Instructors

Leah Davies

Ms. Leah has been involved in the Competitive Dance scene for 26 years. Teaching at numerous studios in the Pacific Northwest over the past 10 years, Leah has been recognized for her enthusiastic teaching styles and choreography. Specializing in ballet, hip hop, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, and tap she brings innovative and competitive choreography and training techniques to her everyday instruction. While on the dance team at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX Leah was awarded as a Collegiate All-American. She is currently working with local High School Dance Teams and helping train her dances for College Dance Teams. She regularly works with Skyline High School Dance Team in collaboration with their coaching staff. Leah was certified as a Dance Masters of America Teacher and is currently employed by 3 National Dance Competitions as a judge for multiple locations. Working for Showbiz National Talent, Kids Artistic Revue, and Rainbow Dance Competitions has been an eye-opening experience allowing Leah to have a broad view of dance techniques and style throughout the United States.

During her earlier years as a dancer, she was recognized at both regional and national levels, earning overall awards, titles, and positions in many well-known dance competitions. Being awarded Miss Teen Washington and receiving a gold medal for Team USA at the World Championships of Performing Arts were some of her most memorable experiences. Leah has also earned numerous scholarships and jobs as touring assistants to dance conventio ns, and been awarded summer program internships to perform in New York City under the direction of Sheila Barker. The energy from working with young talent fuels this teacher in every way and brings excitement and energy to her life.

Madie Gruhn

With years of experience in many different styles and dance genres, Madie Gruhn brings a fresh eye to the dance team world. Madie has been dancing since she was three years old, first learning Ballet and Tap. As she got older, she grew to dance in different styles, like ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, and lyrical, but she especially loves pom from the dance team world. Madie's mom, Jaci Gruhn, has been involved with dance team for over 20 years, significantly influencing Madie's life. In high school, Madie danced at South Bay Dance Company and for the Capital Cougarettes Dance team, both under direction of her high school coaches, Sungja Albright and Jaci Gruhn. Madie helped lead her team to a state championship in the 3A pom category in 2019, which catapulted Capital for many more fantastic pom, dance, and game day routines in the future (and more to come). Following Capital's win in 2019, Madie competed with the Westside Select Allstar team and placed third in the nation in the Pom category at the Varsity All-American Championships. In 2018 and 2019, Madie was named Inside Dance Magazine All-American Dancer of the Year! In 2019 as well, Madie was nominated as the Thurston County Girls Sports Star of the Year.

Madie loves the dance team world and now specializes in Pom, Gameday, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Contemporary, and College and Professional Dance Prep Training. Madie currently teaches at Revolution Dance Factory and also choreographs routines.

Madie is moving into her third season as a collegiate dancer for the University of Washington dance team. Last year, Madie traveled to Orlando, Florida, to compete in the UDA College National Dance Team Championship. As a Junior in college, Madie is earning her undergraduate degree in Media and Communications and a business minor. In her small ounce of free time, Madie is a brand ambassador for many incredible brands you see in stores like Starface, Alani Nu, and other small businesses around Washington. Madie is eager and excited for the hopeful future that awaits her when it comes to the dance team world.

Lindsay Starr Dye

With over 22 years of dance experience, Lindsay Starr brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the industry. Lindsay is a nationally awarded coach and choreographer for numerous schools, studios and all-star dance teams, including her choreography consistently finishing in the top three at UDA NDTC, DTU National Championships, Contest of Champions, and USA Dance Nationals.

Lindsay is the former Head Coach of Decatur High School Dance Team, leading them to countless State and National titles throughout her 16-year reign. In 2010, and 2013 she was awarded Dance Coach of the Year from the Washington State Dance/Drill Coaches Association. In 2019, Lindsay was inducted into the Washington State Dance Drill Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Currently, Lindsay is in her 4th year with Tribe 99 Choreo-Connect as a choreographer and consultant and is serving as President of the Washington State Dance Drill Coaches Association and also serving on the board of the National Dance Coaches Association. Lindsay enjoys teaching, consulting, speaking at conferences and judging at both the state and national level.

Jaret Hughes

Jaret Hughes has over 25 years of dance experience, with Hip Hop being his specialty along with training in Modern, Jazz, Ballet and African. Jaret also has over 20 years of choreographing and teaching experience with all ages, including over 21 years at Elizabeth's Dance Dimensions in Kirkland, Washington.

