Meet SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER
Carol Borgmann
SuzAnne Duckworth
Jenny Hillock
Dale A. Merrill
Carol Thayer
our Founders
Board of directors
Gavin Reub, President & Treasurer
April Magen, Secretary
Michael Hebb
Joanna Lau
Linda Lowry
Shawn Roberts
Michael Hebb, Tricia Stromberg, Board Member Emerita, Board Member since 2001 // Board President 2004-2011
JoAnna Lau, Board Member Emerita, Founding Gala Chair, Board Member since 1997
MEmbers
Our leadership & Staff
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Donald Byrd, Co-Executive Director & Artistic Director
Stephanie Guiland, Co-Executive Director & School Director
SCHOOL
Mary Sigward, Academy Coordinator
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Kisira Hill, Digital Media Manager
Taelore Rhoden, Marketing and Communications Director
OPERATIONS
Susan Daggett, Front Desk Staff
Bob Gribas, Front Desk Staff
Annabel Nakimuli, Intern
Our directors
Stephanie Guiland
School Director and Co-Executive Director
Open Company Class, Donald Byrd Contemporary, Intro to Contrmporary, Pre-Ballet, Creative Movement, and Friday Funk Jazz
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Stephanie Guiland (she/her), of N.Y.C., danced for Donald Byrd/ The Group, founding company of Complexions, the Broadway and Touring Company of Oprah Winfrey’s The Color Purple (Dance Captain, Swing, and Associate Choreographer), and Disney’s Broadway Company of The Lion King. In addition, she’s worked in videos and commercial dance with Lisa Stansfield, Monie Love, and Salt-n-Pepa, touring the USA and Europe with P.M. Dawn. She served as Mr. Byrd’s rehearsal director for DB/TG and his assistant on numerous projects for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Equity Workshops for The Color Purple and White Noise. She’s taught for Dance Theater of Harlem’s Dancing Through Barriers program, Disney’s Lion King Cub School, W.R.Arts/ Director for the Young Performers Company, and in N.Y.C. private and public schools in the Arts and Education program. For ten years, she taught in N.Y.C. for Joffrey’s Jazz and Contemporary program, Bounce Summer Intensive, and as Adjunct Dance Professor at Long Island University in Brooklyn.
She is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer with numerous certifications. Aside from her most important project, raising a beautiful child, her passion project is her fitness company, Kick My Assets.
She joined The School of Spectrum Dance Theater as School Director in January 2021 and continues to strive for more connection with our Spectrum community beyond our walls and inclusivity within our B.I.P.O.C. communities.
Donald Byrd
Artistic Director and Co-Executive Director
Open Company Class, Donald Byrd Contemporary, Pre-Professional and Professional Byrd Workshop
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Donald Byrd has been the Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater since December 2002. Formerly, he was Artistic Director of Donald Byrd/The Group, a critically acclaimed contemporary dance company, founded in Los Angeles and later based in New York, that toured both nationally and internationally. His career has been long and complex, and his choreographic and theatrical interests are broad. The New York Times describes him as “a choreographer with multiple personalities … an unabashed eclectic.” He is a Tony-nominated (The Color Purple) and Bessie Award-winning (The Minstrel Show) choreographer.
Read more about Donald Byrd as Spectrum Dance Theater’s Artistic Director here
SCHOOL STAFF & INSTRUCTORS
fitness for living
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Angie Bolton (She/Her), an ACE-certified instructor, teaches Fitness for Living at Spectrum Dance, where she has worked since 1981. She developed Fitness for Living to work students aerobically and with weights and rubber resistance bands. The class is focused on people 40 years old and up. Some of her students are in their 80s, and many have exercised with her for over ten years. Angie is also an accomplished actress, teaches for the Dance for Parkinson’s program through STG, and is a certified Gyrokinesis Instructor.
BalleT
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Heather Harris | Pre-Ballet, Ballet I, II
Heather Harris (She/Her) has been teaching dance in our children’s division for over 15 years. She began her training at the Cornish School. She furthered her studies at the Joffrey School in New York City as well as at Complexions. She danced professionally with the Joffrey Concert Group, Ballet el Paso, The Aluja Dance Company, and was a member of the Spectrum Dance Theater for over ten years. Heather is the proud mother of two lovely daughters. She can be found teaching preschool at Madrona’s community dance school, teaching dance at the Lake Washington Girls’ Middle School, Madrona K-8, and in our own children’s division here at Spectrum.
