Debby Bacharach started dancing with Living Traditions (the precursor to Northwest Dance) in 1999 and has taken a class nearly every session since, and that includes dancing through two pregnancies. She finds that every opportunity to get more involved with dance—learning to lead, doing the zydeco intensives, going to the dance camp at Seabeck—has brought her more joy and community.

Debby works as a college writing teacher, editor, and professional writer. Mostly, she trades rhymes in the rain with her two young children.

Judy realized she loved dancing especially waltzing when she attended a Living Traditions (the precursor to Northwest Dance) class party in 2001. A few months later, she enrolled in classes and started going to dances. She says, "Thanks!" to all the leads who were willing to dance with her in those early years.

She started her work with the board by taking minutes for the board meetings. After a few years, the board asked her to become a board member and she's been serving as board secretary ever since.

When she's not dancing or attending to board business, she likes to read novels, draw, and watch the birds in her backyard. To pay her bills, she manages a couple team websites in Information Technology for AT&T and handles internal IT communications.

Dan's first social dance experience was in 1968 at the Lucas Dance Studio in West Virginia. In the mid 80s he began dancing with the Philadelphia Swing Dance Society, and has been dancing regularly ever since. In Philadelphia he helped start That Swing Thing, a master class and move exchange.

Dan has danced all over the country and studied with a variety of dance instructors, which formed his eclectic playful dancing style. Dan taught dance in Ohio and St. Louis before coming to Seattle in 1999, and was soon taking classes at Living Traditions. He began attending NW Dance board meetings shortly after its inception and joined the Board in 2007.

"I can't imagine life without social dance. The dance floor is one of the few places where I am truly in a state of grace. It takes a very special thing to generate that much joy."

Besides dancing and board business, Dan was a university professor of art and design for 18 years. Currently he is focusing his attention on his studio practice and occasionally teaches at Pratt Fine Arts Center.

John Palmieri is a mathematician working at the University of Washington. Along with teaching and research, he actively contributes to Sage, a free mathematical software package. At home, he plays with his two kids and likes cooking (especially desserts).

He and his partner Debby Bacharach moved to Seattle in 1999, and she convinced him to start dancing shortly thereafter. The welcoming environment of Living Traditions, which continues in Northwest Dance, has helped to create his love of dancing. He enjoys swing dancing, zydeco, and waltz, among others, and was a proud member of the Zydeco inTENsives troupe in 2008 and 2009.

A native Midwesterner Larry has been living in the Northwest for the last 35 years. Although fairly new to the dance community, has always been active whether it be playing soccer, running or biking the Burke-Gilman trail commuting to work. He enjoys strumming the guitar, you might see him at a Cajun jam, and you can always find him at a Zydeco event.