Jaret's choreography credits include the L.A. Clippers Spirit Dance Team (guest choreographer), Seattle Supersonics Dance Team for 5 years, founder of Twisted Elegance from Seattle and LA's debut of 2wisted Elegance with the help of his good friend Joey Cooper, Modazz Competition Teams at Elizabeth's Dance Dimensions, co-choreographer and dancer for EVE in LA, and assistant choreographer / assistant Artistic Director for the AAA Invitation Feedback video contest submission for Janet Jackson. Jaret has been a part of Elite Dance Camps teaching staff since 2004.

Ashley Naset

Ashley has danced almost her entire life and has been teaching for nearly 20 years. She is trained in jazz, hip hop, contemporary, pom, kick line, and musical theater. Growing up she was on her junior and high school dance teams with having leadership positions on both. Since graduating from high school, she's performed all around Seattle with groups including Eastside Moving Company, En'Lair and Enertia. Special performances include Westlake's Sign of the Times, Rex Kinney's Rivival, and the DaCi Dance Conference held in Kingston, Jamaica. She has choreographed for many groups including middle school, high school, collegiate and professional NBA dance teams.

She was a coach for Kentridge High School for ten years, where she received WSDDCA Co-Coach of the Year with her sister, Staci. As a coach and/or choreographer, Ashley has 17 State Titles under her belt. She has been a speaker for coaches conferences conducting classes on many different topics relating to dance. Many of her dancers have gone onto collegiate and professional dance teams, Broadway, and feature dancers on the Disney channel. She currently teaches dance in studios around Washington, teaches BootyBarre to adults, and choreographs for dance teams around the Northwest. You can also find her judging competitions and has held Education Director for the WSDDJA for the last few years.

Sarah Seese

Sarah has been dancing competitively since age 5 and is trained extensively in a broad range of styles, including hip-hop, contemporary, jazz, ballet, lyrical, tap, and pom. While pursuing biopsychology at University of California, Santa Barbara, Sarah directed a competitive hip-hop company for three years. After college, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue dance alongside her career working at UCLA in the Semel Institute of Neuroscience. She has danced with several LA-based dance companies, VMO and SoulFresh, is presently an instructor and choreographer for various local dance studios, and is going into her 4^th season as an NBA dancer for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sarah and her sister, Sydney, have choreographed dance workout classes for STEEZY Studio, as well as for the North Dakota State University Dance Team where they competed in the D1 Division at UDA Nationals (and placed 2nd!). They also recently choreographed for Pretenderâs Studioâs collaboration with Squad Harmonix at Disneyland and for local weddings in the LA area.

She can't wait to return to Elite Dance Camp this year to push boundaries and share her passion for dance with others!

Sydney Seese

Sydney has ALWAYS loved to dance and is trained in a broad range of styles, but primarily teaches in the styles of pom, hip-hop and jazz. Her dance career has included membership on various competitive teams, at both the high school and collegiate level. During her undergraduate career at the University of Connecticut, Sydney was a member of the UConn Kickline Team, UConn Dance Company, and competed on the UConn Dance Team. During her time on the UConn Dance team, Sydney competed in both hip hop and jazz at NDA Nationals, as well as was afforded the opportunity to perform for collegiate basketball and football games. Sydney has leadership experience as a Captain of the UConn Dance Team, as well as coaching and teaching experiences across the US, including Washington, Connecticut, Maryland and California. She most recently has assisted teaching dance workout classes with her sister Sarah for Steezy Studio. They also recently choreographed a pom routine for the North Dakota State University Dance Team where they competed in the D1 Division at UDA Nationals (and placed 2nd!).

More recently, Sydney has been pursuing a PH.D. in Human Development and Psychology at UCLA, but spends her free time dancing!

This will be Sydney's 8th year teaching at Elite and she always enjoys the enthusiasm, spirit and hard-work that dancers bring to her class at camp!

Phi VoBa

Phi VoBa is a dance performer, choreographer, and teacher based in the greater Seattle area specializing in street styles and choreography. He has worked throughout the community as well as commercially, performing for the Monsters of Hip Hop 2017 Show, the Seahawks Dancers, Macklemore, and more.

Sara Palmer

While pursuing her dance career, Sara earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Science and her Masters degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran University with a secondary degree in Literacy in the classroom. She earned accolades for this teaching career when she received runner-up for 2009, and FIRST place for 2010 King 5 Best of the West in the Favorite teacher category. She was nominated in 2011, 2012 and took runner-up in 2013. After her years in Kent School District, Sara made the move to Tahoma School District where she currently is teaching English.

