The Faculty and Administration Staff of The American Dance Institute

Elizabeth Chayer

Founder, Director, Instructor, Mentor

Elizabeth Chayer opened the American Dance Institute in Seattle in 1989 and has served as Artistic Director for 36 years. She received her teaching certificate from the School of the Hartford Ballet in Connecticut.
Elizabeth has taught for the University of Alaska, Alaska Pacific University, and Anchorage Community College. She also taught and served as assistant director to Alice Sullivan at Alaska Dance Theatre in Anchorage, Alaska, for five years.
In Alaska, she started the American Dance Institute, teaching dance to children in preschools and daycare centers. She moved to Seattle in 1989 and started the Seattle school, which has now grown to 6 studios in 4 locations in the greater Seattle area, where students can learn Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Tap, Hip-Hop, Flamenco, Irish Step Dancing, Shuffle Dance, Musical Theatre, Creative Dance, PBT (Progressing Ballet Technique). She nurtures a non competitive environment and loves to build community at the school. 

Elizabeth is married to Steve Chayer, who is co-owner of the American Dance Institute, and she is the mother of two boys, Andy and Dennis, 
In response to the Covid 19 and it’s lockdowns, Elizabeth, her husband Steve and son Andy, produced the Any Day Ballet video course so students could learn Ballet from home during the pandemic. It was so well received that we still market it today, even though the lockdowns are done. 
Elizabeth recently started a Teacher Training Certificate Program which includes a complete syllabus for each class style being taught, teaching methods, classroom management, a music library and assisting in classes to get hands on experience. It is a very robust program for dancers who would like to teach. 
While Elizabeth is passionate about teaching, she has mostly stepped down from teaching regular classes because her feet are very arthritic. But she enjoys filling in on occasion and she now focuses on mentoring her teacher trainees on their journey. Elizabeth says that is as rewarding as teaching classes because she can see her mentee grow. 

Our Teachers and Administrative Team Members

Dakota Crist Garcia
Administrative Assistant

Assistant Director, MOMMY & ME, CREATIVE DANCE, PRE-BALLET, BALLET, JAZZ and MODERN DANCE

Dakota is ADI’s Assistant School Director. 
Dakota joined ADI staff in March of 2018 and teaches Ballet/Pointe, Jazz, Modern Dance, Mommy & Me, Creative Dance and Pre-Ballet. 

As a young dancer, she attended Joffrey South, American Academy of Ballet, and Ballet West’s summer intensives. Her love of dance drove her train pre-professionally with Ballet Montana and as a company trainee with Sacramento Ballet.  
After graduating from Cornish, Dakota shifted her focus to dance education. She has been teaching dance since 2009 and has taught for ADI since 2018. 

Emily Lindal

Office Manager, Shoreline, WA

Emily Lindal is our office manager in Shoreline. The Shoreline office manages the American Dance Institute Shoreline and our sister school, the Shoreline Music School.


Emily was a dance student and teaching assistant at  All That Dance for twelve years. She also worked as a fitness attendant at Western Washington University Gym.

She hopes to bring her customer service skills and love of dance to foster a place where all students feel like they belong.

Grace Smith

Office Manager, Greenwood,Wedgwood, Magnolia\ Mommy & Me, Creative Dance, & Ballet

Grace Smith is our office manager in Seattle and her office manages our Greenwood, Magnolia and Wedgwood studio locations.
Grace is a recent graduate from the University of Hartford (Hartt School) with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Business Administration. She is from Bainbridge Island, WA and began training with Bainbridge Dance Center.  

She looks forward to sharing her love of dance with students at ADI.
Grace continued her classical ballet training with Olympic Ballet School and Peninsula Dance Theater. She performed with Peninsula Dance Theater as a principal from 2018-2020. She has attended summer training programs at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Joffrey Ballet Academy Chicago, University of Utah, Bossov Ballet Theater, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet. Grace most recently trained in Amsterdam with the Henny Jurriéns Studio where she performed at the Café Belcampo in De Hallen Amsterdam. Over the past four years at The Hartt School, she has had the privilege of learning and performing works by Martha Graham, José Limón, Stephen Pier, Debra Collins Ryder, and Hope Boykin as well as developing her pedagogical skills.


