Lee Lai: Dance Artist, Educator & Cultural Leader

With over 30 years of experience, Lee Lai is a dynamic dance professional known for blending artistic excellence with community impact. She has taught students of all levels, created inclusive programs for dancers of all abilities, and led global projects in dance and social entrepreneurship.

A strong and creative leader, Lee Lai has launched initiatives in dance education, hospitality, and cultural advocacy—including a role on South Africa’s Western Cape Cultural Commission. Her training spans multiple ballet styles (RAD, Cecchetti, Bournonville, Vaganova, Balanchine) and contemporary techniques (Graham, Horton), and is deeply influenced by African Jazz and modern Amapiano Afrobeat choreography.

Lee Lai brings a bold, inclusive, and global perspective to dance—making her a standout voice in today’s evolving performing arts world.

 During a brief professional dancing career Lynne Short was fortunate to have danced in

ballets by George Balanchine, Antony Tudor, August Bournonville, Lew Christensen, Michael

Fokine, Michael Uthoff and others.

Ms. Short was part of the faculty at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, from 1984-2000, when,

under the guidance of Francia Russell, Director of PNBS, the ideas of dedicated colleagues

with various backgrounds were formed into a unified, cohesive curriculum. From 2001-2013,

Ms. Short, as principal of Ballet Austin Academy, was able to develop and implement a

syllabus that produced students and dancers who learned to realize the joy of working in a

deep, thorough, meticulous way. There were four years of teaching at Chamberlain Ballet in

Plano, Texas before Ms. Short relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 2017. Now living in

Tacoma she has found many opportunities to continue giving what she considers the gift of

ballet to students at Harbor Dance in Gig Harbor, Evergreen City Ballet in Renton, Ballet

Northwest in Olympia and Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center.

Native to Washington State Phelicity began training at British Dancing Academy. She received her B.F.A. in Dance at Cornish College of the Arts and performed in works by Donald Byrd, Paula Peters, Marlo Martin, Deborah Wolf, Barbara Caioli and Rochelle Rapaszky. Post college, she performed with Premier Dance Theater, Kelli Carnes, Erin Boyt for SIDF, Noelle Price for N.E.W., & 3rd Shift Dance 2. Currently she’s teaching ballet at Kinetic Dance Academy & Pointe at T.U.P.A.C. 

  MARISELA FLEITES, is a Cuban born dancer of Spanish descent, Marisela Fleites started dancing flamenco and Spanish dances at the age of 5, and has studied in Cuba, Spain, Mexico and the USA with masters like Olga Bustamante, Orlando Vargas, Stella Arauzo, Mari Carmen Guerrero, Oscar Nieto, Timo Lozano, Teo Morca, Citli Ocampo, Patricia Linares, Adriana Maresma, María Chacha Bermúdez, Belén Maya, and many others.

 Ms. Fleites directs the performing group Sabor Flamenco. She holds a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literature and teaches Spanish and Latin American Studies at Green River College. Ms. Fleites has been teaching flamenco at several studios in the Northwest like Washington Contemporary Ballet, Puget Sound Dance Academy, Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma, Harbor Dance, and TUPAC since 2001. She also taught for the Tacoma Metro Parks Recreational and Educational programs from 2003-2007. 

Ms. Fleites is the choreographer and director of Sabor Flamenco and has produced many shows including shows at Tacoma Little Theater, the Tacoma School of the Arts and Alma Mater theater, among others. She has done volunteer work with Public Schools, Guadalupe House and other non-profit institutions, teaching and performing Flamenco for educational and fundraising purposes. Fleites-Lear is also the chair and founder of the Tacoma-Cienfuegos Sister City Committee.  Customers have questions, you have answers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits. 

Davianna Griffin (pronounced Day – VEE – AH – nah) is a dancer, educator, and collaborator. As a surging international performing artist-scholar, Davianna’s research focuses on 21st-century Black womanhood and centers the voices, bodies, and ideas of the Black experience. She received her MFA in Dance from The Ohio State University. Davianna has presented her scholarly research at the Dance Studies Association, the International Association of Blacks in Dance, and the Collegium of African Diaspora Dance. Davianna has collaborated with Hybrid Arts Lab – Urban Arts Space, Virginia Arts Festival Rhythm Project, and Wexner Center for the Arts to share choreographic work and arts programming. She performed professionally with Todd Rosenlieb Dance and is currently a performing collaborator and co-founder of Thick Like Me (TLM). Through education, performance, creative collaboration, and advocacy, TLM seeks to uplift the labor, artistry, and unique knowledge of thick Black women in dance and beyond. Davianna is also on the dance faculty at Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center and a freelance writer for SeattleDances.

