Meet the young and dynamic instructors of our dance academy. Each instructor have many years of dance experience in Salsa, Bachata and other Latin dances. Trained in the En Motion style of keeping the class fun without compromising technique and fundementals, the instructors are equipped to teach classes of adults, and cater for younger students in the class as well.
GARY FOO - Artistic Director
An immensely talented dancer and teacher with huge passion, vision and love, Gary Foo, Director of En Motion Dance School, is largely attributed for Singapore’s Street Latin Dance scene today. He is well known for his candid character and humorous teaching style, inspires and challenges his students to reach their fullest potential. From 2002, he has taught countless of Street Latin dancers, not only in Singapore, but also world-wide.
Gary created and actively promotes the term “Street Latin Dance” since 2009 to give an identity to Latin-based dances like Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Cha Cha, Mambo, Zouk, etc. This collective term helps to differentiate our dance genre from other partner dances and it is now widely used around the World.
His unique and showy dance styles have brought him recognition in the Street Latin scenes around the region. Gary strongly believes that one should continuously explore and expose themselves to the ever changing dance scene. He has been actively pushing boundaries, creating new works and evolving his styles to improve his own dance skills so that he can help his students to achieve their goals better. He has guided many Street Latin instructors who are still active in the local scene and have gone on to make a difference in the lives of others.
Together with his extensive teaching experiences, he firmly believes that having a solid technical foundation is the key to excel and ensure longevity in Street Latin dance. He hopes to continue sharing his burning passion and in-depth knowledge on dance, and to continue inspire many more generations through movement.
Click here to read on his achievements.
ANGELA aka BOK BOK- Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Angela, affectionately known as Bok Bok started Ballet, Chinese and Modern dance at the age of 7 – setting a strong foundation for her dance career at an early stage.
She had her first encounter with Salsa at a local dance school where she fell in love and never looked back. Thereafter, she spent a year in China learning, teaching and performing.
Angela is known for her flexibility and her effortless styling on the dance floor. At En Motion, her classes are always full of energy making her class a joy to attend. In addition she is known for her intricate details in dance and the ability to explain and break down complex movements into easy steps for her students!
Till date, she has competed and/or taught a wide range of dances in Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shen Zhen, Malaysia and Vietnam. She was also the Champion for both Inter-tertiary Salsa in 2012 and the Asia Latin Championship in 2020 in the Salsa Professional Category.
JOSHUA YAO - Senior Instructor & Senior dancer
Joshua Yao was an avid martial artist who unexpectedly dabbled into dance. He began his salsa journey with SMU Caderas Latinas in 2005, performed in countless events and represented Singapore at the 2012 Grand Prix Italia, where the team won the Latin Dance Category. He was also a long-standing member of Grupo Invicta, where he performed both locally and internationally.
A familiar face within the salsa community, Joshua has choreographed, taught and performed for many salsa events, socials and congresses throughout the years.
Joshua recently relocated to NYC for 1 year where he performed with two professionally acclaim dance teams, Esencia Dance Group (directed by Jorge Salas) and Iroko (directed by multi-championship winning couple Ernesto Bulnes and Denisse Cambria). He was also selected to compete for World Salsa Summit 2019 held in Miami, FL with Iroko and they won 1st Runner up against 14 other professional teams.
In 2020, Joshua along with his partner, Angela, were crowned Asia Salsa Champion in the Asia Latin Championship 2020 Professional category, fendng off many strong contenders from Asia.
WEN XIN - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Wen Xin is one of the few home-grown “student-turned-instructor” having started her first street latin class in En Motion Dance School back in Dec 2011 with Gary Foo, En Motion Dance School’s Artistic Director. With hardwork and dedication, Wen Xin competed in the Asia Latin Championship 2017 and emerged champion in the Bachata Amateur Category. She is known for her strong yet sexy style exuding confidence in her dance. Behind the sometimes “fierce-looking” facade, is a warm and friendly lady who is patient in her teachings. Newcomers will definitely feel at ease and seasoned dancers can expect to pick up more technical details in her classes. Currently, she forms the core of En Motion Dance Crew’s elite group of dancers- Los Bravos En Motion, and has competed and performed in various nationwide and international group competitions and performances. – The Dance Floor Competition 2015 – IDO World Latin Championships (Korea) – Que Viva La Salsa Congress “Dancers are made, not born” Wen Xin encourages everyone to step up and follow their dreams!
In 2019/2020, Wenxin achieved the Top position of the first ever Singapore Bachata Jack & Jill League which span across 10 competitive rounds. She was eventually crowned the Queen of Bachata Social Dance 2020, fending off all the top Bachata dancers in Singapore.
(P/S: She has a cute pet golden retriever named, Scarlette, whom you will sometimes see at En Motion’s events as poster girl!)
GABRIELLE - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Gabrielle has been a dance enthusiast (or dance addict) since young. Her passion spurred her to train in various dance genres like Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Swing, etc. Today, she found her love in Street Latin Dance, under the tutelage of Mr Gary Foo (Director of En Motion Dance School).
Till date, her dance experiences range from being a dance instructor to choreographer and stage performer to competitor. In 2020, Gabrielle competed in Asia Latin Championship and won two 1st Runner-up titles for both Salsa Professional Category and Bachata Professional Category. In 2019, she achieved Distinctions in all four Berardi Style Dancer Programs (Mambo On 2, Bachata Partnerwork, Salsa On 1 & Cuban Movement and Afro, Rumba & Body Movement), certified by world renowned champions, Antonio and Jasmina Berardi. In 2018, she clinched the Champion title for Asia Latin Championship (Bachata Category) and won a Gold medal for a “4v4 Salsa Battle” during Singapore International Latin Festival.
