Our Staff
Simone Peterson
Owner, Team Director Jazz/Lyrical: Simone Peterson has been teaching and choreographing in the Seattle, Tacoma, and Gig Harbor communities for 20 years (studio instruction). In college, at the University of Puget Sound, Simone participated in Repertory Dance Group, a student-choreography and dance group. Simone graduated from UPS with a B.A. in Psychology. She then began teaching at Harbor Conservatory (Harbor Dance’s former name, same location) in 2002-2005, working as an instructor and as a Performing Group Director. Simone then moved on to be the director of Dance at the Lakewood Family YMCA from 2005-2009, where she oversaw a program of between 500-600 students and integrated valuable curriculum. Simone then partnered with Sue Dellinger and Dawn Del Castillo in 2009 to become co-owners of Harbor Dance and Freedom Dance Centers. She continues to teach and choreograph for both studios, as well as participate in various collarborative endeavors with other choreographers and performers when time permits. Simone actively seeks out and attends educational opportunities surrounding dance, movement, instruction, anatomy/physiology, choreography, and holistic health regularly. Simone views dance as a holistic art that incorporates the entire being and benefits the mind, the body, the soul. She believes that dance enhances a person immensely, both internally and externally.
Paula Johnson
Jazz, Tap Team Director: Paula trained and performed extensively in Seattle and Redmond. Her training includes ballet, tap, and jazz. In addition to studying dance at University of Washington she received her B.A. degree in Psychology. Paula continues to perfect her art attending master classes in all styles. Paula has been teaching for over twenty years locally.
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Kate Monthy
Ballet Company Artistic Director: Kate was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. She studied at Tacoma City Ballet, joining their professional division later in her dance training. She performed leading roles in Carmina Burana, Cinderella, Dracula, Les Sylphides, Pas de Quatre, and The Nutcracker.
Her professional dance career includes company dancer for Zoe | Juniper, Eryc Taylor Dance Company NYC, and Spectrum Dance Theater. While dancing for SDT, Kate performed works by Donald Byrd, Olivier Weavers, and Cyrus Khambatta. She toured nationally and internationally to teach and perform as part of DanceMotion USA. She has performed at Bumbershoot, Chop Shop, Jacob's Pillow, Seattle International Dance Festival, Summer Stages NYC, Velocity Fall Kick Off, and the 5th Avenue Theater. Kate is the Ballet Director for Harbor Dance, and the Artistic Director of the Harbor Dance Ballet Company.
Amber Klumker
Ballet, Tap: Amber grew up in Southern California and began her dance training in tap at the age of 6 with her mentor Elsie Leach. She went on to do competitive cheer/dance through High School and studied tap at Brigham Young University and jazz and ballet class at Cypress Community College. She moved to Gig Harbor with her husband, four children and their dog Tucker in 2003. After baby number 5 she decided it was time to dust off her tap shoes and in 2006 began teaching. She continues to study her craft through online learning/teacher training. Amber instructs many of our little dancers and wouldn’t have it any other way. She strives to make dance class a happy, comfortable, instructive environment where new dance friendships are formed and creativity fostered.
Reilly Zink
Ballet: Reilly received her ballet training at Willamette Ballet Academy under the direction of Deborah Higginbotham. There, she danced principal roles in classical ballets such as Giselle, Coppelia, Les Sylphides, and Paquita as well as many Balanchine ballets such as Serenade, Apollo, and Who Cares. She also studied at The Portland Ballet where she had the opportunity to dance for Nancy Davis and to perform George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie under the direction of John Clifford. Reilly attended summer intensives at Houston Ballet, Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre in New York. She continued her professional training after highschool with Los Angeles Ballet. This is her ninth year teaching in the Washington area.
Larieza Leigh
Hip Hop Team Director: Larieza Leigh started dancing at the age of 15 at Mount Tahoma High School and was a part of their dance/drill team for 3 years (2006-2009). After graduating she stayed to help by becoming the assistant coach and was the choreographer for their WIAA Dance/Drill Competitions from 2009-2013. Since then Larieza has honed her teaching skills at a multitude of places such as local public schools, YMCA, Westlake Dance Center, The Beat Box, Image Studio of Dance, The Surge Dance Center, and other surrounding studios in the area. Larieza started dabbling in choreography when she made Mount Tahoma's Dance Team and has grown to create award-winning pieces over the years and is currently the Company Director at Freedom Dance Center. In addition to teaching, Larieza still loves to take classes and perform when an opportunity arises. She has consistently trained at Westlake Dance Center, Freedom Dance Center, and many other locations. In September 2016, Value Village aired a Halloween Commercial in which Larieza participated. She also choreographed and danced in SYML - The Bird music video that aired April 15, 2019. Larieza wants nothing more than to witness and foster the growth and achievements of her dancers. In these moments, she feels the most accomplished, and she finds the answer to her question, WHY? "Live to inspire & be inspired"
Brinessa Doremus
Gymnastics/Acro: Brinessa is an experienced gymnast and ballet dancer from Tacoma, Washington. She grew up as a competitive gymnast, then she decided to pursue her passion for dance. She was invited into Washington Contemporary Ballet's senior company almost immediately. There, she began her intense training and eventually gained the title of Principal dancer. She has played many lead roles in various performances, such as The Nutcracker, The Pied Piper, and Firebird. Ms. Link studied at Pierce College and graduated with both her Associate of Arts (AA) degree and high school diploma in 2015. She has been teaching ballet and gymnastics since 2013, and continues to broaden her repertoire of knowledge in all forms of the arts..