   Mahshid is a recent Iranian immigrant to the US  and now lives in Tacoma with her husband and their two dogs.

In her early 20s, she moved to Armenia and studied Russian language and literature (Russian Philology) at Yerevan State University of Armenia as well as Choreography and Ballet Master at Yerevan Choreographic College. She teaches Ballet through the Russian methodology, known as The Vaganova Method.

During her time in Armenia, she was actively involved with helping children with special needs and families with low incomes through the Baha’i Community. Her primary focus was tutoring and assisting students with their math, art, and English lessons. She loves dance and music and spent much of her spare time in Armenia attending programs at the Yerevan Opera Theatre. Since graduating from college, she has remained focused on dance and language education. 

Shalina received her pre-professional training from Pacific Northwest Ballet School. She has also studied extensively with Evergreen City Ballet Company (Professional Division), Oregon Ballet Theatre, Cornish College of the Arts, Ballet Chicago, North Carolina School of the Arts, Boston Ballet, Joffrey Ballet and the JKO school at American Ballet Theatre. 

Shalina has danced with Evergreen City Ballet Company, Mountain West Ballet, Ballet Ensemble, Utah Ballet and Municipal Ballet performing many corps de ballet and soloist roles in neo-classical ballets including Balanchine’s Themes and Variations, in addition to original ballets by Wade Walthall and Kevin Kaiser. 

She has also choreographed numerous classical, neo-classical and contemporary works for Evergreen City Ballet as well as the University of Utah Ballet Department. Her choreography has been featured in university student showcases, productions of ECB’s Young Choreographer’s Showcase, Tacoma Dance Festival, Northwest Works and on tour with Dance Festival Northwest.

Shaline earned a BFA Ballet with a pedagogy emphasis from the University of Utah and has been teaching since 2010 at schools including the Waterford School, Tanner Dance at the University of Utah and Ballet West Academy. She is also certified in Progressing Ballet Technique and loves to teach students of all ages. 

Marie Chong Master Teacher

Marie Chong spent over ten years dancing and performing professionally with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Spectrum Dance Theater, Atlanta Ballet II, and Eugene Ballet. Since retiring from performing in 1995, Ms. Chong has been an active member of the NW dance community. She has served on the faculty of the University of Washington, Cornish College of the Arts, Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Eugene Ballet School, Blue Heron/Vashon Allied Arts, Spectrum Dance/Madrona Dance Studio, and many other schools in the area. She is a sought after Master Teacher and Coach, teaching and coaching for professional companies, schools, competitions (YAGP), and dancers around the world.

Ms. Chong is a ballet master, movement specialist, and coach. In addition to directing and teaching in her own dance school, she works with elite athletes, musicians, actors, and dancers to design individually tailored performance improvements. She has certification in Pilates, Gyrotronic,  Gyrokenis, and is safety certified through USA Gymnastics and US Figure Skating. She is a Certified Teacher with American Ballet Theater, who has successfully completed the ABT Teacher Training in Primary through Level 5 of the American Ballet Theater National Training Curriculum. And was a Teaching Artist for Disney Theatrical Group.

In 1999 Ms. Chong founded ARC Dance Productions, a professional non-profit 501(c)(3) company. ARC Dance Productions maintains and supports a 9,000 square foot facility in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. ARC presents dance education programs, performances, and a resident professional dance company (ARC Dance Company). Since 1999, under the artistic direction of Marie Chong, ARC has produced performances seen by over 50,000 people in standard theater venues with seating capacities of 300 to 2500. The professional ARC Dance Company, presents a regular performance season at the Bagley Wright/Leo K Theatre at the Seattle Center along with ARC Youth Dance Company, the performing company of Arc School of Ballet.

