Alison Cockrill  began formal dance training at age 4, and a professional performing career in 1987. She has performed works by and toured internationally with modern dance choreographers Wade Madsen and Pat Graney. She fell in love with salsa after a trip to Guatemala in the mid-nineties and has been teaching it since 1999. One of her favorite parts of teaching is when beginning students get hooked and say what she said her first time in a salsa club, "I can't believe this was here all this time." (Salsa, Bachata, Cha Cha)

Darla Weideman  started dancing in 2004 right here at the Century Ballroom. Knowing from the beginning that dance was to become more than just a hobby, she began teaching and traveling for dance within a year. Having been a member of Seattle's Sister Kate and Jackson Street Lindy Hoppers, Darla's enthusiasm and approachability go with her to every dance she encounters, be it the Century Ballroom or the grocery store isle. She has taught at such places as Hep Cat Productions and Swing Out Northwest and has most recently placed in the 2006 Pacific Northwest Lindy Hop Championships and 2007 Northwest Balboa Fest.
(East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop)

Dean Paton  abandoned the baseball diamond for the dance hall in 1994, and fell so hopelessly in love with waltz that he founded the Valse Cafe Orchestra, an ensemble committed to the art of playing music for dancers. When he teaches rotary waltz, Dean stresses mastering the core of the dance - turning left, turning right, transitioning between the two -- then helps dancers use this foundation as a platform on which to build organic, graceful movement as well as a few elegant moves.
(Waltz)

Deron Hayes  was introduced to social dance at age 14 while living in Munich, Germany, and danced for about six months before moving back to the States. She then rediscovered her love for dance in college and hasn't looked back since. Deron has been an integral member of the Century Ballroom team since 2000, and has been teaching & performing Salsa as part of the Salsa Girls since 2003. Recently, she has discovered a new love: West Coast Swing, and has been entering competitions all along the West Coast. She has placed 1st in her division at SeatoSky in Vancouver, BC (Oct 09), 1st at CDS in Chico, CA (Dec 09), 4th at SwingDiego in San Diego, CA (Mar 10) & 2nd at Come Rain Come Shine in Portland, OR (Jun 10). She is looking forward to tackling many more competitions in 2010. Besides dance, Deron's passions include martial arts, art (she is Century Ballroom's graphic designer), and being a part of people's social dance journey.
(Salsa, Bachata, Cha Cha, West Coast Swing)

Greg Rolnick  's early performance career in dance extends from ballet in San Francisco to modern dance performances throughout the US and Europe. Since 1997 he has studied Tango and danced extensively throughout the US and in the Netherlands. Among his teachers are Fabian Salas, Luciana Valle, Gustavo Naveira and many others.
(Tango)

Hallie Kuperman  is the owner of the Century Ballroom and Restaurant in Seattle WA. She has been teaching Lindy Hop and Swing dancing since 1991 and Salsa dancing since 1997. She was the co-director for Swing This!, a Lindy Hop performance troupe at Century Ballroom. She continues to teach, choreograph and perform whenever possible. Prior to opening Century Ballroom she ran Swing Girls, an organization dedicated to teaching gay, lesbian and non-homophobic people partner dancing.
(Salsa, West Coast Swing)

Inga Ingenue  "The Little Blonde Bomb", infuses her bubbly personality with traditional bump 'n' grind, resulting in an adorable mix of sexy blonde ambition and innocent "ingenuity." Ooh la-la! Mlle. Ingenue was born and raised in Seattle, where beginning at age two she studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern dance and choreography for dance and theater. Since joining the Seattle burlesque community in 2005, Inga has become an international burlesque star and an instructor for Miss Indigo Blue's world-renowned Academy of Burlesque.
(Pop Culture)