Ainsleigh Orwin
Administrative Assistant

Ballet, Modern, jazz, mommy & me & creative Dance

Ainsleigh Orwin began dancing at the age of 5 at Village Dance Arts in Claremont, CA where she was trained in Royal Academy of Dance curriculum ballet, as well as modern, jazz, hip-hop, and tap. In 2017, Ainsleigh moved to Seattle to continue her education at the University of Washington. She holds a B.A. in Dance and B.S. in Biology (Physiology) and is currently pursuing her Masters in Education at the UW.

Ainsleigh has been teaching dance since she was 17, starting at her home studio and branching out to teach summer camps and outreach classes in elementary schools. Her passion for teaching and dance led her to American Dance Institute after graduating from UW in 2021.

Michaelene De La Serna

Flamenco Dance

Michaelene De La Serna studied flamenco dance intensively for many years with Flamenco Chicago Artistic Director Ms. Rosetta Magdalen. She has also studied with flamenco greats Carmela Greco and Marija Temo. In addition to teaching adults, Michaelene was the Director of the Flamenco Kids Program at Flamenco Chicago.


Michaelene De La Serna studied flamenco dance intensively for many years with Flamenco Chicago Artistic Director Ms. Rosetta Magdalen. She has also studied with flamenco greats Carmela Greco and Marija Temo. In addition to teaching adults, Michaelene was the Director of the Flamenco Kids Program at Flamenco Chicago and worked as an Artist-in Residence/Flamenco Teacher for Ensemble Español Center for Spanish Dance and Music’s “Bailamos” Arts Education Residency Programs.
Ms. De La Serna is also extensively trained in Ballet, graduating from Boitsov Classical Ballet School in Chicago as both a professional dancer and teacher of the Vaganova Ballet syllabus. She has danced solo roles in Le Spectre de La Rose, Fountain of Bakhchiserai, Les Sylphides, as well as many variations from Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Raymonda and Sleeping Beauty.
Michaelene served as Associate Artistic Director of Boitsov Classical Ballet School & Company in Chicago for three years before relocating to Seattle. She joined American Dance Institute’s staff in 2017.

Victoria Gutierrez

ballet, modern & creative Dance

Victoria received her professional training at Academia de la Danza Mexicana INBA, where she graduated with a BFA in Classical and Contemporary Dance.
In 2007 she moved to Seattle where she continued her training with the International Ballet Academy.

Victoria has performed for various dance companies such as International Ballet Theater, Evergreen City Ballet, ARC Dance, City Opera Ballet, Olympic Ballet Theater and Katy Hagelin Dance Project.As a choreographer she has collaborated with the Seattle International Dance Festival, Katy Hagelin Dance Project, Bohemia, Drybones Artist Collective and Le Faux.
Victoria truly enjoys teaching and has been doing it since 2009 for numerous schools in Seattle.

Susan Sinclair

Aministrative Assistant

Susan brings 10+ years of office support experience in business, academic, and dance organizations to the American Dance Institute.
And she wears a completely different hat when not at the American Dance Institute–or maybe it’s a magic cloak…Susan is a professional intuitive reader, a Reiki Master, a sound healer and “urban shaman.”

Actually, Suzan is an entrepreneur in her own right and has been building her own business for the past ten years, alongside her work at ADI.
Check out her business, Graceflow Healing Arts

Margaret Kenrick

ballet

Margaret has trained in the Vaganova and Cecchetti methodologies and completed her major exam at the Royal Academy of Dance.  
She has been a health and biology professor and bench scientist for many years in the Northern California Bay Area while supporting the development of performing arts communities for youth.

Recently, she returned to Seattle, retired from her role as Artistic Director of Benicia Ballet Theatre, and Managing Partner/Director of Benicia Ballet School, LLC.  
While in California, she also co-founded the School of Valley Dance Theater in Livermore, CA, and initiated the dance program for the Community Youth Center in Concord, CA.  
Currently she is the Director of Commercial Education at NanoString Technologies in South Lake Union.  She fell in love with Seattle when she had the honor to train and perform with Pacific Northwest Ballet.  From Seattle, Margaret went on to perform with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, PA. 
She returned to school to complete her degrees in Biology at UCLA and UC Riverside, and Doctorate in Education, Organizational Leadership, from Chapman University, Brandman Division.  
She has two amazing young adult children and loves biking and hiking on her weekends.

