Our Faculty

Carla Olson
Owner/Instructor/Choreographer

Carla began dancing at the age of six studying Ballet, Tap and Jazz.  She began teaching at the age of 15.  Post high school, Carla continued her dance study at Cornish Institute College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington then moved to Hollywood, California to study at Dupree Dance Academy. She then went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration at University of Portland in Oregon. Post College, Carla continued her dance studies at Spectrum Dance Theatre in Seattle, Washington.   Over the years, she has studied with many dance masters such as Michael Rooney, Carol Connors, Jackie Sleight, Van “The Man” Porter, Dianne Walker, Jason Samuel-Smith and many more. Carla opened Academy of Dance in 1997.
 

Jennifer Dean
Owner/Synergy Company Director/Instructor/Choreographer

Jennifer brings with her over 20 years of dance training with extensive background in Ballet, Modern, Lyrical, Jazz, Broadway, Tap, and Audition Technique for TV, film and commercials. She has studied and performed with Westlake Dance Center, Cornish College, Spectrum Dance Theatre, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. Jennifer has performed in and choreographed many local musical and stage productions. She has competed in both regional and national dance competitions taking top honors. She has been a back-up dancer for both Paula Abdul and Janet Jackson. Jennifer shares her passion for dance and performance in the classroom and on-stage. She began teaching at Academy of Dance in 2000 and is now an Owner and Director.
 

Kaitlin Winters
Instructor/Choreographer

Kaitlin brings with her several years of dance instructional experience along with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Arts and Science.  She is a dynamic, brilliant, and highly motivated individual who has a gift for organizing.  Kaitlin's strengths as a dance instructor lie in the technical understanding of classical dance and her amiable personality and ability to communicate with her students, parents, and staff members is a further asset to our studio.
 

Roxanne Olson
Receptionist/Instructor

Roxanne is a former owner of several small businesses. She is also a former fully licensed childcare provider and pre-school teacher in which she was able to share her love for children. Roxanne is highly organized and brings with her years of experience in customer relations along with a heart for serving children and their families.
 

Shelleena Ferrand
Receptionist
 

Jennifer Mikami
Instructor
 

Amy Warren
Instructor
 

Jessica Gallagher
Instructor
 

Jonah Kendziora
Apprentice/Instructor
 

Dawn Del Castillo
Instructor

Dawn has been dancing for 14 years and teaching for eight. She focuses on creating a supportive and encouraging training ground for aspiring dancers. Dawn has enjoyed competing and performing since the age of 15, she has won several awards including First Place in Sonics. After high school she began volunteering her time to teach dance for under-privileged teens. There she founded the Hip Hop group Next Generation which provided the kids opportunities to perform at local schools in hopes to get kids off the streets and into dance. Since then she has taught at several dance studios and choreographed and directed the award winning FLY Dance Hip Hop Company. She is also the co-founder of the hip hop groups Identity and ID both of which have performed with other talented Hip Hop Crews in Seattle including Daniel Cruz's Battle of Seattle. Identity and ID also recently took first and second place for the Best Dance Crew in Tacoma. She is now branching further and starting another hip hop group  known as Persona. Dawn lives by the knowledge that God has given us our talents, and so let us not think we can do things apart from Him.