Maria Shanks

Born into a dance family Maria began dancing from a very early age.

During her dance training she was fortunate enough to study under the very best teachers in Australia in all facets of dance. Her family was the driving force in her dance career and with a certain amount of talent, was encouraged and easily gained all dance qualifications. Teaching dance was Maria’s career path.

From an early age Maria gained (4) Teaching Diplomas with Comdance, Registered Teacher status with the Royal Academy of Dance, and was the director of her own dance studio on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, which successfully operated for 35 years. Many students have been successful in the dance industry under her tutelage.

Such was her passion to be the very best dance teacher, she was encouraged to train to become an “Examiner” for COMDANCE which is an examination syllabus that covers Classical Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Musical Theatre, Contemporary, Lyrical & Acrobatics. Maria has been an Comdance Examiner for 30 years and loves travelling throughout Australia & overseas in this role.

Adjudication was a natural progression; Maria has been actively involved in the competition scene. Competitions develop student’s confidence and performance skills, not to mention they are so much “fun” for those who love the social aspects of dancing with friends and meeting new people with similar interests. Maria has adjudicated many dance competitions in the past but most recently has been lucky enough to adjudicate The North Coast Dance festival, The Port Macquarie Dance Eisteddfod (Groups), The Mt. Isa Irish Club Eisteddfod, The Darling Downs Eisteddfod, South Australia Stage Dancing Society Eisteddfod (SASDS), Innisfail & District Ballet & Dance Society Eisteddfod and several overseas. Maria is also the President of the Sunshine Coast Dance Eisteddfod which is one of Queensland’s longest running, premier, competitions.

Maria still teaches actively at the Conroy Dance Centre in Brisbane where she was trained under Jan Conroy OAM (services to dance). She feels as a dance Mother, Teacher, Adjudicator, Examiner & Competition Convenor she understands dance from a very broad perspective. Her teaching and working with dancers of all ages most days of the week adds to her broad knowledge and relevance.

In recent years she has been the Tutor for many Dancers/Teachers Workshops in Indonesia, East & West Malaysia, Singapore, China, Brunei, the United Kingdom, Brisbane & Melbourne. In 2019 Maria gained Life Member status with the Royal Academy of Dance and became a Practical Teaching Supervisor for CBTS Students.

Maria feels very fortunate to have had a long and successful dance career, loves passing on her knowledge and encouraging the art of dance to the many dancers of today.

“It’s time to give back to an industry that has been so close to my heart and given me so much joy!”