Deshawn began dancing at the age of 16 at the Tacoma School of The Arts, an arts

magnet high school located in the downtown area of Tacoma, Washington where he

studied modern dance technique. Outside of his school setting, he trained and performed

with the Tacoma City Ballet Company and studied for a summer in NYC with the Dance

Theater of Harlem. Deshawn continued his dance training at the University of Arizona,

where he received his BFA in dance in their triple emphasis program based in Ballet,

Modern, and Jazz dance techniques.

He has served as a Dance Educator with the Prince George's County Public School district in PG County Maryland, Ballet Program Director at Starmakers Academy of Dance in Bowie, MD, Dance Camp Director with the Dance Institute of Washington in Washington D.C. , as well as a

faculty member and guest teacher with various dance schools across the country.

Deshawn’s professional experience spans from the concert stage, to the commercial world. He has had the opportunity to work with notable choreographers such as Kabby Mitchell, Donald Byrd, Tammy Dyke-Compton, Robert Garland, Rodni Williams, Amy Ernst, and more. He has danced in commercials for Hughes Federal Credit Union and performed in The Moore

Theater in Seattle’s Musical Production of Black Nativity. Deshawn is currently a freelance dancer and choreographer working in the Seattle - Tacoma area.

Kaiya Holtzman, born and raised in Northern California, has been taking ballet ever since she became enamored with it at age 3 after watching The San Francisco Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. Her early training days took her to programs such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Joffrey Ballet School. She then went on to attend Cornish College of The Arts in Seattle to earn her BFA in Dance in 2018. Since graduating, she has done freelance work as a performer, teacher, and choreographer in the Tacoma/Seattle areas and looks forward to sharing her love and passion for dance with the students at TUPAC!

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. 

   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. 

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.