Empire Dance Shop Staff

Spokane’s own homegrown professional dancer, Izzy is our Manager and Master Pointe Shoe Fitter. She began her ballet training at Sandra Olgard’s School of Dance and with Dodie Askegard at Ballet Arts Academy. After graduating from Lewis & Clark high school, she continued more intensive training with Kristin Potts at Academy of Dance, and Ceci Klein at Ballet School of Coeur d’ Alene. She was accepted into Nationwide summer programs and chose to attend Milwaukee Ballet Theatre and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She continued her training with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre in their Graduate Program for a year and went on to dance professionally with Eugene Ballet Company. Since retiring, Izzy has continued to dedicate herself to the dance world by becoming a pointe shoe fitter. Her passion lies in the care of every dancer’s health while dancing en pointe and ensuring a properly fitting shoe. She is happily married with two children and is working towards her bachelor’s degree in business.

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Bailey - Assistant Manager & Pointe Shoe Fitter

 

(Bio Coming Soon!)

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Jessica - Sales Associate

Jessica is a dancer and dance teacher originally from Chewelah WA. She fell in love with dance at the age of two after watching a ballet performance at a local festival. Once old enough, she began her dance training with Ann Marie Benedict at Northern Ballet and Performing Arts, then furthered her education at Company Ballet School, under the direction of Jonna Maule. She has trained in Classical Ballet, Pointe, Modern, Clogging, Acrobatic Arts, and Theater throughout her dance education. Jessica also danced with the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara for seven years in their touring production of The Nutcracker, as well as at their Summer Intensive in 2020. She has competed in the Youth America Grand Prix, advancing to international finals in the ensemble category, and has taken classes from many notable dancers, teachers, and choreographers including Peter Boal of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kathryn Morgan (New York City Ballet, Miami Ballet), and Christopher Sellars (Ballet West). Jessica has experience teaching many styles including Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Musical Theater, Leap and Turn Technique, and Creative Movement. She adores sharing her love for dance by teaching the next generation of upcoming dancers. When not dancing, you can often find Jessica in nature, surrounded by friends and family, or curled up with a good book.

Olga - Sales Associate

Olga Loktev is a dancer, choreographer, and a certified dance teacher. She began her dance training at the age of 3 starting with classical ballet and building on with acrobatic arts and contemporary/modern technique at Company Ballet School. Understanding that dancers should be versatile and adaptable, she broadened her skills by adding different styles of movement (character, hip hop, flamenco, jazz) into her training, including  kinesthesiology, history and pedagogy of dance. She participated in various performances, art festivals and dance competitions, receiving high achievements. Olga continued her studies with renown national and international dance institutions and companies including Bolshoi Ballet, Complexions Ballet, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, José Limón (growing into Limóns second company). Being an advocate for improvisation skills, she puts a big emphasis on exploring and practicing new ways of movement, incorporating it into her choreographic creations and classroom setting while keeping the strong technique basics. Olga has been with Empire Dance Shop since 2023.

Maddie - Seasonal Sales Associate

(Bio Coming Soon!)

Harris - Seasonal Sales Associate

Harris Kahler is a BFA Dance Major at Montclair State University in New Jersey. He graduated with honors from the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and completed their graduate program with honors. He started dancing here in Spokane at the age of 11 and has attended summer intensives with scholarships at Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Arizona, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. This is his first year with Empire Dance Shop.

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