Mrs Sharyn Underwood, of Whanganui, ONZM, for services to dance
Sharyn Underwood founded the Sharyn Underwood School of Dance in Whanganui. She has encouraged thousands of students to enter yearly examinations, with many progressing to the highest level of the American Jazz Dance Affiliation (AJDA) syllabus. Several students have continued to full-time dance careers. She has organised whole-studio productions performed at the Royal Whanganui Opera House, with all proceeds from these shows subsidising her students into further education or trips overseas to gain experience. She is national Co-Director of the AJDA. Having initially been a technical examiner, she has continued to update the syllabus, organise annual teacher workshops and deliver a biannual four-day Teacher and Student Congress. Mrs Underwood jointly established Phoenix Dance Workshop International, New Zealand’s longest-running and largest dance convention, held annually in Palmerston North and Hamilton.