Ms. Chong continues to choreograph and direct for ARC Dance and other professional dance companies, as well as Cirque du Soleil and Disney Theatrical Group globally. She is currently bicoastal working between Seattle and New York as Ballet Master and Rehearsal Director for Dance Theatre of Harlem.

She is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, National Dance Education Organization, Dance Educators Association of Washington, US Figure Skating and USA Gymnastics.

In 2004 ARC School of Ballet (ASB) opened its doors. The school is a training ground for dancers of all levels and ages, including those aspiring to a professional career. ASB offers four coordinated programs to meet students' varying interests and commitment levels. The syllabus and curriculum created by Ms. Chong focus on elements of both classical and contemporary ballet technique and are complimented by other dance forms and fitness exercise such as Modern, Jazz,  Body Movement Works, Pilates, Gyrotonic®, and Gyrokinesis®.

Donald Byrd, a TONY nominated (The Color Purple) and Bessie Award winning (The Minstrel Show) choreographer, became Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater in December 2002. From 1978 – 2002, 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 extensively, both nationally and internationally. He has created over 100 modern and contemporary dance works for his own groups as well as for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco), among others; has choreographed for classical companies, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, Aterballetto, MaggioDanza diFirenze, and Oregon Ballet Theater 

A master dancer, instructor, and choreographer, Julie Tobiason Artistic Director Emerita at Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center.  She is a former principal dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet (directed by Francia Russell and Kent Stowell), Chicago City Ballet (directed by Maria Tallchief), and Founder and former Director of Seattle Dance Project. 

Ms. Tobiason studied at The School of American Ballet and has performed principal roles in works by Stowell, Balanchine, Ashton, Caniparoli, Duato, Forsythe, Tetley, and many others. She excelled performing in story ballets as Juliet, Swanhilda, Clara and Cinderella, and repertory works such as Ballet Imperial, Jardi Tancat, and In The Middle Somewhat Elevated.

Ms. Tobiason teaches, coaches, and choreographs nationally for independent films, Regional Dance America, various ballet companies and schools, and most recently Seattle International Dance Festival. She is also on faculty at Pacific Northwest Ballet.

In 2017, Ms. Tobiason was awarded the James Ray Residency to create kairos for SIDF 2018. Ms. Tobiason earned her BA in Business Administration from Foster School of Business at University of Washington in 2018. 

Born: Salt Lake City, Utah.

Training: Dallas Dance Academy with Lyndette Galen and Fiona Fairrie, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Springboard Danse Montreal, The Juilliard School, Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet, and Houston Ballet Academy.

Professional experience: Dance Theatre of Harlem, The Francesca Harper Project, ARC Dance Seattle, Complexions Contemporary Dance Company, Ballet Black, and Texas Ballet Theatre.

LAUREN DuPREE, Actor, Singer and Dancer

Originally from Seattle, Lauren has been involved in the arts since childhood. Her senior year of high school she had the privilege of joining the cast of the PBS nationally syndicated show Biz Kid$. After graduating high school Lauren moved to Washington, D.C. to study theatre at Howard University. Upon graduating, Lauren began her professional career in Washington, D.C. with the musical revue Ain't Misbehavin'. Since then she has been blessed to work consistently in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area at theaters such as Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Ford's Theatre and the Kennedy Center. One of her most memorable roles was Orphie in Orphie and the Book of Heroes at The Kennedy Center. Since moving back to Seattle Lauren has been seen as Deena Jones in Dreamgirls and Kanika in My Heart Is The Drum at Village Theatre and Antonia in Man of La Mancha at 5th Avenue Theatre. You can catch her next in Ragtime at 5th Avenue Theatre.

 
Born: Ft. Riley, KS. Raised in Rahway, NJ.

Training: Rahway Dance Theatre, Boston Ballet, Jacobs Pillow, American Ballet Theater, The Ailey School.  Education: BFA in Dance, Fordham University, MFA in Dance/Arts Administration, Hollins University.

Professional Experience: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Collage Dance Collective, Oakland Ballet, Alvin Ailey II, Black Iris Project. Repertoire includes: works by Ulysses Dove, Robert Garland, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Dwight Rhoden, John Alleyne.  Daphne was crowned the 2017 Miss Black  America.