What would a double-degree-holder from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and son of the late Tan Sri Noordin Sopiee, the former chairman of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, be doing for a living?

Shamsul, or better known as Salsa Sam, is a dance instructor and as his name suggests, more specifically, a salsa dance instructor who has become one of the major driving forces behind the growth of salsa in Malaysia.

The affable young man is an electrical engineering and computer science graduate and when he returned from his studies in 2000, served Petronas which gave him a scholarship.

"At that time, I think there were not many positions in artificial intelligence, my area of research for computer science so they gave me a trader job. With my electrical engineering and computer science background, it was very interesting."

He was trading in the New York and London markets, in futures and paper transactions and following that, was posted to Malacca, then to Johor and Singapore.

"In Malacca I was learning the whole works of how oil comes out to how it is processed - a crash course - it was a vocational programme where they train managers to understand the whole process flow of the oil industry. In Johor, I was learning some more, so I was learning a lot," he said.

In 2001, Shamsul won a salsa competition organised by Havana Estudio, a salsa dance studio in Kuala Lumpur where he is today the artistic director (salsa and street Latin) and resident instructor (salsa).

He made the switch when he fell in love with teaching salsa. Of course, he did not tell his parents about it until later.

"When I was a kid I did not believe that I would not use what I learnt in school when I work. Now, I think that if you don't find joy in what you're doing then you need to find something else because life is too short," said Shamsul.

His still remembers his parents' reaction when he told them about his career change. "There was dead silence. They did not say a word," he recalls but he figured they were probably too shocked.

And now? "Let me put it this way. Now I think my mother (his father passed away in December last year) is just happy that I am happy but she has not accepted it - there is a difference."

Shamsul has two brothers and he is the middle one, "you know, the one with the syndrome," he remarked and began to speak of the support and understanding he has received from them.

They should be proud of him even as a salsa instructor, especially after he, as the director and choreographer of Team Malaysia, led a group of talented dancers to represent the country at the 2004 Tokyo Salsa Congress and the 2005 Los Angeles Salsa Congress, probably one of the largest salsa meetings in the world. It was the first time the Malaysian flag flew proud and high at a salsa congress.

But let's rewind a bit. How did he end up dancing so much especially for someone who claimed that his growing up years were spent studying, studying and more studying.

"My parents were very strict," he explained. And when it was time for him to further his studies, it was freedom! "Actually my parents were sad I was so eager to go but I came back every year."

But again, we ask, how on earth did he end up dancing when he could not even go to the movies when he was young?

First he said: "I did it for fun because in engineering school, they really train you, they train you to be working machines. You have 16 projects in a semester so I had to work very hard. It was pretty stressful, that's how I got into dancing in MIT. It was kind of a release."

He joined a Salsa Club but found it too difficult, he was such a "kayu" as he described himself and so he dropped out and joined the ballroom dance club instead. He rejoined salsa when his confidence returned after winning several ballroom competitions.

And so we ask again, why? Why did he insist on returning to salsa when it was so difficult?

Finally, the truth: "It was a girl. Yup, it's always a girl," he laughs.

"It was a pen-pal who had wanted me to dance with her. When we met in KL, she tried to show me how to salsa but gave up on me after a while. So one year before seeing her again, I decided that the next time I see her, I must be able to dazzle her with my moves so one year later, I came back, took her out and surprised her by dancing with her. So there is a good tip for guys out there."

Today, his dancing skills make many forget that he did not have formal training in dance.

Salsa has also made him more extroverted and confident. "When you enjoy yourself, you feel good, and when you feel good, it really affects the personality, a lot of my students have brought this energy into their work, their family."

Shamsul also believes that everyone can dance BUT one needs a lot of time to practise and the passion to dance. It helps, too, if you love the music.

Salsa has been a trend in dance clubs since 1984 and has not slowed down.

"Havana Estudio was set up in 1988. Some of my students have stopped taking classes and are teaching. For me, it is a compliment.

"There is always something different and exciting about salsa. Salsa means sauce in Latin so the concept is like rojak, you put everything in and in the end it is hot and spicy - the music and the people."

Besides dance, Shamsul who is in his early 30s also produces and edits his own music and plays a bit of percussion.

He continues to promote salsa and has created a website called salsapower.com on salsa clubs, schools and happenings in Malaysia.