Joshua Sturgeon  fell in love with country dancing twelve years ago when he walked into a country bar on his 21st birthday.  Since then, he has studied, taught, and competed in several forms of dancing including bBallroom, Salsa, cCountry, several Swing variations, and Hip Hop.  After getting married in 2007, he took a break from social and competitive dancing, exclusively choreographing and teaching wedding dances.  Since earlier this year however, Joshua has been competing in his primary dance passion, West Coast Swing.  He has competed in several local and national Jack 'n Jill competitions, placing 1st in five of his first six events.  He is now dancing in the advanced division and plans to keep competing for the sole purpose of advancing his teaching career.  He loves to teach WCS because, in his words, "it fully embodies the idea of you dance with THIS partner to THIS song.  Every dance is different."
(West Coast Swing)

Joshua Welter  began dancing Lindy Hop, Charleston and Vernacular Jazz in 1998. He performs with the Jackson Street Lindy Hoppers and has placed in regional and national competitions, including The Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown, Camp Jitterbug, the Pacific Northwest Lindy Hop Championships, Swing Fling, and the Rhythmic Arts Festival. The Seattle Times called his performance in the Century's Musica Vitae Cabaret "live-wire," and Joshua brings that same energy, passion and creativity to his classes.
(Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Big Apple)

Justin Hirschy  (Salsa)

Lera Thompson  has been dancing Tango obsessively since 2002. She has studied with Fabian Salas, Cecilia Gonzalez, and Luciana Valle. She has co-taught all levels of classes with local tango teachers both in Seattle and in Vancouver, BC. She has also taken ballet and modern dance classes in University of Washington to enrich her Tango.
(Tango)

Lou Henry Hoover  is Ricki Mason, who made her Swing dance debut in the Century Ballroom's Swinging Radio Hour in Fall of 2005. Since then she has been teaching social dance for gay, lesbian, and non-homophobic people with Hallie Kuperman. Ricki also teaches beginning ballet at Velocity Dance Center, directs LAUNCH dance theater and The Launchettes, and performs as Lou Henry Hoover. She holds BFA in dance from the University of Michigan.
(Pop Culture)

Mark Kihara  has been enthusiastically dancing Swing since 1998. An avid social dancer, Mark has traveled and danced Lindy Hop in more than ten countries. Mark was a member of the 2002 1st place American Lindy Hop Championship team. Great energy is brought to every class he teaches, and he becomes most excited while getting people to share his love of the dance.
(East Coast Swing, Lindy Hop)

Melanie Huot-Lavoie  practiced ballet for 20 years, graduating from two professional dance programs in contemporary dance in 1996 and 2000. Melanie has been dancing Lindy Hop since 2000, and first competed in 2001. Since then she has placed in numerous events and divisions. (Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing)

Ruby Mimosa  of the Atomic Bombshells is one of the primary instuctors at Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque, located in Seattle, Wa. She has been teaching men and women how to Bump, Grind, Shimmy, & Shake for the past 3 years. Ruby's dance background involves 13 years of Ballet training; as well as Jazz, Tap, Hula, Gymnastics & Diving. She has been teaching with Dance Belt since early 2010.
(Pop Culture)

Susan Balshor  has been dancing since the age of four, and today enjoys the partner-dancing gamut from country western to Argentine tango. The waltz is a particular passion, and her focus is on the essentials, starting with how a dancer's foot hits the floor. Susan helps dancers grok the musicality of waltzing, and she's passionate about how this dance comes alive when partners discover how to connect with the music. One of her personal goals is to continually raise the level of waltzing in Seattle. Susan is a co-producer of the Valse Cafe Orchestra.
(Waltz)

Waxie Moon  is the alter ego of Marc Kenison, who began his formal dance training at the Interlochen Arts Academy and went on to receive his BFA from The Juilliard School. Marc danced professionally with the Jose Limon Dance Company (1991-1996) and Tere O'Connor Dance (1996-2001). In 2004, Marc received his MFA in Acting from the University of Washington and co-founded Seattle's Washington Ensemble Theatre, where he has both acted and directed. His original performance work has been seen at various venues throughout New York, Seattle and in Tokyo and Takamatsu, Japan. He lives to perform "boylesque" as Waxie Moon.
(Pop Culture)

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