BalleT
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Prasti Purdum | Ballet III and VI
Prasti Purdum (She/Her) is a Seattle-based dancer who began training at five years old, primarily studying ballet under the Royal Academy of Dance, (RAD) program. She also participated in the American Academy of Ballet performance awards, ( A. A. B.), attended the Summer Intensive Program with Sarasota Ballet, and then continued to earn a B. A. in dance and International Studies from the University of Washington. She has had the opportunity to work with to collaborate with local artists. She has performed works by Petra Zanki, Bryon Carr, Amber Willett, Warren Woo, Stephanie, Golden/Dore Dance Company, Coriolis Dance, and the Guild Dance Company. Prasti has also performed in various Seattle-based festivals, including Tint Dance Festival, Full Tilt Dance Festival, and the Seattle International Dance Festival. As a teaching artist, Prasti has taught creative movement and ballet classes to children in the Cleveland and Seattle areas. Dance brings her joy and a sense of wonder and can be a vehicle to share stories and embodies experiences and emotions. These elements, along with her deep, rooted love for dance, or something she strives to cultivate and nurture in the students she teaches.
Drama Dance Camps
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Bob Gribas (He/Him) has been a theatrical artist for over 40 years, writing, directing, designing, and performing in Montana, Minnesota, Colorado, California, and Washington. Bob grew up in Havre, Montana, majoring in Elementary Education at Northern Montana College and Eastern Montana College, Technical Theater at the University of Montana, and Scenic Design at Humboldt State University in Northern California. Bob has toured throughout the States and Canada since 1992 as a tour actor/director with Prairie Fire Children’s Theatre, Small Change Theatre, and One Reel. Bob has conducted theatrical workshops and residencies in the Seattle area at Adams Elementary, Brookside Elementary, Lynnwood Parks and Rec, Debut Family Theatre, Youth Theatre Northwest, Stone Soup Theater, Theater Works in Bellevue, The Evergreen School, St. Catherine’s School, and Allegro Performing Arts Academy. Bob has been writing and directing original family musicals, with his wife, Angela Rinaldi, for their theater company, Variety Plus, since 1995. www.varietyplus.org and will be presenting their original musical adaptation of The Patchwork Girl of Oz in November. He has written and directed Spectrum Dance Theater’s Winter Drama/ Dance productions since 2004, including Babes in Toyland, Aladdin, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, The Snow Queen, Wondrous Mythological Beasts, as well as summer drama camp productions of Classic Children’s stories. Bob has also created thousands of masks for hundreds of shows and teaches mask-making classes and workshops.
“ I always enjoy working with the students of Spectrum. Children have that extra courage and imagination we quite often lose as we grow older. But there’s something extraordinary about Spectrum Dance Theater. Every time I enter the building, whether as a teacher, director, or keeping post at the front desk, I find myself immersed in all the most positive aspects of diversity. I often feel sorry for those who hate to go to their jobs. At times my work at Spectrum seems more like a calling than an occupation.”
Pilates, Ballet, Academy, Pre-Academy, and Preparatory Program Coordinator
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Mary Sigward (she/her) is a Seattle-based independent artist, kinesthetic thinker, and movement teacher. She uses movement to explore and disassemble the human experience. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Mary graduated magna cum laude and with honors from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Dance Performance and a minor in Biology. During her time at USC she enjoyed performing an extensive repertoire with works choreographed by George Balanchine, Paul Taylor, Thaddeus Davis, Tanya Wideman-Davis, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Gianni Di Marco, Helen Pickett, and Twyla Tharp. She has attended workshops and intensives with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, Visceral Dance Chicago, Spectrum Dance Theatre, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Since graduating, she has performed with Spectrum Dance Theater under the direction of Donald Byrd (2015-2019, 2022), Stone Dance Collective (2019-2020, 2022), Khambatta Dance Company (2019-2022), and Karin Stevens Dance (2020-2022). She has performed in Seattle, New York City, Austin, Philadelphia, Denver, Oakland, Newport (RI), Buenos Aires, Busan, and Mumbai. In 2019 Mary began creating her own work. She premiered her inaugural self-choreographed solo back-formation at 12 Minutes Max at Base Arts Space in February 2020. She had the honor of performing her multi-media solo, Sorry Clover, at the 2021 Seattle International Dance Festival. Her film by the same name received an Honorable Mention at the 2021 Mobile Dance Film Festival. She has completed artistic residencies at Spectrum Dance Theater, Velocity Dance Center (Seattle, WA), Centrum (Port Townsend, WA), and has upcoming residencies scheduled with Vashon Artist Residency (Vashon Island, WA) and Moulin/Belle (Mareuil en Périgord, FR). Mary has had the joy of being the Academy Coordinator for the School of Spectrum Dance Theater since 2017, where she works with and mentors aspiring pre-professional students. In April of 2017 she became a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher.