Gabrielle utilizes every opportunity given to further develop her dance skills and hopes her classes help aspiring dancers build better fundamentals and techniques. Being able to share her love and fire for dance has been a dream came true, she hopes to inspire more people to start a new hobby and find happiness through movements.
NICK - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Nick first came to know Street Latin Dance when he was in university. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the club’s Dance Captain in his 2nd year. As he stayed on to help the team grow, so did his passion for the dance. A flashy performer, Nick has showcased himself at different levels, including national as well as international shows with En Motion Dance Crew. Taking inspiration from well-known dancers such as Nery Garcia and Tropical Gem, Nick has a flair for sharp and eye-catching moves, with a special emphasis on styling. He believes that dancing is not just about knowing the moves, but also executing them well. “A family that dances together, stays together. ” – Nick
VIVI - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Stemming from her obsession with perfection, Vivienne fused her years of experience as a musician together with her impassioned focus on dance to bring together many to embrace Latin dance and Zouk as an artform and making it the new black. Her fluidity and sensual form compounded by her innate ability as a music professional to translate the cacophony of nuances of the highly charged Latin Salsa music and the sensuality of Bachata and Zouk makes her one of the most captivating and mesmerizing sights to grace the local and international dance scenes. Together with the team, she has performed, taught and competed in dance events including, -Singapore International Latin Festival -Singapore Latin Championship -Esplanade Dans Festival -International India Dance Congress -Colada Latin Dance Congress (Bangkok) -World Salsa Championship (HK) -Bailando Sensual Festival (Sydney) as well as having been featured on U-weekly Magazine, Nüyou Magazine, Got To Move media platform by National Arts Council and Channel News Asia. Her many accolades also includes having represented En Motion in, -Asia Bachata Championship and clinched the Champion title in 2014. -Singapore Latin Championship and clinched National Open Salsa Champion title in 2016
JAX - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Without any prior dance background, Jax attributes his dance achievements today to his hard work, passion and great teachings from his mentor, Gary Foo. His first exposure to Street Latin Dance happened during his 3rd year in University and he swiftly rose to become the club’s Dance Captain the following year. In 2014, he won 3rd runner-up position in the Inter-Tertiary Jack & Jill competition and he also took part in the Inter-Tertiary Salsa competition. He has since participated in a reality dance competition and numerous shows at an international level . Like how he first got to know Street Latin Dance and subsequently fell in love with it, Jax hopes to be able to inspire other dancers to know more about this dance form and the social dancing scene. His style of dance is soft but firm, with a sensitivity to feeling and connecting to the music. “Feel the music and let it guide your body” Jax
JIAQIAN aka CASH - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
CECILIA KOH - Senior Instructor and Senior Dancer
Cecilia Koh is one of Singapore best social dancer and is widely known to be the smoothest follower for multiple dance genres like Salsa, Bachata and Zouk.
Trained by Director of En Motion, Mr Gary Foo, since 2008, she is one of En Motion most experience dance instructor.
With her bubbly character, Cecilia is a huge favourite among many students
LEENA - Senior Instructor & Senior Dancer
Dancing has always been in Leena’s blood. Whenever there’s music playing, you’ll always find her instinctively dancing to the beat! She took her ‘baby steps’ in Salsa at En Motion in 2012 and has been living her crazy passion for Latin dance since. She has performed in various festivals, including Singapore International Latin Festival, IIDC- India International Dance Congress, and Esplanade Dans Festival, among others. With a background in Indian classical dance, Leena also enjoys pole fitness, belly dancing, Zouk, Bachata and Hip Hop. Her style of dancing comprises of sensual movements, flanked by her sharpness and flair. To Leena, there is nothing more important than feeling the music and letting it flow through her movements. To her, dance knows no boundaries and no limits. It is beyond race, religion and age. Dance is an art, expressed from the heart to the world. In short, dance……is happiness. Her passion and warmth in her lessons always make her students feel comfortable to approach her for help.
ETHAN - Instructor & Dancer
Ethan has been dancing for more than a decade with training in various styles of dancing – Latin Ballroom, Standard Ballroom, Popping, Hip Hop, Chinese Dance and his latest suit – Salsa and Bachata. He recently graduated with distinctions in all four dance courses (Mambo On 2, Bachata Partnerwork, Salsa On 1 and Afro Rumba) in the certified Berardi Style Dancer Program by world champions, Antonio and Jasmina Berardi.
From as young as 8 years of age, Ethan started competing extensively in national and international dancesport competitions locally as well as overseas. He won third place in his first National Dancesport Championships in 2009 and subsequently went on to win many more dancesport championships titles.
In his teens, Ethan has achieved many podium positions for dancesport competitions including coming in Champions in the the Junior category and 1st runner-ups in the Adult Amateur category in dancesport championships.
Ethan also has a wide experience in performing and competing in showdance competitions. From young, he had performed and danced in many corporate events as well as on TV shows such as Okto! Live and Mat Yoyo. In 2015, he clinched the Show Dance Champion titles for The 2nd Cathay’s DanceSport Competition and the Lombok International DanceSport Festival. In 2016, at only 14 years of age, he was top 6 finalist in Singapore’s biggest national TV dance competition, The Dance Floor Season 2. His outstanding performance in the show earned him a standing ovation from Lia Kim, South Korea’s top choreographer.
On the street dance front, Ethan represented his secondary school in his first ever street dance competition and achieved 2nd place at the Singapore Youth Festival Celebrations 2016 TRANSCENDance – The Challenge.
In 2020, Ethan topped it off by winning both the Asia Professional Salsa and Bachata Category 1st runner-up placing in the Asia Latin Championship
A very talented dancer with a decade of competitive and performance experience under his belt, Ethan is very excited to share his knowledge and love for dance with his students at En Motion.