CDW Faculty
Julia
Owner / Director
Julia has been teaching and dancing professionally for about 10 years. In that time, she has had the opportunity to perform, choreograph, coach, & teach countless dancers the skills needed to succeed in dance and in ‘real life". Julia grew up training in classical Ballet and Pointe technique. She competed in world wide Ballet competitions, such as YAGP (Youth American Grand Prix). Julia received a scholarship to Point Park University, a nationally recognized dance conservatory, to complete her Bachelors’ in dance. While in college, she danced professionally for the Chicago Bulls for five years and was named Head Captain. Later, she earned her Bachelors in Psychology and Minor in dance. Before the pandemic hit, Julia accepted a contract to dance globally with Norwegian Cruise Line, but life had other plans. Her Husband, her bunny, and Julia made the decision to move to Seattle. Julia had the opportunity to dance for the Seattle Seahawks for a year before deciding to hang up the poms and focus on teaching! When Julia is not at the studio, you can find her Coaching the Seattle Kraken’s Sea Squad at Climate Pledge Arena..
Isabella
Isabella was previously a competitive pointe dancer who began teaching and assisting dance classes in order to pay for her own and developed a passion for education in the arts and the community that comes with it. She received her BA from Seattle University in Visual Arts and Communication & Media Studies. Her teaching style incorporates education, social-emotional learning, self-expression, and technique together to create a fun and meaningful experience for dancers.
Caitlynn
Caitlynn is from Columbia, Missouri. She has been dancing and performing many styles of dance for over 24+ years which include Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, HipHop, Musical Theatre, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Pom and Acro. Caitlynn was a member of Kansas State University’s dance team and Dance Conservatory where she received her degree in Business Management, Dance and a Certificate in Sports Marketing. Ms. Noltie is a Collegiate NDA National Champion and has had the pleasure of dancing at a Collegiate Football Bowl Game- the Cactus Bowl, March Madnesses Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight and other basketball and football games with attendance of over 50,000+ people. She has danced professionally on various dance teams and companies for the past five years which include the NBA Minnesota Timberwolves dance team, WHL Portland Winterhawks dance team and is currently on the NBA Portland Trailblazers dance team. She has also had many opportunities to dance in professional music videos and events. She plans to keep pursuing her professional dance career while teaching at CDW.
Jennifer
Originally from Atlanta, GA, Jennifer Starkmann (she/her) recently moved to Seattle after six years in Columbia, SC. She currently works as a data analyst at Boeing and teaches at Pure Barre Queen Anne. With over 10 years of experience teaching and choreographing, she brings a deep and diverse dance background to her instruction.
She began dancing at age 3 and trained in classical ballet (Vaganova and Balanchine), contemporary, modern, musical theater, and dance team styles. She danced pre-professionally with Sugarloaf Ballet (now Gwinnett Ballet Theater) and competed nationally both in studio settings and with her high school dance team at UDA.
Though an injury ended her performance career at 18, she has continued to teach and choreograph for studios and high school teams at the JV and Varsity levels. She has trained with esteemed programs including the Paris Opera Ballet, the Rockettes, Palucca School of Dance in Germany, and the University of South Carolina. Passionate about strong technique and well-rounded training, she’s excited to be part of the Seattle dance community.
Sierra
Sierra Briscoe began dancing at the age of three and joined the pre-professional Jefferson Dancers Company in Portland at 14, where she performed as a featured soloist under the direction of Steve Gonzales. At 18, her choreography was selected for the National High School Dance Festival, where she was awarded Outstanding Student Choreography.
She continued her training through the University of Washington Dance Program, performing in numerous productions, and with Broadway Rose Theatre Company, where she served as a lead soloist and dance captain. Today, Sierra trains in the Seattle area and shares her passion for dance as an instructor at Children’s Dance Workshop!
Hannah
Hannah began dancing at four years old and is trained in many styles, including tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop. She began assisting dance classes at age 11, eventually teaching and choreographing for her own classes after graduating from high school. She has trained with Manhattan Dance Project here in Seattle and in Phoenix, AZ, at various competitions and conventions, and at Millennium Dance Complex in LA. Hannah pursued a BFA in Musical Theater at Cornish College of the Arts, where some favorite shows were Jesus Christ Superstar and Chicago. She spent time in New York City teaching dance in schools, taking classes at Steps on Broadway, and training with Ryan Scott Oliver and Lindsay Mendez’s Actor Therapy. Hannah teaches dance and musical theater all over the greater Seattle area. They’ve also been fine-tuning their choreography skills - most recently, she was the Associate Choreographer for Legally Blonde at Village Theatre KIDSTAGE.