Meet our instructors . . .
- Michelle Badion
Michelle has been dancing her entire life, beginning with classical ballet, and has taught partner dancing full-time since 1990. She specializes in Argentine Tango, Salsa, and West Coast swing.
Michelle discovered Argentine Tango in 1993 and it was love at first sight. She knew this was her dance. She has performed and taught with Carlos Gavito, Fabian Salas, Manuel Ortiz, Daniel Lapendula and many others. She has spent over 15 weeks in Argentina studying from the best and continues her education here by attending tango festivals and taking private lessons from the traveling instructors. She is also a prolific producer of Tango performances, and has brought stage shows (5) and cabarets (14 to date) to Seattle, Portland, Tacoma, and Hawaii.
Evan and Michelle have been dancing, teaching, and performing Tango in Seattle since 1996, and travel frequently to Argentina and other Tango communities throughout the world in pursuit of their shared obsession. Together, they have taught and performed alongside the world's finest Tango artists, including teaching at international events such as Buenos Aires in Las Vegas (with Julio and Corina, Chicho and Lucia, El Pulpo and Louisa, Nito and Elba, Gavito and Marcela and others), and have been featured in cabarets and traveling stage shows such as Tango Nights, Tangoretro and Tangoing (with Fernanda and Guillermo, Carolina and Diego, Armando and Daniella, El Indio and Marianna, Patricio and Eva, Fabian and Carolina and many others).
Michelle also loves Salsa. She has taught, performed and judged at many of the Salsa congresses in the US and has taught and performed with Alex DeSilva, Enio Cordaba, Jose Negela and may others. Michelle was one of the first people to teach salsa in Seattle and is still dancing and teaching many nights of the week.
West Coast Swing is a great dance for Michelle. She one the Washington State West Coast Swing Championship in 1995, but prefers teaching and dancing to competition. She is well known in the North West as a fun, creative and well connected follow with solid technique. She has taught workshops in Washington, California, Oregon, New York, Chicago, Hawaii, and Europe.
Although she is a well known performer Michelle's greatest gift is her ability to teach others to dance. She makes her classes fun and accessible by giving clear, concise instruction. She cares about every one of her students and it's impossible for them not to feel her enthusiasm. Michelle strives to help her students grasp the endless beauty, sensuality, excitement, fun, strength, and passion of dancing with another.
More informaton at MichelleBadion.com- Susan Balshor
Susan Balshor has been dancing since the age of four, and today enjoys the partner-dancing gamut from country western to Argentine tango. The waltz is a particular passion, and her focus is on the essentials, starting with how a dancer's foot hits the floor. Susan helps dancers grok the musicality of waltzing, and she's passionate about how this dance comes alive when partners discover how to connect with the music. One of her personal goals is to continually raise the level of waltzing in Seattle. Susan is a co-producer of the Valse Cafe Orchestra.- Joanie Brown
Joanie Brown . . . more info coming soon- Guy Caridi
Guy has been dancing since 1988, performing and choreographing since 1991, and teaching since 1993. He is a founding member of Seattle's Savoy Swing Club and with his dance partner, Nancy Fry, the first couple from the Pacific Northwest to teach Lindy Hop and Balboa. He has taught and performed internationally and is well known for his respectful, sensitive and humorous teaching style. Guy has been artistic director of the Savoy Swing Club Performance Troupe for over fourteen years. In 1999, Guy and Nancy took home trophies in the Lindy Hop and Team divisions at the U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships in southern California. In total, four of five routines choreographed by Guy were place-winners.
Guy has produced many dance events and shows in Seattle, including "What Is This Thing Called Swing" with The Rhythm Hot Shots from Sweden, "Swingin' Then, Swingin' Now!" with the legendary Norma Miller, and the annual Pacific Northwest Lindy Hop Championships (1999-2006).