Kialee Deschenes
Hip Hop, Team Coach: Kialee began dancing at age 3. When she turned 8 years old, she began training in hip hop. After just one year, she was invited to join the very first mini hip hop competition team at Harbor Dance. She has been competing and performing ever since and has expanded her training to include several styles, but has always had a particular affinity for hip hop. She began her career as an assistant teacher at Harbor Dance at age 14 and over time, she began to fill in as a substitute instructor, filled in as the team coach, and taught her own classes. At age 17, she also became the co-coach of the very mini hip hop team on which she was once a member. Kialee has traveled to many other studios around the state to take classes from some of the top teachers in the area. She also recently traveled to Los Angeles to enhance her training, on a hip hop scholarship awarded to her by the professional dance duo, Randi and Hef. Here, she was able to meet and take classes from some of the most well-known professionals in the industry. Kialee is currently a running start student at Tacoma Community College. Her ultimate goal is to open her own studio. As a teacher, Kialee is committed to providing her students with a positive environment using uplifting and energetic techniques to allow the dancers to grow and explore the art of Hip Hop in a safe and comfortable setting. She pushes her students to reach their fullest potential and wholeheartedly believes in each and every one of them.
Lorraine Costantine
Ballet: Lorraine Constantine has dedicated her life to the study, practice, and performance of dance. She performs, choreographs, teaches, coaches, and produces dance throughout the Puget Sound region. She trained on scholarship at Tacoma City Ballet and attended summer programs on full merit scholarship at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Spectrum Dance Theater, and Dance Theater of Harlem. Lorraine pursued an education in international studies with a minor in Spanish language and culture, and human rights at the University of Washington Tacoma, and served as a medical interpreter for medical missions in Honduras for several years. She has worked as a background artist in several commercial projects for Apple and Microsoft, films including 21 and Over, Laggies, The Architect and TV series such as Twin Peaks and Station 19. Lorraine has had the privilege of collaborating with numerous, incredibly talented and notable dancers, choreographers, musicians, designers, and artists on the stage, behind the scenes, and in the studio. She currently dances for Stone Dance Collective in Bellevue, WA, and has previously danced for City Opera Ballet, the Mov!ng Company, and with many other independent artists and musicians. She serves as the Director of Ballet for Image Studio of Dance where her choreography has received numerous awards at the national level, and has been teaching at the Tacoma School of the Arts since 2016. In 2019 she was certified in the junior, senior, and advanced programs with Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT). It is Lorraine’s passion to instill in her students a profound appreciation, proficiency, and respect for the technical foundations, physical demands, and history of ballet, as well as a deep love for the freedom and self-expression of the art form, and to carry these lessons with them throughout their lives. “We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once…”-Nietzcheof the arts..
Kelly Lynch
Ballet: Kelly Lynch is an interdisciplinary artist and educator who specializes in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and modern dance as well as fiber arts. She studied at Spotlight Performing Arts Center and Starstruck Academy of Dance under the direction of Lisa Holtz-Odell. A passionate advocate for accessible and socially responsible arts education, she has taught for numerous community organizations including the Denver Art Museum, The African Community Center, Douglas County School District, the Tacoma Art Museum, YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, Tacoma Arts Live, Sound Movement Arts Center, and Harbor Dance. She holds a BA in comparative sociology from the University of Puget Sound and an MA in anthropology with a concentration in museums and cultural heritage from the University of Denver. She currently serves as a Co-Director for the Barefoot Collective, a not-for-profit modern dance company for adults. She lives and works in Tacoma, Washington.
Lynne Short
Ballet: 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 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. She was on the faculty of Tacoma Urban Performing Arts Center until 2021.
Marina Katsel
Accompanist: Marina was born in Ukraine, in Odessa City on the Black Sea. In Odessa, she studied at public school and music school. After graduating from both schools she moved to Russia. Her father was in the military, prompting her parents to live in Saratov City on the Volga river. She continued to study music in college and after 4 years she earned her Bachelor’s degree. She continued her studies and after 4 additional years, she achieved her Master’s degree. During and after college, she worked as a music teacher and accompanist for vocalists and musicians playing a myriad of instruments. In 1993 she and her family immigrated to the United States. They lived in Portland, Oregon. She quickly started working at Oregon Ballet Theater. In 2006 her son graduated from the University of Washington and he decided to stay in Washington. In October 2006, she moved from Portland to Seattle to be closer to her son. The day after her move, she started playing at Pacific Northwest Ballet. A year and a half later she moved from Seattle to Tacoma but kept accompanying at PNB while also working at Tacoma City Ballet.
Annelise Lawrence
Ballet: Annelise was born and raised in Tacoma, WA. She began dancing at the age of two at the Morgan Family YMCA. She trained in many styles including: Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, and Modern. Annelise performed in The Y Dance Company for six years. Her passion for dance continued to grow and led her to Saint Mary’s College where she combined her interests for science and dance to begin pursing her dream of Physical Therapy.
Annelise is a graduate from Saint Mary’s College of California where she received a Bachelor of Science in Allied Health Science and Dance Choreography and Performance. She performed in the Saint Mary’s Dance Company and trained in: Ballet, Modern, and Contemporary. She intensively studied dance courses including: Dance Science, Dance History, Dance Pedagogy, Choreography, Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals, Dance in Performance, Dance and Social Justice and much more. She co-produced the senior dance show, The Spaces In Between, directing and showcasing her own work of art and senior thesis, To Have a Guardian Angel.
Annelise provides a supportive and inclusive environment for all dancers to achieve movement and an exploration of dance.