Maia Nowack
Maia Nowack

ballet, tap, musical theater, & Kazz

Maia Nowack received her master’s degree in dance pedagogy from the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki) in Finland.
Maia grew up dancing in Seattle before attending Northwestern University in Evanston, where she earned a Bachelor of Theatre degree with a minor in Dance. 

While there, she danced in works by Chicago-based choreographers such as Jeff Hancock, Joel Valentin Martinez, and Maray Gutierrez. She has also taken part in the Strictly Seattle and Dance This! intensives in Seattle. She has taught drama and dance to Evanston School District students and interned at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where she is currently a teaching apprentice.

Kelley Dyer

Administrative Assistant, KPOP, & hip hop

Kelley Dyer teaches hip hop and K-pop dance classes for American Dance Institute, and she also serves as our administrative assistant at our Greenwood location.

Kelley, attended Willamette University and graduated with a degree in Communication and Media Studies. 
 She has a passion for dance and has been dancing for 18 years in the styles ballet, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop.
 She has taught drama and dance to Evanston School District students and interned at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where she is currently a teaching apprentice.
In her spare time, she enjoys exploring the city, reading, discovering new music, and crafting.

Algie Au

Ballet

Algie Au teaches, advocates environmentalism, and dances, and she is always learning, thus, she obtained her Ph.D. in Sustainability Education and her Master’s degree in Biology.

She danced with Los Angeles Ballet, Wenta Ballet, Brockus Project Dance Company (BPDC), Los Angeles Mexican Dance Theatre (LAMDT). 


At five years old, she began her instruction with the Royal Academy of Dance. Algie has always given performing arts her all-time dedication. 


She presently sits on the BPDC Board after serving on the Academic Senate as President at San Bernardino Valley College, the Sustainability and District Councils of San Bernardino Community College District, and the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges board. Her teaching repertoire as an educator, comprises environmental sciences, dance, and human biology. At Inland Pacific Ballet, Olympic Ballet, LAMDT, Orange County High School of the Arts, and The Ballet Studio Algie collaborated with dancers of all ages. 


Algie keeps working in public health sciences, environmental justice, education change, and the andragogical approach to dance teaching.

Vivi Gehan

ballet

Growing up in Toronto, Canada, Vivi started ballet classes at the age of three. During her high school years, she relocated to the Bay Area, where she continued her studies in ballet and participated in the school dance team.

Vivi continued to take ballet courses throughout her time in college and into adulthood while majoring in psychology at UC Berkeley. She relocated to Seattle in 2015, when she enrolled in adult ballet classes at American Dance Institute. Vivi is thrilled to be joining the ADI teaching team because she loves dancing and teaching (she spent 15 years teaching piano).

Heather McRobbie

Mommy & Me, Creative Dance, Pre-Ballet, & Hip Hop

Heather’s dance journey began with a strong foundation in ballet and jazz, performing with prestigious companies like California Ballet Theater and Oakland Ballet.
As her career evolved, she expanded her repertoire to 

include musical theater, swing, and hip-hop, performing through various arts organizations across California, Washington, and New York. Along the way, she also earned minors in music and drama from the University of Washington.
Outside the dance world, Heather works as a strategy analyst in the tech industry, volunteers with several Seattle community organizations, and is the proud mother of two young dancers at American Dance Institute.

Julie Lockheart

Ballroom, Irish Dance

Julia Lockhart is a dynamic and experienced ballroom dance instructor who has captivated the Seattle dance scene since 2012!
Julia’s journey began with a passion for 

social dancing that blossomed into a full-time career. With over six years of teaching experience at Arthur Murray, she has helped countless students achieve their dance dreams.
Julia’s expertise spans a wide range of styles, including American Smooth and Rhythm, in which she has competed professionally. She combines artistry, energy, and technique in every lesson, ensuring you receive top-notch guidance and plenty of encouragement.
Her teaching philosophy is simple: anyone can dance with the proper support! Whether you’re brand new to ballroom dance or looking to refine your skills, Julia is excited to help you discover the joy and confidence that dancing brings.

