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| Dancemakers Northwest has a staff of eight highly skilled instructors, all of whom have been dancing since they were small children. They are quite experienced and talented when it comes to teaching dance. All instructors are capable of teaching all of most popular forms of dance today—tap, hip hop, ballet, lyrical, jazz—however, they generally specialize in one or two of these forms of dance. Along with these traditional forms of dance our instructors also teach cheerleading skills and musical theater.  | ||
Denise Smithhisler started dance lessons at age 7. Denise opened Puyallup Valley Dancenter in the fall of 1983. Some of the most memorable performances for PVD include the Miss Washington Pageant , Zoolights, Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Super Sonics and Tacoma Stars half-time performances. Denise has continued this tradition with performances at Seattle Super Sonics pre-games, Disneyland and Silverwood Theme Park.Through the years she has had the opportunity to work with some of the great dance artists of our era. Most notable are Mia Michaels, Brian Freidman, Wade Robson , Shane Sparks on the pulse tour 2007, Henry LeTang, and Savion Glover. Her life continues to be filled with dance. She lives in Edgewood with her husband Randy and two daughters. Denise is co-director of Dancemakers with Melissa Cook her former student. |
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Melissa Cook has been dancing since she was 7 years old and has been teaching for the last 14 years. In 1999 Melissa became co-director of Dancemakers Northwest. This is Melissa’s 12 th year teaching at Dancemakers. She has been educated in many styles of dance including ballet, jazz, hip hop, tap and lyrical. Melissa feels very fortunate that she is able to share her love of dance with so many individuals. During the past few years Melissa has taken her interest in dance and fitness to another level and has received certifications to teach PiYo™ (a non-traditional application of various styles of Yoga and Pilates), Zumba (a Latin based dance workout), became an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and is currently a group fitness instructor at Prime Fitness in Bonney Lake. Melissa lives in Bonney Lake with her husband and 2 sons. Top |  | |
Melanie Hardwick has been dancing since she was three years old. She has been educated in many styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop. Melanie’s love has always been hip hop and jazz. During the summers of 1993-1999, Melanie has participated in a variety of dance classes from well known instructors in Las Vegas. She also studied with Mia Michaels, Brian Freidman, Wade Robson, and Shane Sparks on the pulse tour 2006 & 2007 . This will be Melanie’s 9th year teaching at Dancemakers Northwest. Melanie lives in Bonney Lake with her husband and two daughters, Desiree and Kinley. |  | |
Rayanna Miller has been teaching dance for 29 years. She brings with her years of dancing and teaching experience specializing in ballet and tap. Rayanna began dancing with Arlene Wagner and became a member of the Les Jeunes Ballet Company directed by Lladre Ladre. She is a former member of Dance Masters of America. Rayanna trained at American Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet in New York for one summer. Her love for children lead her to teach pre-school and Sunday school. Rayanna also owned her own dance studio, A Shot of Talent, which started in Kent and moved to Bonney Lake. Rayanna lives in Bonney Lake with her husband of 22 years and her four sons. |  | |
Destinie Gray has been dancing since she was 3 years old. This is Destinie’s 6th year teaching for Dancemakers. Destinie is currently finishing her bachelors degree in psychology at PLU . Destinie has trained in several studios throughout the South Sound area in tap, lyrical, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. She has danced in competitions and has taken classes at local conventions. Destinie has a lot of experience with young children and is a great asset to Dancemakers. |  | |
Michelle Gariando began dancing at the age of 6. She has trainer in ballet, jazz, hip hop, and lyrical. Michelle attended summer dance camps at studios throughout the Puget Sound as well as taken master classes in ballet and modern at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. She has performed with the Dancemakers Northwest performing group at several local events as well as competitions. She looks forward to sharing her love of dance with anyone who is passionate about the art. |
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Monica Boldizsar has been dancing since she was 3 years old and began teaching at the age of 14. She is trained in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, modern, and kickline and has taught all formats in her 11 years of teaching. She has performed in many dance shows and competitions and has also had the opportunity to back up dance for Sir Paul McCartney when he came into town in 2002 for his world tour. Monica is enthusiastic to share her passion for dance. | ||
Melissa Harm is new to the Dancemakers staff this year. She has been dancing since she was 4yrs old. Melissa has been instructing Dance and coaching Cheerleading for the past 15 years. She is the former coach of Franklin Pierce High School Cheer Squad as well as the successful Wolverine Cheer Program She was elected to compete in the 1993 National Cheerleading Competition as an individual and placed in the top 10% out of Fifty Thousand contestants. She is educated in many styles of dance but her true passion is Hip Hop and Cheerleading. She is currently working on getting her HHH Instructor Certificate and currently teaches a Kids Dance Fitness class at Prime Fitness. Melissa lives in Bonney Lake with her Husband, daughter and son. | ||
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