Staff

Home Instructors Classes Schedules Policies Facility Story


Allegro's Instructors





	Tonya Goodwillie is the proud owner of Allegro Performing Arts Academy. She has been dancing for 29 years and teaching for 15 of those years. Tonya has danced professionally with the Fifth Avenue Theater as well as with The Trevor Sorbie of Redkin Show as the lead dancer. She continually betters herself by attending numerous conventions and seminars throughout the year. She recently graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. Tonya is a certified member of Dance Educators of America and is certified as a "top tap" teacher with American Tap Dance Institute. In the Summer of 2004, she taught as a guest teacher for the American Tap Dance Institute Summer Tap Festival in Chicago. Recently, her modern/jazz piece "Blown Away" was chosen to perform at a Cornish show entitled "New Moves".
	Karla Koon graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and recently graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Masters degree in Organizational Management. Karla has performed in many of the western states. Over the years she has appeared with San Jose Dance Theater, Santa Barbara Dance Theater, Pat Graney Dance Company, Leaving/Ground Dance, Stone Dance Collective and Variety Plus. Karla has taught at San Jose Dance Theater, Arts at Laguna, New City Ballet and Spectrum Dance Theater.
	Tiffany Miles has been training in dance since she was eight years old. She still trains at Westlake Dance Center, and at well known conventions. She was a part of hip hop groups In Effect, Cruz Control and was a part of WDC's performing group for 6 years. Tiffany is currently in the Hip Hop group 'Potion'. She has won numerous scholarships and high score awards from Westlake Dance Center, L.A. Underground, Edge Performing Arts Center, Tremaine, Co Dance and Encore. She has choreographed for the Miss Auburn Pageant, V.H. Production's National Showcase 2K4 and for the Allegro Precision Dance Company. Her choreography has won numerous awards. She is also the Auburn High School Dance Team coach.
	Sara Palmer has been a member of the Allegro team since 2001. Her training at Westlake Dance Center and at well known conventions has taken her to Thailand, Spain, Germany, Korea and London. A dancer for the National Basketball Association, Sara danced in a Microsoft Sponsored "Men in Black" video and PAX TV show "Destination Stardom" in Waikiki, Hawaii. Dancing has landed her scholarships in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle. She has recently earned her Masters degree in Education from Pacific Lutheran University.
	Megan Mackey has been training since the age of 10 in all styles of dancing, singing and acting. She has received numerous high score awards, special recognition for her choreography and a scholarship from Encore Performing Arts while dancing with Allegro's Precision Dance Company. She has trained around the Pacific Northwest and at the Edge in L.A. She has performed in Seattle's En L'aire show, Sign of the Times, Unplugged, M.E. Fashion Show and V.H. Production Showcase 2K4. Megan toured Europe performing in Austria, Germany and Italy with Westlake Dance Company in the summer of 2006. She recently graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Dance.
	Mark Mendonca’s extensive career as a performer and choreographer includes performances for the last three U.S. Presidents, as well as performing on Broadway, television, and concert stages around the world. Mark's dancing was motion captured for the animated feature film, "The Polar Express," directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks. In the year 2000, Mark was chosen to open Barbra Streisand's farewell concert tour with performances at Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Center in Los Angeles. On Broadway, Mark danced in the Tony award winning production of "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk", and has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theater, the Joyce Theater in New York, Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco among many other theaters worldwide. He has shared the stage with the late tap masters the Nicholas Brothers, Charles 'Honi' Coles, Jimmy Slyde as well as numerous appearances with Gregory Hines, appearing with him in "A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre" and on "The Kennedy Center Honors," both televised on ABC. Mark's dancing was featured in the Emmy award nominated documentary, "Juba, The Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance," aired on PBS and in, “The Summit of the Americas” with the leaders of over 20 North American countries in the audience. Mark has toured both nationally and internationally with his own company, The Steps Ahead Tap Trio, and with the Jazz Tap Ensemble. Mark has also worked with director James Brooks, choreographer Twyla Tharp and fellow tap dancers Bill Irwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Christopher Walken. Mark was the first tap dancer to receive the Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship for promising young artists (1989) and was the winner of the 1997 Lester Horton Dance Award for outstanding achievement in individual performance. Whether you want to become a professional dancer, or just want to learn more and have fun, Mark is confident he can help you move toward your goals and improve your skills and understanding of the art form of tap dancing.
	Ricki-Lyn Coppock has been dancing for 16 years. This is her fourth year teaching at Allegro. She also assisted a variety of classes here at Allegro for the last 4 years. Ricki-Lyn was a member of the Allegro Precision Dance Company for 3 years. She has attended numerous conventions and festivals such as Vancouver Tap Dance Society and West Coast Dance Explosion's national convention in Las Vegas. Ricki-Lyn is happy to be a part of the Allegro team.
	Joseph Schanbeck has been dancing since he was 12 years old. He has trained in ballet, tap, lyrical, jazz and hip hop. He was a member of the Allegro Precision Dance Company for three years and a member of the Seattle Theater Group "Dance this...Company", having performed African and modern dance for audiences at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. He has received scholarships to Dance Educators of America. Joseph has also performed as a duo and back-up dancer for the V.H. Production of Showcase 2K4. He aspires to become a recognized dance instructor and choreographer. Joseph has also been awarded dance scholarships to study in LA and Las Vegas from nationally recognized convention competitions including West Coast Dance Explosion, LA Dance Force and Co Dance. He currently attends the University of Washington.