Jazz
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Jerry Tassin (He/Him) began his training under the direction of Perry Brunson, Sara De Luis, Ray Bussey, and Flemming Halby. He went on to apprentice with Seattle First Chamber Dance Company and then as a Soloist with Pacific Northwest Ballet under the direction of Janet Reed and Todd Bolender.
Jerry’s professional experience includes MGM Grande Hotel (Hello Hollywood Hello, Principle) Reno Nevada, Music Hall (Hello Hollywood Hello, Principle) Seattle Wa., Tropicana Hotel,(Folies Bergere) Las Vegas, Tihany Music Hall, (Principle) Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Ray Bussey’s (That’s Jazz dance Co), Seattle WA, Seattle Repertory Theater (Guys And Dolls) equity, The American Dance Machine, under the direction of Lee Theodore, New York, NY equity, Spectrum Dance Company, under the direction of Dale Merrill, Seattle, WA., and assorted industrials and television work. While in New York, Jerry taught at the prestigious Luigi Jazz Dance Center, and has continued teaching Jazz, Theater Dance, and Tap in the Seattle area since his return in 1989. “ I have loved teaching the Adult Jazz class at Spectrum! This has been a very special class, filled with wonderful dancers who have experienced the Seattle Jazz dance scene for the last 10-40 years!”
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Kara Beadle (She/Her) is a performance/movement artist, dance educator, and massage therapist based in Seattle, WA. Having studied postmodern techniques, improvisational dance, and site-specific performance at Texas Woman’s University from artists such as Jordan Fuchs, Sarah Gamblin, and Rosemary Candelario, Kara continues to investigate and challenge the values of improvisation, time, and setting in their choreography and performance. A freelance artist, Kara has performed with LanDForms Dance, Hope Goldman, Vladimir Kremenović, Jordan Macintosh-Hougham, and Gender Tender in festivals such as On The Boards’ NW New Works, Velocity Dance Center’s Next Fest, and Portland’s Risk/Reward. Part of the performance art collective, Heap, Kara’s work alongside artistic partner Andy Zacek investigates the intimacy of space and objects in their time spent with audiences. Often seen gathering discarded items on the side of the road or tumbling through them, Heap finds stages in street corner dumps, the dredges of a garage sale, and in your living room. Together with a rotating cast of collaborators, their work examines our houses as landfills through the themes of waste, displacement, resourcefulness, and objectifying intimacy. In Jan 2020, Heap premiered the work Fruit Flies in eXitSPACE Faculty Concert and performed at two other venues the following month.
Tap
Ballet + Pointe
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Ramona Cachinero (She/Her), was born in Australia,moved to Spain at 3 years old, and to America at 9 years old. Ramona was taught by Margaret “Maggie” Banks at the Nevada Festival Ballet School and later joined the company at 14 years old. She attended Houston Ballet Academy and and the Joffrey Ballet School of New York, which she attended on a full scholarship.
She has danced professionally with the Dayton Ballet, Ballet Theatre of Queensland, Australian Theatre Ballet, Tasmanian Classical Ballet, South Florida Ballet Theatre, Nevada Ballet Theatre and later as a principal dancer with Ohio Dance Theatre & Sierra Nevada Ballet. Since her move to Seattle, she has danced with Ballet Bellevue and 127th St Dance Company. She is very much enjoying being a part of The School of Spectrum Dance Theater.
Pop n’ Lock
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A native of Seattle, Rachel began her journey with dance at age three with ballet at SSDT and branched into creative dance, tap, and jazz. Flamenco has given her a fantastic community and a powerful medium to share her spirit. Rachel has had the great honor of studying with Rubina Carmona, Sara de Luis, and many more!
Rachel continues to perform with Cuadro Azahares, and continues to learn and teach with Northwest Flamenco Academy, Semilla Flamenca, and The School of Spectrum Dance Theater.
