West Seattle Performing Arts (WSPA) is proud to host a professional and accomplished faculty. Whether it is ballet for kids or adults, modern, tap, hip hop, acting, voice, drums, electric bass, guitar, rock band, pre-school music class,jazz ensemble, or music lessons, WSPA offers some of Seattle's best instructors.
Scroll Down to see our experienced faculty: Dance, Music and Acting
DANCE FACULTY
Christine Juarez, Executive Director of West Seattle Performing Arts
Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Creative Movement, Pre- Ballet
Christine Juarez, Executive Director of West Seattle Performing Arts and founded the school with her husband Armando Juarez in 2016.Christine has been directing dance programs for the past 26 years. She has served as the Summer Dance Coordinator directing a national program and teaching for the Preparatory Dance Faculty at Cornish College of the Arts since 1994- 2018. She has served as an integral part of the External Programming team for the college. She served as the acting Director of Dance for Vashon Center for the Arts since 1996- 2017 on Vashon Island, WA and the Artistic Director of the Vashon Center for the Arts, a pre-professional dance company, Christine has dedicated two decades bringing the classical and contemporary arts to communities in the Seattle area . She has directed and taught dance to diverse populations for the past 34 years. Christine has also served on the dance faculty of Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a M.S. from Indiana University in Modern dance and Physical Sciences and a B.S. in Ballet and Music from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Christine is a Master Artist in Residence for the state of Washington and enjoys collaborative projects annually with classroom teachers integrating academics and movement. She has been a presenter of Early Movement Education for the Dance Educators Association of Washington and numerous other conferences. Christine started dance in Philadelphia as a young girl and was trained in the Vaganova syllabus of Ballet. Her training has included an immersion in Opera and she has performed and choreographed numerous operas. To date Christine has staged: Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Coppelia, La Fille Mal Gardee, Firebird, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Serenade, Romeo and Juliet, Rodeo, La Sylphide, and numerous others. She believes that dance should be accessible to all and that it can be taught in a positive engaging atmosphere. She has dedicated her life to bringing dance to as many people that she can.
Teaching philosophy: I have a very strong philosophy of respect in the classroom, including Student-to-teacher, Teacher-to-Student , Students-to each-other, and the space and the learning environment. Every student is an individual that learns in a unique way. My job as a teacher is to choose the best language and examples to create a stimulating and playful learning environment. I choose to eliminate negative words in the classroom like “No”, “not”, or “wrong.” I believe in transparency. I crave an authentic and healthy relationship with both my students and their families.
Amorita Juarez, Administrative Assistant, Dance Sub, Tap, Hip Hop, Creative Movement, Ballet. Amorita Studied dance throughout her life at Cornish College of the Arts Preparatory Program and with Vashon Center for the Arts. She has performed and assisted in productions throughout her adult life and is currently on Administrative Staff at WSPA. Although she has followed her love of science into the field as a CNA and continues to pursue Nursing Studies she is a natural with young children and has an innate joy in the sense of play that makes her a great fit for this class!
Sydney Buckley,Jazz Contemporary Dance
Sydney Buckley is an alumna of the University of Washington where she earned her B.A. in English and dance. Following graduation, she performed with the nationally acclaimed 5th Avenue Theater, where she worked closely with choreographers Joshua Bergasse, Kerry Casserly, and Angelique Ilo, as well as directors Scott Schwartz and David Bennett. Her performance credits include the 5th Avenue World-Premiere production of Secondhand Lions and A Chorus Line. For a season, Sydney lived in Los Angeles and was a cast member at the Disneyland Resort, dancing daily in California Adventure's Pixar Play Parade. She was honored to be chosen as an original cast member of Disneyland's 60th Anniversary nighttime spectacular, Paint the Night. Growing up, Sydney trained and later, taught and coached competitive teams at her mother's dance studio. Throughout her training, she earned choreography awards and competition titles, including Dupree Dance All Star. Sydney now resides in Seattle with her incredible husband and daughter and son, where she works as a freelance teacher and choreographer. Most recently she has taught at Hutch School, her alma mater University of Washington, and assisted Ellenore Scott on Pride and Prejudice at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Sydney truly feels most alive teaching children and cultivating their love for dance; she is delighted to be on faculty with WSPA.
Stephanie Caine, Adult Ballet
Stephanie has been dancing over the course of four decades. She studied classical ballet at the National Academy of Performing Arts, a boarding school in Champagne, Illinois. Stephanie was introduced to musical theater when she was cast in her first production of A Chorus Line. She went on to earn a BA in theater from Missouri Southern State University. Her background in theater and dance culminated into a rigorous career on stage throughout her twenties in Branson, Missouri. Stephanie fell in love with Seattle when she moved here twenty years ago and discovered her passion for teaching at Belltown Ballet and Conditioning. Stephanie comes to WSPA with thirteen years of teaching experience. She continues collaborating, creating, rehearsing and performing locally, promoting dance for life and sharing her experiences with her students.
Stephanie teaches an open level ballet class with an emphasis on the adult beginner. She strives to create a safe and supportive environment where adults of all skill-sets can thrive.