Guy's choreography credits for local theaters and schools include State Fair, Oklahoma!, Wizard of Oz, Charleston!, Kilroy Was Here, Music Man, Oliver!, Peter Pan, Anne of Green Gables, Urinetown, Robin Hood the Legend Continues, The Fantasticks, Beauty & the Beast, A Rock & Roll Midsummer Night's Dream, Suessical the Musical, and High Button Shoes.- Jim D'Apice
In 1995 Jim signed up for a wine appreciation course and walked into the wrong room where a Salsa class was underway, and he never left. Many classes, workshops, and bottles of Merlot later Jim began teaching Latin dancing. Under the tutelage of master dancers/instructors Julie Cauthorn and Jodi Fleischman, Jim blossomed a few years later as Knucklehead-in-Charge of Salsa classes at Living Traditions, and now happily shares the NW Dance classroom spotlight with Jodi Fleischman.
- Sean Donovan
Sean Donovan brings great passion, joy and excitement to dance and to teaching. Positive and playful, Sean is a creative and effective communicator, with focus on the essence of dance and its power to delight and transform us. Dancing and teaching since 1999, both nationally and in Seattle, Sean has been on faculty with Northwest Dance (nwdance.net) since 2004. In addition to Swing (his first love) and Zydeco (a passion which prompted numerous learning expeditions to Louisiana and Texas), Sean revels in teaching Blues, Waltz, Whiskey River Jitterbug, Country Two-step, and Cha Cha Cha. Emphasizing solid basics, fluid movement and elemental connection -- to ourselves, the music, and to our partner -- Sean seeks to facilitate dancing ecstasy! A great music lover as well, you can catch Sean on the radio at KBCS 91.3 FM (online at kbcs.fm) where he hosts a weekly music show Mondays from noon-3pm.
More informaton at GatorBoyProductions.com- Leah Fast
Leah began partner dancing 15 years ago with Living Traditions, the "parent" of NDN, but she's been a dedicated dancer from age 6, studying ballet, jazz and modern dance, and performing in Europe and North America.
Leah's impressive foundation in classical dance, along with her talent and passion for the joy of social ballroom's playfulness, gives her a depth of understanding that will help NDN students go beyond merely learning steps or patterns–and more quickly become good dancers.
"What I love most about teaching is seeing new dancers let go of their self consciousness when they discover how wonderful dancing can feel," Leah says. "I really liked Living Traditions' approach. It focused on communicating with your partner. It wasn't about 'looking good,' but about enjoying yourself and the partner that you're with. My goal is to continue that tradition, to help students escape feelings of pressure and just have fun."- Jodi Fleischman
Jodi Fleischman started teaching with Living Traditions in 1999, the same year she took first place at the first-ever Pacific NW Lindy Hop Championship. Jodi has been teaching a variety of partner dances in the Seattle area, across the U.S. and around the globe since 1997. She has studied African dance for five years and continues to study Salsa in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Los Angeles & New York. Her professional career began as an artist painting at the age of 8. (Yes! She can paint houses too).
An avid bicyclist, Jodi has pedaled across Spain, Bali & Austria (knee surgery in 2000). Her former professions include: Baker and ESL teacher. She has a B.A. in Comparative Theology and burns everything she cooks! (Former profession as a baker.)
More informaton at LeftFootBoogie.com- Nancy Fry
Nancy discovered her passion for dance in 1981 and has been dancing ever since. Over the years she has participated in a large variety of partner dances, and enjoys it all. She began teaching Lindy Hop and swing-related jazz movement classes in 1994 with Seattle's Savoy Swing Club, for which she was a founding member. At the U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships in 1999, she and her dance partner, Guy Caridi, placed in both events in which they competed.
Nancy's joy on the dance floor is in connecting with her partner, and she believes that this connection is where the magic in partner dancing is to be found. Nancy began teaching swing and waltz with Northwest Dance in 2004, and is happy to be part of this great team. Her teaching focus concerns that special connection between partners, in helping her students develop the ability to communicate and move together, to lead and follow, while having fun.- Heather Kraft
Heather has been dancing for 21 years and discovered blues dancing in Portland, Oregon five years ago. She is inspired by the historical importance and emotional rawness that is unique to blues music and movement. Heather has organized events and taught in Calgary, Providence, Portland, and Seattle.