Flamenco
hip-hop + groove team
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Avery Gardner (He/Him),
Avery has been dancing in the greater Seattle area for 15 years. As the director of The Garden Dance Company (est. 2022), Avery prioritizes teaching the values of class taking and choreography retention, execution, performance, and creative exploration.
With a background in Hip Hop choreography, Jazz Funk and Contemporary styles, Avery’s style of dance calls on the dancer to use full body movement and musicality as a means to feeling fulfillment.
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More information coming soon!
BalleT basics
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Katarina was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana where she began dancing at Crawfordsville Academy of Dance. She spent two summers studying at Interlochen Center for the Arts while in high school. Katarina studied at Grand Valley State University where she graduated Cum Laude in 2016 with a BA in dance and Minor in Business. Upon graduation Katarina moved to Houston to dance with Ad Deum Dance Company, where she was given the opportunity to dance with Springs Dance Company in London for a period of time. In 2017 Katarina moved to Cleveland, Ohio to dance with Inlet Dance Theatre undertaking the roles of Company Dancer and Costume Coordinator. In 2022, Katarina premiered her first professional work, Hiheyhello, as a part of Inlet’s summer dance intensive. In August of 2022, Katarina moved to Seattle and began performing in projects throughout the city. This season is Katarina’s first season with Spectrum Dance Theater and she is excited for the opportunities that lie ahead.
Ballet + Pointe
Ballet + contemporary
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Introduction to Donald Byrd Contemporary Technique
Isabellais from Seattle, WA and began ballet at the age of 6. She developed a love of a variety of dance styles – contemporary, jazz and world dance – as part of The School of SDT pre-professional Academy Program. She received additional training with Seattle Theater Groups’s Dance This, Joffrey’s Musical Theater Program, the inaugural STG AileyCamp, the Donald Byrd Workshop, Northwest Dance Project, and The Ailey School Professional Summer Intensive. Isabella earned certificates from the Jose Limon Pro and Launch Dance Programs in NYC. She choreographed dance for film presented at the NASH at Nite Showcase and ACES Expo, and performed in Velocity’s Blossom Dance Festival. This is her first season with the Company. She previously served as a trainee with SDT.
Pre-Jazz , Jazz + Summer
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Carlos Roman hails from Barcelona and is passionate about musical shows, dance, and music; he also enjoys choreographing and songwriting. His dancing and acting career started at a young age, entering funky-hip-hop dance competitions as part of the “Just Too Funk” group, and theater performances with the Youkali Musical School.
He graduated in Musical Comedy at Coco Comin School of Performing Arts in Barcelona and went onto dance for different companies and festivals in Spain and Lithuania, for shows such as “The Little Shop of Horrors”by Marc Montserrat, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” by The Unconvencionalists, “Rouge”, “Fever”, “Hard Work”, “La Desaparicio de Wendy” by Marina Julia, “Catalunya Aixeca el Telo” by the Coco Comin Tap Dance Pre-Company, “Kupieskies Festivalis”, “Moustache, the rhythm Musical” by Coco Comin Productions, and others. He also choreographed musical videos for singer Julian Santos. As an actor he was part of the main cast for the film “Lo Mejor de Mi” by Roser Aguilar and starred as a dancer in the film by Mateo Gil, “Las Leyes de la Termodinamica”. He also starred in Catalonia’s tv show “300” by TV3 network. Carlos continued his training as a dancer in Los Angeles at Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio, Millenium Dance Complex; LA Dance Center. Most recently here in Seattle he is training at Spectrum Dance Theater, Westlake Dance Center, Exit Space Seattle and has danced with The Guild Dance Company in the “Movie Mixtape-Auburn Symphony”, as well as the musical preview “OZ Revelations” with Mic Thompson and Celadon Entertainment. As of this year, Carlos is sharing his love for dancing as a Pre-Jazz Instructor at Spectrum Dance Theater.
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Simon Adler | Ballet III and IV and Contemporary II
Simon was born in 2002, started his dance training at three years old in Colorado. In 2021 they moved to Israel to study in Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s 10-Month Dance Journey Program. In June 2022 he joined Kibbutz’s main company as an apprentice under the direction of Rami Beer. This is their first season with Spectrum Dance Theater.