Mary McKee

Creative Dance in Spanish, Creative Dance, Mommy & Me

Mary has been dancing and moving to music since her first pre-ballet class in preschool and has moved through various styles, including Irish step dancing, swing, salsa, merengue, and bachata, before finding her favorite dance of all so far: Argentine Tango. When not dancing,

Mary likes to read for hours at a time, play all the board games, go hiking with her husband and two young kids. Mary has been speaking Spanish since age 11 and has worked as a professional translator since 2014.

Sapphire Goetz

Ballet, Musical Theater

Originally from Missouri, Sapphire Goetz received her B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA, and is a graduate of the Broadway Dance Center Professional Semester in NYC.

Sapphire is now a professional dancer with a focus in musical theatre and loves choreographing and teaching when not performing.
Previous performance credits include The 5th Avenue Theatre: Mary Poppins,The Wiz, West Side Story, Kiss Me, Kate; Village Theatre: Dreamgirls; Showtunes Theatre Company: 9 to 5, Legally Blonde. Previous choreography credits include Seattle Children’s Theatre, Hi-Liners Musical Theatre, and the Seattle Youth Opera Project.
Sapphire has most recently taught as a substitute dance teacher at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle and is really excited to jump into teaching her own classes at American Dance Institute!!
When not on stage or in the studio (or watching as much theatre as she can as an audience member) you can find her thrifting, getting lost in art museums, reading the latest works by Celeste Ng or Rudy Francisco, and trying very large cookie recipes in her very tiny kitchen.

Marta Pelka

Ballet, Pre-ballet Creative Dance

Marta’s dance journey began at the age of five, when she trained in multiple styles while developing a particular passion for ballet and lyrical dance. This dedication led her to the Freehold Performing Arts Center in New Jersey, a conservatory-style high school program that deepened her expertise in ballet, modern dance, jazz, and choreography.

Taking advantage of her proximity to New York City’s vibrant arts scene, she immersed herself in classes, workshops, and intensives throughout the metropolitan area. She also trained extensively at Princeton Ballet School, attending both their acclaimed summer intensives and year-round classes.
At Binghamton University, Marta seamlessly balanced her artistic pursuits with academics, concentrating in dance while earning her Master’s degree in Accounting. Her time there expanded her movement vocabulary as she joined the ballroom dance team and actively participated in campus performances and choreographic projects.
For Marta, dance transcends hobby—it’s her connection to music, her voice for self-expression, and her source of daily joy. As an instructor, she channels this passion into nurturing the next generation of dancers, inspiring them to discover their own relationship with movement and artistry.

Jaeda

Mommy & Me, Pre-ballet Creative Dance, Contemporary Dance

Jaeda is a graduate of Grand Canyon University, where she earned her BA in Dance Performance. She is trained in jazz, contemporary, tap, hip hop, and ballet, and brings a versatile, well‑rounded approach to every class she teaches. Jaeda is passionate about sharing her love of dance with students of all ages and takes pride in watching dancers grow in confidence, skill, and artistry. Outside the studio, she enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew, attending Mariners games, and getting lost in a good book.

Teachers & Friends Emeritus

Rubina Carmona taught flamenco at the American Dance Institute for 20 years.

Dance teacher, Ines Andrade, taught children’s ballet at the American Dance Institute for 15 years.

Alyssa Brillinger at the American Dance Institute for 10 years.

Coming Soon
Margaret Behm

Coming Soon
Moira Bugler

Wayne was our photographer for ten years and he was our friend.

Wayne was a self taught prolific photographer, starting with headshots for those hoping to succeed in the modeling or acting industry to travel, landscape and then into some very creative abstract photos. Some of Wayne’s earlier photography included weddings and family pictures. Wayne brought out the best in children and created some darling photos, however his passion was perfecting various photography techniques creating unique images.