- MaryLee Lykes
MaryLee Lykes began teaching dance in Seattle 17 years ago…, and hasn't stopped since! Her dancing expertise includes: Swing, Waltz, Ballroom Foxtrot, One Step, Blues, Zydeco, Cajun, and Western Swing and Two Step.
MaryLee co-founded the Swing and Lindy Hop dance instruction organization Swing Girls with Hallie Kupperman in 1992, taught for Living Traditions, and founded her own dance instruction business, Lykes to Dance, in 1998. She teaches extensively on a local, national, and international level. She offers both group and individual instruction for those with or without dance partners.
MaryLee loves to prove that there is no such thing as two left feet!
She believes that dancing is a quick, easy and fun way for individuals and couples to learn body awareness, partnering skills, and to become more powerful and capable dancers.
More informaton at LykesToDance.com- Jerry Muhasky
Jerry has been riding the trails of the local country and western couple dance scene for the last 15 years. Jerry is known for putting the fun into dancing, and he does that as both a dance teacher and as the bass player in the popular dance band, Jerry and the PhilBillys. Jerry loves to share the classics of the country couple dance scene: country two-step, cowboy cha cha, ten-step, sweetheart schottische, and East coast swing. Emphasizing dancing with the music, the art of the lead, and, of course, fun.
- Dean Paton
Dean Paton abandoned the baseball diamond for the dance hall in 1994, and fell so hopelessly in love with waltz that he founded the Valse Cafe Orchestra, an ensemble committed to the art of playing music for dancers. When he teaches rotary waltz, Dean stresses mastering the core of the dance - turning left, turning right, transitioning between the two -- then helps dancers use this foundation as a platform on which to build organic, graceful movement as well as a few elegant moves.
- Wladimir Pino
Wladimir Pino . . . more info coming soon
- Jeanette Piper
Jeanette has been dancing for nearly 13 years now. Wow how time flies! She has always enjoyed encouraging and supporting others to come out and dance. She finds the playful, creative part of dance nurturing, good for the body and brain. It is also a great way to have a laugh, connect with others and forget the stress of the day.
Jeanette started with country two-step, saw a Lindy Hop demo and immediately took up Lindy for awhile. She never stopped trying new dance styles. She added in some Salsa and a sample of Tango then topped it off with the wonders of waltzing about three years ago. Jeanette loved the grace and form of waltzing. She was a big Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire fan as wee little girl.
It did not all come easy. Dance takes a little work but it's like teasing the knots out sometimes and worth the effort. Jeanette took a private lesson with Hallie Kuperman when she very first started Lindy Hopping some 11 years ago. She just could not get a piece of foot work right and it was a real stumbling block. She said to Hallie "I want you to break me of bad habits." And she did. After that lesson Jeanette was on fire and on her way to fully enjoying her dancing from there on out! It was AWESOME! If something's not clicking,"get help."
It's wonderful to have a broad dance palette to make your dance experience all you want it to be. Jeanette highly encourages people to try new styles, even if it's just a few lessons of tango, waltz etc. You might just be surprised how inspiring it can be. Don't worry about looking perfect on the floor - learn, experience and just have FUN with it! Life is just too short.- Jared Requa
Since 2004, Jared has been bringing his love of dance to hardwood across the world. From his Mom's kitchen, to Buenos Aires, Argentina - from London, England to Seattle, Washington, Jared is known for his solid lead and his complete disregard for looking silly. He has been teaching since 2006, and emphasizes posture, core control and connection.
- Jenn Zanella
Jenn's passion for dance started more than 15 years ago. She studied ballroom dance with Rick Pride for several years, danced in a few amateur ballroom competitions, and then took a series of salsa classes from Michelle Badion and got hooked on salsa. Jenn has been dancing salsa for over 12 years, and her enthusiasm for this dance overflows. She especially enjoys working one-on-one with students.