Sara was a dancer for NBA, and coached, choreographed for, and trained several Highschool dance teams before becoming a member of Allegro Performing Arts Academy's staff in 2001. Sara has trained and taught the amazing students at Allegro for 20 years. She co-founded Allegro's competitive Hip Hop company P.U.R.E. Sara has helped create a strong, competitive nationally recognized team that has won many awards and titles from leading dance competitions in the industry. Sara continues to mentor students and staff members alike on teaching practices within the dance classroom. A choreographer and rehearsal director for Allegro Precision Dance Company for the last 15 years, Sara has won numerous regional and national awards for her work. Although awards are fun, Sara thrives on rigorous training and the power of the classroom- and believes this is where dancers are born.

Megan Butler

Megan has been teaching ballet, lyrical, contemporary, and jazz professionally for the past 19 years. She is known for her award winning choreography, injury prevention and recovery work, and dedication to her students. Megan has worked under top choreographers including Mandy Moore, Tabitha and Napoleon, and has traveled internationally as a dancer in the Tanszommer European Tour.

She continued her dance education and received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington. There she fell in love with dance anatomy and biomechanics, and went on to earn her P.T. Certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Her education and unique approach to div awareness has allowed even her youngest students to excel in technique, strength, and flexibility. Her students have won national titlist recognition with her training and choreography, and have gone on to have successful careers in the arts across the country. Megan continues to share her passion helping dancers strive for excellence in their art and reach their dreams.

Jaylynn Hernandez

Jaylynn Hernandez is 25 years old and was born and raised in Moses Lake, WA. She began her dance career at five years old, and has been at it ever since. She has been trained in ballet, hip hop, contemporary, jazz, military, Pom, and kick styles. (Military and contemporary being her favorites).

During high school, Jaylynn was not only a member but the Captain of the Moses Lake drill team, graduating in 2014. Immediately following, Jaylynn attended Washington State University where she was on the Crimson Girl Dance Team for 2 years. In 2018, Jaylynn put her education on pause to take over as the new Head coach for Moses Lake high school Drill team (one of her many dreams come true), and has been coaching ever since. She has danced for a total of 15 years and couldn't picture her life any other way, she loves nothing more than being in the studio or in the gym with her team.

She is graduating with her BA in sociology and psychology this fall from WSU. She looks forward to more years of coaching, teaching, mentoring and sharing the love of dance with others. Her two favorite things to see in a dancer are: passion and effort!

Jeremy Galvez

Jeremy Galvez graduated from Western Washington University in 2019 with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing & Management from the College of Business and Economics. He is also a choreographer/dance instructor who has been dancing for 11+ years, specializing in hip-hop choreography. He trains the Seattle Storm Dance Troupe and is a part of Studio 3, a dance company based out of Seattle. He has taught at Elite Dance Camps and was a part of the Kentwood Dance Team in 2015, winning two state trophies in Hip Hop and Show.

His experience comes from being a member of Kentwood's Dance Team where, in his senior year, he won two state trophies in Hip Hop and Show. He has danced for teams such as SINI-HHA (Bellingham, WA) and Studio 3 Company (Seattle, WA). He has taught classes around the greater Seattle area and helps assists and trains the Seattle Storm Dance Troupe during the WNBA Season. Jeremy also makes dance videos and posts regular clips on his Instagram @ jeremygalvez.

Alex Evans

Alex grew up competing in Washington and since graduating from Allegro Performing Arts Academy, has taught at many studios in the greater Seattle area. She is a 2020 graduate of the University of Washington in Communication with a minor in Political Science.

Most recently, she has performed at Seattle Pride main stage, Pacific Northwest Ballet's "Next Step: Inside Out", the US Special Olympics opening ceremony, and as a guest for Chamber Dance Company in "Falling". She has also been involved in numerous shows put on by the Seattle dance community including, "Soul Out", "No Flex Zone", "Hatch", "Love Letters", Westlake Dance Center's "Sign of the Times", and Cruz Control's "Transition", and "Throwback". Her mission as a performing artist and as an educator is to promote inclusivity, community, and conversation through art.

Jordyn Wilson

Jordyn Wilson is a recent graduate from San Diego State University, earning a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. She has been dancing since the age of 3, and competed as a gymnast for 5 years before becoming competitively involved with dance. Jordyn competed with Allegro Performing Arts Academy's performing group for 3 years before joining the Kentwood High School Dance Team where she went on to serve as captain and earned a state title for Hip Hop. Jordyn spent 11 years with Allegro before graduating high school and joining the nationally ranked SDSU dance team her freshman year of college.

Jordyn has been teaching for 5 years all around Washington and San Diego. She has worked choreographed for several middle and high school dance teams. She has also choreographed for the Seattle Storm Dance Troupe for 4 years.

Teaching has been a passion of Jordyn's since she was young. She is excited to be back at Elite!