Dance & Choreography

Dance Theatre Northwest

As an artist, I am probably most proud of being the kind of director that inspires passion and the love of dance in others. I love teaching and the choreographic and creative opportunities that directing a ballet based company affords. My first love in dance will always be ballet. I am committed to helping preserve the legacy of classical ballet and to leading a life of service through the development of a highly skilled dance performance company through which a diverse repertoire of dance choreography can be performed and become accessible to all members of the community.

A graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance in addition to a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Columbia Pacific University.

A former professional dancer with Richard Englund’s Huntington Dance Ensemble later named Ballet Repertory in New York, my professional performing dance experience includes leading roles in the ballet classics Paquita, Pas De Quatre, Grande Tarantelle, Crazy Quilt, Tango and a student role in Serenade. I have studied many forms of dance extending my early training with Pat Cairns of England’s Royal Academy of Dance, San Francisco and Joffrey Ballet and my dance career to include training and performance in ballet, jazz, tap, theatre, modern, character, contemporary, folk, and ballroom dance. I have numerous teaching certifications in dance, dance exercise, and dance science. The recipient of multiple dance awards and scholarships to prestigious schools including the Joffrey and San Francisco Ballet, I have also had opportunities to explore Horton, Luigi, Cunningham, and Graham dance techniques. I am a former part-time faculty member of Tacoma Community College and former adjunct faculty member of Western Washington University, and a current part-time continuing education instructor with Pierce College.

Fitness

I have been hooked on the benefits of aerobic dance exercise since I was 26 years old. I earned a Gold Certification from the International Dance Exercise associate at that time and have since participated in many continuing education activities. Having been a TV fitness expert, an AVIA Elite Instructor, the producer of the low impact exercise video FIT TO BE TRIED also marketed as THE XL WORKOUT and a presenter or participant in numerous conventions and workshops, I have developed a program that includes dance moves, resistance and free weights work that is effective, balanced and lots of fun!

Artistic Director for Dance Theatre Northwest

Currently Artistic Director, I am the principal trainer and choreographer for DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST. I have a history of having produced and directed numerous successful shows for family audiences including SWAN LAKE, NUTCRACKER, PAQUITA, LES SYLPHIDES, America, Let Freedom Ring, The Jewel Heart, The Snow Queen, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, The Red Shoes, and Back To Broadway as well as DTNW’s New NUTCRACKER and Beautiful Ballets. I have also choreographed and produced for television and video. Excerpts from several of my original productions have won Regional and National awards.

Under my direction, DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST received theMargaret K. Williams Arts Award from The Pierce County Arts Commission in 1998; a Cultural Diversity Award from Access Broadway of New York in 1999; and has received two Awards of Excellence from the city of University Place. I have been recognized internationally as a significant female choreographer; in the 2003 Celebration of Womenphoto essay exhibit by Ruthann Reim; and, in the Mt. Tahoma Alumni Hall of Fame.

Under my direction, DTNW has also established two new facilities including a school with a curriculum that includes Ballet, Pointe, Variations, Partnering and Pas De Deux, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Tap, Musical Theatre, Stage Skills and Dance Exercise, and Master Classes on a regular basis with a part-time contract staff of 6-8 regular instructors. I have presented numerous master classes, developed summer Dance Camp programs for youth, dance captain training, and a pre-professional Summer Intensive program. DTNW students have gone on to receive scholarships in dance from Joffrey Ballet and PNB, Wayne State, Park Pointe, Montana State, Barat Conservatory, BYU, Texas Christian, Southern Methodist, Chapman, Tisch-NYU, and Arizona State Universities; to dance professionally (most recently at Pacific Northwest Ballet), in musicals and Touring Companies; work in college dance programs, and to teach professionally. I have also developed a long-term program that provides New York study opportunities for aspiring dancers.