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WHO WE ARE AT NSD
Jennifer Picart-Branner and Stephanie Clarke are the founders and owners of Northwest School of Dance. Together they form a dynamic teaching team with more than 30 years combined teaching experience. They've been teaching for the past 16 years in Kitsap County and surrounding areas.
NSD MISSION
Our mission at the Northwest School of Dance is to create a positive motivational environment that nurtures dancers of all ages and levels to be strong athletes, expressive artists, and inspired individuals in the studio and in their community. Classes are offered in ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, acro arts, contemporary, lyrical, tap, musical theatre, hip hop, ballroom and conditioning for students to explore recreationally or train for a future in dance.
Our studio offers a safe, healthy learning environment and team atmosphere in every class in order to help each student achieve their best level of success.
All classes are led by passionate, caring, adult instructors. We pride ourselves on high quality, hands on instruction. This allows us to give each dancer more individualized attention, which has been proven to increase the quality of instruction, help the dancers excel more rapidly, greatly improve their technique and prevent injuries. Both owners and instructors are committed to continuing their education by attending Certified Teacher Courses yearly throughout the country.
FACULTY
JENNIFER PICART-BRANNER
Co-Owner/JPB/Ballet Director - Miss Jenn holds a Master of Arts in Theater Dance from the University of Music and Art in Frankfurt, with a focus on Classical Vaganova Technique. While in Germany, she danced with the Frankfurt Ballet Company and was a guest performer with the Royal Ballet Company. She began her teaching career in Germany and has been teaching in Washington for over 20 years. Miss Jenn is certified by the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, having completed Levels A and B (covering the 1st through 5th years of dance education) of the Bolshoi Ballet Academy Teacher Certification Program. In the summer of 2019, she was invited by the Royal Ballet’s Artistic Faculty to observe and learn from top instructors at the Royal Ballet School in London, enhancing her professional development. In addition, Miss Jenn is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique for Junior, Senior, and Advanced programs. She is also the founder of Le Petit Ballet, which was established in 2007 and later evolved into NSD’s Youth Ballet Company..
STEPHANIE CLARKE
Co-Owner/CDG/Lyrical/Jazz Director - Miss Stephanie is a co-owner and instructor at Northwest School of Dance, and Director of the studio’s competition dance team, Clarke Dance Group. She has been teaching and choreographing dance for over 20 years. The greater part of her dance training was completed at Cornish College of the Arts, where she received a BFA in Dance, Cum Laude. Miss Stephanie’s studies originally focused on Ballet and Modern. However, after graduating college, her passion and training began shifting to Lyrical, Contemporary and Jazz styles, which is what she primarily teaches now. Miss Stephanie is excited to continually hone her skills and training which has taken her throughout Washington, Oregon, Montana, Boston, Arizona, California and Chicago. She began studying the Giordano Jazz technique two years ago, completing four levels of training. Miss Stephanie received her certification in the Basic, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced levels of the Giordano technique.
JESSI CARPENTER
Acro/Jazz - Jessi has been dancing since the age of 3. She studied jazz, tap, ballet, lyrical and acro/tumbling at her hometown studio in Butte, Montana. She performed and competed with dance and acro/tumbling teams on a local and national level for 7 years. Jessi started teaching dance in 1995 and has taught in the Kitsap area since 2002. She is an Acrobatic Arts certified instructor in Modules One and Two. She holds a BFA in graphic design from Montana State University and is a freelance graphic and web designer. Jessi is proud to have passed her love of dance onto her daughter, Lainey who dances here at NSD!
CHEYENNE MARTINEK
Tots/Combo/Tap/Ballet/Lyrical/Musical Theater/Performing Arts Preschool - Miss Cheyenne Martinek has grown up dancing and performing in Kitsap County, with over 15 years of training including pre-professional ballet companies Dance Ensemble Northwest and JPB. Miss Cheyenne has two degrees in Early Childhood Education, and a Montessori diploma through NAMC. She is also certified in Anne Green Gilbert’s critically acclaimed Creative Dance Program, Progressing Ballet Technique levels junior through advanced, and is level 1 and 2 certified through iTap online. In addition to teaching classes, Miss Cheyenne choreographs and coaches for NSD’s Clarke Dance Group competitive team, and is the lead teacher for the Performing Arts Preschool. She loves encouraging students of all ages and abilities to be creative, express themselves and develop a love for the arts.
JOANNE WYNN
Adults/Ballet - JoAnne Wynn is a native of Washington State and relocated to Delaware in 2002 where she spent 14 years as a studio instructor. She returned home to Washington to continue her career as a studio instructor and recently began teaching dance at a public Performing Arts Elementary School where she instructs weekly classes, choreographs routines, and plans and organizes performances. JoAnne built her strong foundation through the study and performance of classical ballet and has spent 20 years developing her teaching skills in all dance styles by attending professional workshops in New York City, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Seattle. She also continued her personal dance training at Academy of the Dance and First State Ballet Theater in Wilmington, DE. JoAnne’s choreography has received Critic’s Choice/Best in Show, Exceptional Staging, and Outstanding Ballet Performance Awards at many regional dance competitions and several of her former students have gone on to pursue dance at the college and professional level, as well as become the next generation of dance instructors. JoAnne currently teaches at Northwest School of Dance and View Ridge Performing Arts Elementary School, is certified in Anne Green Gilbert’s acclaimed Creative Dance program and recently became a certified instructor of the Progressing Ballet Technique method of training.
MACKENZIE CLARKE
Jazz/Lyrical - Miss Mackenzie has been dancing and performing for over 16 years. She has trained extensively in Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop, Tap, Lyrical and Contemporary. However, she’s always been most passionate for the Jazz, Contemporary and Hip Hop styles. She started competing at the age of 7 and continued until she graduated in 2018. Her dance studies and commitment have taken her throughout Washington, Oregon and California. Before she started as an instructor, Ms. Mackenzie served as a teacher's assistant and co-teacher at NSD for several years. She is also an assistant for the studio’s competition team, the Clarke Dance Group.
CHRISTOPHER MERCADO
Hip Hop/Voice & Acting/Musical Theater -Mr. Chris’s specialties include Hip Hop and Musical Theater. He started mentoring youth when he was about 14yrs old. He got into creating, teaching, and performing choreography for different school events which later lead him to becoming a Cheerleader at WSU (GO COUGS!!!) and then eventually performing with the Disney Company. Being a part of the Disney Company for a little under 10 years (both coasts and on tour) allowed him to learn from some of the most creative choreographers and directors while performing amongst some of the most talented performers. When living in California, Chris created the I.M.P. Project which stands for “INSPIRE and MOTIVATE others through your PASSION”. Chris’s philosophy: “It has always been my mission to create a positive atmosphere where anyone and everyone can express themselves with absolutely no judgement. It’s been great witnessing past and present students accomplish so much and make a career out of their passion for the arts.”
GENEVIEVE HYSTAD-MOORE
Combo/Pre/Teen/Musical Theater - Genevieve grew up in Galway, Ireland and from 3 years old spent most of her time involved in dance and theatre. She attended The Performing Arts School Galway and was a member of their international touring group. At the age of 18 she moved to the UK and received a Higher National Diploma from the Newcastle College of Performing Arts and a Degree in Musical Theatre and Dance from Hull University. On completing her studies, she secured a job with a top Spanish Performance Company “Romantic Corporate Productions”. Her highlights include a “Las Vegas Legends” 2 year contract in the Canary Islands and “Celtic Dreams” in Mallorca and Menorca. She danced on Iberostar Cruise lines around the Mediterranean before settling in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain where she opened her own school “Dance with me Puerto”. While there she choreographed for “Schwarzkopf” in Madrid and Seville and competed at the “Vive tu Sueño” National Competition with her dancers. Between 2014-2017 Genevieve ran the dance and theatre program at the Bremerton YMCA and taught at Irene’s School of Dance until she returned to Spain. In 2021 the military brought Genevieve and her family back to Silverdale. She trained as a Montessori assistant and currently works at First Stage Montessori. She loves being involved in the dance and musical theatre community in Kitsap County and is excited to join the NSD team.
RACHAEL LOKKINS
TINY TOTS/COMBO Miss Rachael grew up in University Place, WA where she danced from the ages 3-18. She trained mainly in ballet, jazz, hip-hop and lyrical as well as being a member of the dance company at her studio. Rachael then went on to attend Washington State University where she received her bachelors in Elementary Education and later her Masters in Reading and Literacy Instruction from Walden University.
Rachael taught kindergarten and first grade until 2018 when she shifted to a stay at home mom to daughters Isla and Avery.
Dancing has always been an important part of her life. There is truly no better way to express yourself than through dance.
KENDRA SLATTERY
Acro - Miss Kendra grew up in Sammamish, WA, where she danced recreationally throughout her childhood. She specifically enjoyed tap, jazz and hip hop, but switched to competitive cheerleading after her dance studio started their own cheer squad. Kendra cheered competitively and for Skyline High School, until she moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington. Kendra earned a Master’s of Education and taught middle school Language Arts for several years before starting her family. Kendra is mom to three daughters, one who is excelling in gymnastics and two who love to dance. After eight years of being a stay-at-home mom, Ms. Kendra returned to work and is now an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. In 2024, she also became certified in Acrobatic Arts and began teaching at Northwest School of Dance. When Kendra is not working, she loves to read, travel and spend time outdoors with her family and friends.
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KARLI BALSTAD
Hip Hop/Jazz -
MONTANA GRANILLO
Hip Hop/Jazz-
BRENDEN MARTINEK
Boys Hip Hop/Co-Teacher - Mr. Brenden has been dancing since the age of 3. For over 15 years he has trained in all genres of dance, and since 2019 has been competitively dancing on the Clarke Dance Group team. Throughout his dance career, Mr. Brenden has always gravitated towards Tap and Hip Hop. He loves the energy and performance quality that these genres bring, as well as the culture of family and community these styles originate from. After becoming a teaching assistant at Northwest School of Dance, he found a new passion in instructing children. Now that he has joined the NSD faculty, he plans to continue inspiring kids and showing them what they are capable of through hard work and perseverance. Apart from being a teacher, Mr. Brenden is a graduating high school student and hopes to pursue his dreams of becoming a music producer in college.
STAFF
Tina Mari Fox
Administrative Assistant
Sam Sherman
Front Office
EMPLOYMENT
COME BE A PART OF THE NSD FAMILY!
Interested in working for Northwest School of Dance? We are always looking to expand our faculty and staff.
Current Job Openings
*Dance Instructor*
Now hiring part-time dance instructor positions in all dance styles including ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, modern, and tap. Experience is required. It is preferred that instructors are well rounded in their training and able to teach more than one style, but it is not required. Hours of instruction may vary depending on a variety of factors. Positions open for summer and fall teaching. Ideally looking for someone who can teach in the fall, or start in the summer and continue throughout the next school year. Starting wage dependent on experience & qualifications, extra pay offered for travel reimbursement. Please send resumes to nwschoolofdance@yahoo.com.
*On Call Substitute Instructor*
We are looking for an experienced substitute dance teacher in all areas of dance (ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, tap, contemporary) to add to our on-call list. To apply for this position, please email us your resume, headshot, and coverletter to nwschoolofdance@yahoo.com.
Northwest School of Dance is a member of NDEO (National Dance Education Organization), a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement and promotion of high quality education in the art of dance. As a member, we are able to take part in National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA). Student induction into the NHSDA is awarded on the basis of points earned for meritorious work in dance. These students receive a Certificate of Membership, added prestige in scholarship applications & future resumes, wear NHSDA honor cords & gold honor pins during graduation ceremonies, and are eligible to apply for the NDEO Artistic Merit, Leadership and Academic Achievement Award.