Contemporary
Contemporary + Jazz
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Originally from the Philadelphia area, began his dance training at a very young age and was a Dance major at the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts. Cody then attended The Ohio State University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2019, focusing his degree on Composition and Choreography. Immediately after graduating, Cody moved to Cleveland, OH where he became a full time company member with Dancing Wheels, America’s first integrated dance company. From 2019 to 2023, he worked as a company dancer, teaching artist, company class teacher, and disabilities advocate while spreading awareness about disabilities and disability rights through performance and teaching. During this time, Cody was part of countless performances touring to places like New York City, Miami, Mexico, and China. Cody has taught Physically Integrated Dance classes for Dancing Wheels throughout the Cleveland area, as well as workshops at Point Park University and Mid-Atlantic Dance Initiative. Cody was also commissioned to choreograph a full-company piece, “Bonds of Actions,” for Dancing Wheels ‘Memories of Mexico’ concert in 2022. He has performed works by choreographers such as Dianne McIntyre, Doug Varone, Marc Brew, Donald Byrd, and Ohad Naharin, for whom he was the featured soloist in BalletMet and The Ohio State University’s Collaboration of “Minus 16.” In September, Cody moved to Seattle to join Spectrum Dance Theater as a company dancer for the 2023-2024 season. He is looking forward to exploring, learning, and creating new works with new artists.
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Dakota Wear | Ballet I and II
Dakota Wear was born and raised in Seattle, WA. She started dancing at the age of 9 at The School of Spectrum Dance Theater training in ballet, contemporary, lyrical, jazz and tap. She also has had the pleasure to train at various summer intensives with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and The Joffrey Ballet School New York.
In 2014 she trained at the Cornish Preparatory Program under the direction of Steve Casteel for one season. Then Dakota joined The Academy at Spectrum Dance Theater in 2015 where she worked very closely with Donald Byrd.
In 2018 during her senior year Dakota was accepted into Alonzo King LINES Training Program.
She moved to the Bay Area in August of 2018 and trained with Alonzo King, Maurya Kerr, Christian Burns, Arturo Fernandez, and many more until Covid hit in 2020.
From 2021-2022 she began getting back in shape after a break from dancing. She started taking classes at Dance Conservatory Seattle with Chris Montoya and Josh Grant, as well as teaching ballet to young ones at Issaquah Dance Theater. Then Dakota made the decision to move to New York City January 2023 to be closer to auditions and try something different. But shortly after moving there, she realized Dance Conservatory Seattle was what she was looking for and had had it all along. Dakota is thrilled to be back in Seattle and dancing with Dance Theatre Seattle, the non-profit dance company in South Park run by Josh Grant, and Chris Montoya.
BalleT
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Principal Accompanist and Accompaniment Coordinator
Angela Rinaldi (She/Her) began accompanying dance classes at Spectrum Dance Theater in 1979 and currently serves as Principal Accompanist and Dance Musician Coordinator. She has been a Dance Musician at Cornish College of the Arts Dance Department since 1980 and has accompanied ballet and modern dance classes at Pacific Northwest Ballet, University of Washington, Whitman College for such notable dance masters as Patricia Barker, Debra Hadley, Magali Messac, Hillary Cartwright, Bill Whitener, Veronica Tenant, Kevin Kaiser, Elaine Bauer and Donald Byrd. She has an extensive dance background, as well, from Spectrum and Cornish College. Angela is currently a Teaching Artist at Seattle Children’s Theatre, Village Theater’s Kidstage Everett and Youth Theater Northwest teaching musical theatre classes, and has over thirty years of experience in the theatrical arts. Along with performing professionally as a singer and actor, she has composed over 225 songs for Variety Plus Theater, which she co-founded in 1995 with her husband, Bob Gribas www.varietyplus.org. She is also a corps member as an actor, writer and composer for Events on the Edge, performing Interactive Murder Mysteries, Meet the Biscotti’s, A Mafia Musical, and Caffeine, An Addictive Musical, both of which she composed the original music. As resident Music Director and Choreographer for the Spring Musical program at Bellevue High School since 2003, she has performed with BHS students in the American High School Theatre Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland in August of 2013 and 2017. Angela is also an accompanist for the Dance For Parkinson’s program in the Seattle area and is also currently promoting her Music for Ballet Class and New Age Solo Piano compact discs, available on itunes.com. She is a member of ASCAP and as a proud member of the Musicians Association Local-76 she is also promoting her Ballet Class and Meditation Music available on Itunes, Spotify and Apple Music.
