Carpe Dance

Sara Thomsen

President

How do we become the world we want to live in?

Social dance helps build connections between all ages, ethnicities, and genders. It is a healthy metaphor for how to treat one's self and others in a respectful, graceful way. Seeing the relief and joy this brings people of all ages is the inspiration for bringing Dancing Classrooms to Seattle.  Sara has taught dance and yoga at Sitka Fine Arts Camp, one of the premier arts camps in the nation, for three years running. She has also taught at Seattle Girls School, Hawthorne Elementary, Bailey Gatzert, UW Upward Bound, several Boys and Girls Clubs, and NW School. In addition, Sara has taught social dance as continuing education for elementary P.E. teachers. Her skills as a teacher are supported by her yoga teacher training with one of the nation's premier yoga teachers, Ana Forrest, and for the last ten years Sara has taught yoga in studios, domestic violence shelters, and schools. She also helped start “Dance It!”, a program that provides free or low cost dancing to high schools. In addition she currently choreographs and directs the tango group “Tango En Vie”.

Sharing the joys of dance with children is the driving force of Sara's life work.

Jacqueline Stevenson

Vice President

Jacqueline is thankful to have been introduced to dance at the age of five and is even more thankful that dance education was an integral part of her schooling through high school. Dance has become such an important part of her life and she is thrilled to be able to share this passion with others.

As a former high school teacher, Jacqueline strongly believes in the importance of teaching children positive ways of self expression and social interaction at an early age. Jacqueline is excited to be part of a group that will be introducing social dance to a new generation of children and giving those children the chance to fully realize their potential.

Mary Lamery 

Fundraising Chair

 Mary Lamery has a deep commitment to improving the lives of children as demonstrated through her steady involvement with organizations that lead efforts for quality enhancement programming and advocacy for children and youth.

 Stemming from a ten-year plus professional non-profit fundraising career, Mary led or served on efforts that raised collectively over one million dollars annually for local area non-profits that contribute to the social, emotional, and well-being of children and families.  Mary has developed and honed her fundraising experience through her employment in a leadership capacity with leading non-profits in the Puget Sound region including the YWCA of Seattle-King County-Snohomish County and Swedish Medical Center Foundation.  Mary's community service includes serving as an active volunteer with regional non-profits Rise n’ Shine and the Seattle Arts Museum.

 Recently, Mary succumbed to the allure of Tango.  With a year of serious Tango study well behind her, Mary has first-hand knowledge of the magic of dance to lead individuals to new vistas for greater self-expression and understanding and connection to the world around them.

 Mary is also an accomplished fine arts painter.  It is her desire to fuse her passions for art, dance, and community service to engage others to realize their gifts to help make the world a better place.

Arthur Newman

Treasurer

Chris Rugh

Secretary 

Chris Rugh is a successful entrepreneur with irrepressible passion for business and life. He launched Custom Toll Free (www.customtollfree.com) as a DBA of Rugly Holdings Inc. (www.rugly.com) in 1997 .Custom Toll Free has since become the nation’s leading vanity telephone number search firm. Rugh is the mastermind behind a proprietary software program that instantaneously turns numbers into letters. His telecommunications industry competitors license this software.

In addition to his leadership of Rugly Holdings, Inc, Rugh is also an engaging and award-winning speaker and a tell-it-like-it-is blogger (www.chrisrugh.com) who believes in working hard, playing hard, and enjoying the journey every step of the way. Chris has been refining his speaking talent since 1995 with Toastmasters. He is a long-standing member of the prestigious Entrepreneurs Organization (www.eonetwork.org) and serves on its board as well as runs the local chapters efforts in helping smaller company’s produce over one million dollars in revenue. He is a founder and  board member for BloopCamp (www.bloopcamp.com), a non-profit artist collective where he has done fun and interesting  things like build an electric car from scratch. He is also a strong advocate for social justice and a lifetime member of the ACLU.

Rugh earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in public relations and advertising from Grand Valley State University. He lives in Seattle, WA.

Morgana Buell

The required level of versatile athleticism, the brain's conversion into a heightened state of awareness, the challenge of deciphering learning styles and instructing accordingly and the manner in which silent dialog is played out between two people through dance are a few of the reasons for Morgana’s magnetic, lifelong  pull toward dance (Ballroom, Salsa, Swing and Argentine Tango).

Morgana brings years of voluntary community involvement (non-profits/hospitals/seniors/greyhounds), Ballroom dance training, light instruction, administration, financial experience and enthusiasm to the Dancing Classrooms program.  Dance is silent storytelling and conversation.  We are are instructing children to culturally relate to each other at a very fundamental level and express themselves in another language.

Vanessa Villalobos

Vanessa Villalobos is a Peruvian artist and educator with a degree in theater and dance from the University of Washington. Her love of dance has allowed her to work in concert dance, competitive dance, theater and film. Film credits include MadHot Ballroom, the documentary about the Dancing Classrooms program, as well as Walt Disney's  Enchanted as a principle dancer. Locally she has presented work for STG's Dance This! production at the Paramount Theater and is passionate about promoting the AfroPeruvian arts in the Northwest. Vanessa has 10 years of experience working as a teaching artist within the New York City  public school system with organizations such as the Brooklyn Arts Council, CREATE!, and the American Ballroom Theater Company. In 2008 she was recognized as a certified Dulaine Method instructor and  completed 3 years of studio management work for the American Ballroom Dance Studio , formerly the Dulaine Dancenter, directed by Pierre Dulaine. Currently, Vanessa is a new mother to daughter Paloma and directs her arts & entertainment company B A L O R I C O  LLC based in West Seattle. She serves on the board of the  Dance Educators Association of Washington this year and is excited to return to Seattle Theater Group's Dance This! as Ballroom & Salsa faculty for the Summer Training Intensive. She looks forward to sharing the magic of Dancing Classrooms with Seattle because it truly enhances the quality of life for the children and schools that are involved.