods, products, what side of the road you drive on and other things like that but they are all easy things to adapt to. My advice to anyone who struggles with a change in culture is to embrace it, you don’t have to change who you are but learning and experiencing other cultures is part of the beauty of travel and living!
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Ms. Namita Nayyar: After your performance in the World Championships Semi Finals, you discovered that you had a little tear in your knee ligament. Rather than take immediate action, you wanted to finish the competition. You needed knee replacement surgery because you ripped two ligaments in half and lost the meniscus in one knee. Tell us more about how you were able to overcome such a physical injury setback and what advice you would give to other dancers in a similar situation?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: I decided to continue to dance in the competition because I was young and I did not understand the magnitude of my injury and decision. I was in a brace for six months and I could not walk for a while because the operation was so intense and the pain was simply too much. I was able to come back strong because I listened to my doctors and did every single exercise and treatment they gave me.
I knew I had to come back strong otherwise my career was done. I never lost faith that I would dance again and chase my dreams like I was doing before. My advice to every dancer or to everyone for that matter is to take care of your body. Listen to your body and if something feels off, get it checked. If you doctors diagnosis you with something you don’t like, you still have to listen. I made the mistake of thinking that it wasn’t as bad as he told me… and look what happened to me. Don’t let it happen to you. You only get one body and one chance at life. You need to treat them well.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What would you like to say about WomenFitness.net and to the site visitors?
Ms. Sharna Burgess: WomensFitness.net is an amazing site. Thank you so much for having me on your site. I am honored. Please stay happy and healthy!
To find out more about Sharna Burgess visit www.SharnaBurgess.com or follow her on Twitter @SharnaBurgess!
Women Fitness Team thanks Sharna Burgess for giving her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and also like to thank Anthony Turk of Turk Entertainment PR who made this interview happen.
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All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness