Daniel Wilkins | Artistic Director
Contemporary & Ballet
Daniel trained at School of American Ballet performing principal roles in the graduation Workshop at Lincoln Center, he then went on to perform professionally with Suzanne Farrell Ballet (Kennedy Center), Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, Donald Byrd –The Group (NYC), Spectrum Dance Theatre and Complexions Contemporary Ballet (NYC). Wilkins is the Founder and Producing Artistic Director of DASSdance, a multi-media contemporary dance company based in New York City since 2000 and Seattle since 2007.
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DASSdance has been presented in New York by Diane von Furstenberg - The Theater, DanceNow, the d.u.m.b.o. Dance Festival, the JoyceSoho and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. In Seattle, DASS has been presented by On the Boards, the Bagley Wright Theater, Velocity, Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, Washington Hall and Broadway Performance Hall.
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Daniel has taught Master Classes in Contemporary Dance at Peridance NYC, Regional Dance America, as well as at the Joffrey Ballet Contemporary Summer Intensive in NYC. DASSdance has been featured in Fashion Wire Daily, Flaunt Magazine, Paper Magazine, Art News, W Magazine, New York Magazine, The Seattle Times, The Daily and the New York Times radio WQXR.
DASSdance School opened formally at the MLK FAME CC in 2014 offering professional-level training in Contemporary Dance.
Cathleen VanBuren
Administrative Director
Born and raised in Washington, Cathleen began her dance training at age 5 and quickly fell in love. Her primary styles of dance include Ballet and Contemporary, but she has also studied Tap, Jazz, and Flamenco. She has trained with a variety of instructors around the Puget Sound, at several studios including Evergreen City Ballet, Ensemble Ballet Theatre, and Washington Contemporary Ballet. After graduating high school, Cathleen went to Western Washington University in Bellingham, where she received a BFA in Dance, a BA in Spanish, and a minor in Mathematics. During her time at Western, she had the opportunity to perform in many pieces choreographed by faculty, fellow students, and guest artists in a variety of performance spaces, as well as choreograph three pieces for performances. She also attended the American College Dance Association’s Northwest Conference for three years. As a part of the BFA program, Cathleen travelled to New York, to work with accomplished choreographer, teacher, and filmmaker David Fernandez, who choreographed a new solo work for her. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2019, at which time Cathleen was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate in Dance.
After college, Cathleen spent a school year in Cazorla, Spain, working as an English Language and Culture Assistant in a primary school. While there, she was able to keep dancing by taking Flamenco classes and had the opportunity to perform a small excerpt from The Nutcracker for her students and their families at their annual holiday show. Since returning, Cathleen has participated in Bellingham Repertory Dance’s 7 Day Dance Festival and DASSdance’s 2020 virtual performance of Seattle City Nutcracker, along with a virtual season with Rhapsody Winterguard and several parade performances including the Seattle Pride Parade and the Torchlight Parade.
Cathleen works as a Paraeducator in the Tahoma Transition Program and is the Director of the Tahoma Color Guard as well as a staff member with Rhapsody Winterguard. She has taught a variety of dance classes at Issaquah Dance Theater and DASSdance. Cathleen loves to teach and work with children and is a firm believer that anyone and everyone can and should dance.
Libby Whiton
Jazz, Contemporary, Stretch & Strength
Libby started dancing at a young age in elementary classes at Skagit Valley Academy of Dance when she was 5 and became a member of their competition team through middle school and high school. She danced in multiple performances including their annual nutcracker and biennial Spring and Fall performances . Libby traveled extensively to perform in regional competitions. She began assistant teaching
dance as a freshman in high school, and started teaching her own classes in the years following. Libby has worked with ages 3-10 in many styles ranging from acro to hip hop, jazz, lyrical and tap. Dance was such a big part of her life growing up and is looking forward to this opportunity to work with DASSdancers!
Koach Tee Giggz
Hip Hop Team Advisory Director and Mentoring Artist
Tyrone Crosby known as Koach T was born in Compton, California, raised in Chickasha, Oklahoma, and moved to Seattle, Washington in 1999. In 2006, Tyrone extended the dance program at his former high school, from an after school club to a year-round community program, in hope that this could be an anti-drug and anti-gang for the youth in the community. Holding seasonal auditions for hundreds of youth, in the northwest, today Kutt 'N' Up has traveled and performed all over the United States from coast to coast, and internationally. Tyrone (Koach T) Crosby is the CEO / Founder of what is today an extraordinary entertainment company also know as Kutt ‘N’ Up Entertainment. Mr. Crosby has been a featured Master Teacher at DASSdance's All 4 1 dancepalooza since its inception in 2010 as well as teaching after school programs at Garfield High School, Washington Middle and Community Centers all over Seattle. Mr. Crosby is the Choreographer for Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute Summer Musical. N The Kutt dance studio is located in Des Moines, WA offering classes for all ages. https://www.instagram.com/teamkuttnup/
Anna Waltz
Creative, Hip Hop & Tap
Anna is a recent graduate of the University of Washington, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She began dancing in South Florida at a young age, practicing a variety of styles such as jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary, acrobatics, and hip hop. She joined the competition team at the age of 6 and continued to compete every year until graduating high school, even after moving to Issaquah at age 12 where she continued to train in the same styles at Issaquah Dance Theatre.
She became a teacher at Issaquah Dance Theatre at the age of 16. Her favorite style to teach is tap, which she was able to explore in a summer program at the Rhythmic Souls Tap Company in Dallas, Texas in 2018. She began teaching at DASSdance in 2019 with the start of her undergraduate degrees at the University of Washington. She currently teaches creative movement, ballet, contemporary and tap at DASSdance, and contemporary at Issaquah Dance Theatre. In the classroom, Anna takes a holistic approach to teaching dance which includes teaching the cultural context of dance forms, a strong understanding of music, and basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology to preserve the health and wellbeing of dancers. She wants to encourage her students to develop their own sense of style and artistry, and hopes that they always leave her class feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Annalisa Brinchmann
Creative & Ballet
Annalisa Brinchmann is a graduate of The University of Washington where she double majored in Dance and Musical Theater. She began training at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Dance Fremont and The Studios, attending summer intensives at Ballet Austin, and The Joffrey Ballet.
Locally, she has taught at a number of Community Centers in Seattle (Laurelhurst, Green Lake, Delridge and Loyal Heights) as well as Aspire Kinetic Arts, North Seattle French Academy, Emerald Ballet Theater, Washington School of Dance and The Community Dance Project.
You may have seen Annalisa on stage as anything from a bunny to a showgirl to a nun! She has been fortunate enough to work with Village Theater, Leavenworth Summer Theater, The Edmonds Driftwood Players, Aspire Repertory Theater and The Woodland Park Players.
Jaden Olson
Acro, Contemporary
Jaden Olson was born in Santa Monica, California where she began dancing at the age of three. At thirteen she started training at The Ballet Conservatory of Dance Music and Art in Arizona. Taught by nationally acclaimed dancers, Jaden became well versed in ballet, contemporary, tap, jazz, hip hop, acro and lyrical. She was a member in The BC Dance Ballet Company where she became one of their youngest soloist. While training classically she was on her high school’s Varsity Pomline team and BC Dance’s competition team, both of which traveled to compete all over the country. Jaden was a member of Muse-Effect’s Mini Muse program, a selective commercial dance and video non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. In the competition dance arena, she has won national titles individually and with her team.
Jaden loves teaching and watching the power dance has to inspire students.
She is majoring in English and Environmental Studies with a minor in Business at the University of Washington in Seattle.
David Zeger
Aikido
Sensei David Zeger began training at the Aikido Kokikai Southwest dojo in Tempe, Arizona in 1994. He began facilitating Aikido practices at the Arizona State University Kokikai Aikido Club in 1998 under the guidance and instruction of Veronica Burrows Sensei and David Nachman Sensei.
Since moving to Seattle in 2000, he led practices regularly at the University of Washington Kokikai Aikido Club and (former) Aikido Kokikai Seattle dojo. Since 2004 he has continued his study and instruction through sharing practices with Kokikai Aikido practitioners in Seattle’s Central Area. Some practices are also led by other senior dojo members, typically having more than a decade of practice experience.