Kelsey Jamieson Ruth teaches a wide variety of dance styles.  She’s received training in lyrical, hip hop, acting, voice, ballet, yoga, musical theatre, jazz, tap, and modern.  Kelsey began dancing at age three and her dance repertoire has been expanding ever since.  She spent many happy years of her childhood performing with a competitive tap team.  She participated in all of her high school plays and has been to Lincoln, Nebraska’s International Thespian Festival three times!  Her favorite role was Lorraine Sheldon in “The Man Who Came to Dinner”.  She continued to study acting and dance at the University of Washington where she jumped at the opportunity to study abroad in Italy.  She graduated summa cum laude, earning a minor in Dance and a degree in Psychology.  Her tap classes incorporate elements of rhythm and Broadway styles of tap and her jazz classes cover the spectrum from Broadway to lyrical.  She discovered a passion for choreography at a young age and still gets excited to create new pieces for recital season.  She has always loved kids but enjoys getting in some “grown-up time” with her adult classes as well.  Kelsey believes in encouraging versatility and hopes to foster a unique style and wide appreciation of the arts in each of her students.  She’s learned a lot from the six studios she has been teaching at, but is excited to finally be able to concentrate her energy on one place.  She’s married to her high school sweetheart and enjoys travelling, reading, writing, and painting in her free time.

Brittany Jamieson Pulliam has been dancing since she was three and now teaches ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, and musical theatre.  Additionally, she is trained in flamenco, modern, acting, voice, and character dance and loves to incorporate pieces of all of those styles into her choreography.  She holds a degree in zoology with a focus on anatomy and physiology and a minor in dance from the University of Washington, where she graduated magna cum laude.  She loves bringing that combination of art and science together in her teaching style.  When not at the studio, she performs professionally in musicals all over Seattle and the country.  Some favorite roles include Ruth in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”, and Flossie in “On the Town”, both at the 5th Avenue Theatre, and Maggie in “Brigadoon” at the Village Theatre.  Brittany has been fortunate enough to work with some of the leading choreographers and directors in the nation and looks forward to sharing what she has learned from them with her students.  Through teaching, she hopes to inspire and prepare the next generation of performers, whether they are in a school talent show or on Broadway.  Having taught for many different studios and programs over the last several years, she is so excited to be able to focus all of her passion for the arts and her love for kids and teaching into Cascade Dance Academy.  Brittany is married, and in the odd moment she is not dancing enjoys travelling to far-off places, reading, and walking her yellow lab, Bella.

Julie Letsche is a former principle dancer with Tennessee Ballet and trained with both Boston Ballet and Atlanta Ballet. She has performed in numerous ballets and musicals around the world. Julie has choreographed for many prominent musical theater companies around the United States and has taught all levels and forms of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, theatrical, and social dancing. Julie is currently working on the production of raising her three boys.

Stacee Raber Nault is currently an adjunct professor for the Cornish College of the Arts dance department teaching acting and singing to dancers. She also teaches musical theatre dance for the Cornish Preparatory School and for Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. She serves as an evaluator of high school musicals eligible for the 5th Avenue Theatre’s Annual High School Musical Awards, traveling the state in search of young promising talent and high achievement in theatre. Stacee has danced professionally for over 15 years on Broadway, throughout the country and abroad. Shows included Beauty and the Beast, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, Westside Story, A Chorus Line, Oklahoma, Singin’ in the Rain, Damn Yankees, Wizard of Oz, Pippin, Cats and many more. She holds a BFA in dance from Cornish and is a certified yoga instructor. She completed a 2 year acting intensive at the Esper Studio in NYC and has been a student of singing her whole life. She now resides in Seattle with her husband and two young kids. She has retired from performing to pursue her new passion…teaching.

Heather Smith was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and began dancing at the age of 3. She has training in various types of dance; including ballroom, clogging, jazz and modern. During her time as a competitive ballroom dancer Heather earned various individual and team national/international titles. She taught and directed competitive clogging teams as well as jazz classes. She attended Brigham Young University Idaho on a dance scholarship; spending one year on the touring ballroom team and two years on the touring contemporary dance company. Heather has performed throughout the United States and all over the world including : Japan, England, Wales, Ukraine, Belarus, Austria, Fiji and New Zealand. Heather moved to Seattle 11 years ago and now lives locally in Snoqualmie with her husband and 4 young boys.

Lynn Tobey is a skilled ballet teacher who is also a natural with young people. Miss Lynn has been teaching dance throughout the Northwest for more than 12 years, primarily focusing on classical ballet techniques. Dance studies at the University of Washington led her to a Minor in Dance and a Major in Psychology focusing on learning and early childhood development in 2002. She has a passion for teaching both children and adults in all forms of dance.

Annika Knepper has been dancing for 18 years. She grew up in the area studying anything and everything she could. She felt a strong pull to create dance and spent countless hours in her room, truly dancing like no one was watching, and making up routines to develop her inner choreographer. However, she began to feel that the stress of competitive dancing was clouding her passion for dance, and decided to take a break from dance to explore life and regain her passion and fire for it. She choreographed and collaborated with many people and many styles of dance (studio, ballroom, and cultural dances). She came to realize how all of it is a beautiful outlet to gain confidence, create deep relationships, and open yourself to inspiration. She recently started teaching dance and feels so grateful to have finally found her thing! First and foremost, she believes in teaching students how to love themselves, move beyond their fears and limitations, and encourage one another to be the best people and dancers they can be. And then of course, once the dancers master the moves, they can truly fly.