Kate LeGrand, Ballet, Pointe, Rehearsal Support
Kate LeGrand joined WSPA as a Rehearsal Mistress for the 2018 production of The Nutcracker and is now one of our fabulous WSPA Dance Faculty. Kate began her dance training in New York under Valia Seiskaya and has garnered acceptances to premiere institutions including American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, The Rock School for Dance Education, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, and Bossov Ballet Theatre, among others. She has received invitations to perform abroad at the International Dance Open in St. Petersburg, Russia and at the Edinburgh Dance Festival in Scotland. Kate pursued her dance training on scholarship with the Bossov Ballet Theatre, a four-year residency program where she trained intensively in the classical Vaganova technique under the tutelage of Andrei Bossov (Mariinsky/Kirov Ballet) and Natalya Getman (Moscow Ballet). Kate has performed leading roles in full-length ballets at home and in Russia. With an educational background in biomedicine and public health, her teaching philosophy promotes safe exercise and injury prevention. Kate is excited to bring over 15 years of classical ballet dancing, choreography, and instruction to West Seattle.
Alissa Moor,Tap
Alissa Moor is excited to be teaching at West Seattle Performing Arts. She is a native of the Seattle area and currently resides in West Seattle with her husband, three kids, and dog. Alissa studied ballet and tap locally growing up in the Seattle area and received a Bachelor of Arts in Business and a Dance Minor at the University of Washington. She went on to receive a Masters of Arts in Teaching at Seattle Pacific University. Alissa has been teaching dance since 2004 and enjoys teaching students of all ages. As a dance educator, Alissa strives to empower students to discover their innate potential for physical expression through dance. Her classes focus on rhythm, musicality, technique, choreography, collaboration, and the development of stage presence. Above all, Alissa seeks to create a classroom environment where students are encouraged, empowered, uplifted, and experience success and improvement.
Madeline Morser, Ballet, Modern, Composition
Ms. Morser hails originally from Vashon Island where she was trained at Vashon Center for Dance under Christine Juarez. Madeline Morser is a professional modern dancer who danced with the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company at The Egg in Albany, New York. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Skidmore College, with a BS in Dance and a minor in Exercise Science and has taught at numerous schools in New York influencing developing dancers with her positive teaching style. Madeline has decided to return to the Northwest and continue her professional dance career and we are thrilled that she has decided to join our faculty at WSPA.
Kooper Campbell, Musical Theater Dance
Kooper Campbell comes to West Seattle from the Mid-West with a BFA in Music Dance Theatre from Brigham Young University. Kooper has extensive voice training and strengths in Musical Theatre Dance and Tap as well as Jazz and Ballet. Kooper has a long list of performing experience in productions including " Wizard of Oz, Big River, Peter and the Starcatcher, Beauty and the Beast, Oliver ...." and many more. WSPA is excited to have his experience infused into our musical theatre training!
Daniela Serrano,Flamenco
Rachel Smith, Pre-Teen Starter Ballet
Kellsie Steele,Hip Hop, Pre-Teen Cheer, Jazz, Lyrical, Tap
Miss Steele has studied dance for 24 years, performing nationally in jazz, modern, ballet, pointe, tap, lyrical, and hip hop from the age of 3. She was honorary captain of the varsity cheerleading team at Eastside Catholic High School and was captain of both her Dance and Cheerleading team at Saint Mary's College of California. She trained under the direction of Lori Buffalow and Rachel Jackson of the San Francisco 49ers as well as nationally accredited choreographers Greg Russell, Andrew Vacca, and Jeannine Sabo to name just a few. Kellsie has performed nationally at NCAA basketball tournaments, and as a member of the San Francisco 49ers Goldrush professional cheerleading and dance team has had the opportunity to perform in places such as China and Japan. Kellsie holds a Bachelors degree in Communications and has taught at multiple dance academies in both San Francisco and Seattle. Kellsie joined the Cornish Dance staff in 2014 and is a welcome addition to West Seattle Performing Arts.
Jordan Whidbey, Acting
Thomas Fontana, Ballet, Men's Technique, Partnering
MUSIC
Dave Segedy, Music Faculty Drums, Electric Bass
Dave Segedy has a lot of miles on him as far as drumming goes. From performing an improv jazz set with Bobby McFerrin at age 17 to touring internationally with a successful alternative rock band, Segedy is a young, seasoned vet who wants to pass on his knowledge. Since the late 2000’s, up until present day, Segedy has been an active touring and studio musician of all genres. Throughout this time, he has taken every opportunity to teach anyone willing to learn from beginners to more advanced students. He’s had over 45 private students at places such as Fairview Elementary School, Jefferson Street Music Studio, and Cornerstone Center for the Arts.
Audrey Collins, Music Coordinator, Piano, Vocals, Voice Lessons
Audrey Collins holds an MFA in Vocal Performance, from Bard as well as a BFA in Sculpture from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt). This advantageous duality allows her to not only teach technique and ability for piano and voice, but also to focus on the artistry and conceptual ideas of musical expression. She has run a private music studio for over a decade and can play a multitude of instruments including guitar and cello. She has held numerous classes and workshops at schools and performing centers, and freelances as a musical director for various musical productions. She performs regularly in Seattle, and elsewhere.