	Terriann Akers has been involved in theater arts for over 25 years. She has over four years experience in play production and directing, as well as acting in numerous plays and musicals. She has also been involved with Missoula Children's Theatre in her school district. Terriann has a love for the arts. She is looking forward to taking the drama and musical theater program at Allegro to the next level.
	Tami Rothschiller a former competitive gymnast, is excited to provide dancers with a variety of gymnastics and tumbling skills. Her experience as a gymnastics instructor and coach come from the Talent Tree Gym in Hudson, Ohio. She has a life-long love for the sport of gymnastics and is excited to share it with others.
	Christina McNeil has been teaching in and around the Seattle are for 10 years. She has taught for Cornish College of the Arts, Shoreline Community College, Westlake Dance Center, Sammamish High School, ARC School of Ballet and many others. At age 3 she began her training at Dance Unlimited in Federal Way, continued her training at Westlake Dance Center as an assistant to Mark Haines. She then moved on to Cornish where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance on a full scholarship. She has performed with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as Dance Captain and Company Manager. Her competition choreography has won many awards and has set concert pieces for Cornish, ARC, En L'air, Interweave and Eastside Moving Company. She looks forward to bringing her love of dance to Allegro.
	Nina Escudero a former dancer, is working her way to being a certified Yoga instructor with strong Iyengar Hatha training. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Washington. Her classes focus on helping others find joy in their lives physically, mentally and spiritually through movement and proper nutrition. Nina has been in the health and wellness industry for over twenty-five years.
	Allison Rupert began dancing at age 3 and started her training in all styles of dance with Allegro at age 9. While with Allegro Precision Dance Company Allison received many awards from a variety of competitions around the Pacific Northwest. Allison has trained at several places around the area, as well as the Edge in L.A. She has performed in Seattle's En L'aire show, V.H. Production Showcase as a singer/pianist and toured Europe performing with Westlake Dance Company in the summer of 2006. She is currently working towards her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at the University of Washington.

	Christie Pederson began her gymnastics career as an eager 5 year old. Her love for the sport continued to grow as she faithfully progressed through 10 years of rigorous gymnastics competition. Since then Christie has taken her passion for the sport she loves and put it into teaching. She has taught throughout the South Sound region for the past 15 years instructing everyone from competitive gymnasts to recreational students, junior high teams, and dancers. Christie is known by all for her positive energy, for incorporating creativity within the gymnastics and dance arenas, and for her ability to inspire and challenge students. As mentioned previously, Christie has an incredible passion for the sport of gymnastics and is very excited to be teaching at Allegro.

	Anna Moreno has been dancing since she was four years old and has had all her training at Allegro Performing Arts Academy. She was an assistant teacher for many years and loved every second of it. She was a member of the P.U.R.E. hip hop group for two years. She was also on her high school's dance team and performed in the half time show at the Veteran's Day Seahawks game in 2008. She recently graduated from high school and is attending Highline Community College to pursue Nursing. She is excited to be a part of the Allegro teaching staff and looks forward to sharing her passion for dance with her students.
	Mackenzie Walker has been training in all styles of dance for 14 years all of which have been at Allegro. She was in Allegro's Performing Group for many of those years and has gone to nationals twice. She was also involved in our hip hop group P.U.R.E. for 3 years. She has earned numerous awards throughout her competition experience. She has always had a passion for dance and couldn't imagine her life without it. Currently, Mackenzie is attending Bellevue College to obtain a degree in nursing.