Meet the Teachers

Naomi began learning Ballet at age 5. Because her father was in the  military she went to a number of different dance schools.  Her primary source of training was in Las Vegas at the Las Vegas Dance Theatre Studio(where Shields and Yarnell were trained in dance) and in Hampton, Virginia at the Betty Smith School of Dance.  Naomi majored in dance at Western Michigan University. After graduating, she moved to Alaska and taught ballet, tap, and jazz at Molloy and Co. where she was also was a member of their Performance team.  Naomi teaches Fairy Tale Ballet, Jazz and Tap at Aspire. 

Brandyn moved to Sequim with her family from Ohio a few years ago.  She has a degree in Elementary Education and extensive training in dance.  Her training includes classical ballet techinque through pointe, choreography, and pas de deux.  She has trained at the Northern Virginia Dance Academy, The Washington School of Ballet, and the American Ballet Theatre.   Brandyn teaches Ballet at Aspire.

  Joe began piano studies in Sequim at age 8 and by his teenage years was organizing bands and producing recordings of original songs with other musicians.  With an understanding and passion for music he quickly learned guitar, bass, mandolin and drums.  At Western Washington University he studied composition, graduating in 1999. 

     Based out of Massachusetts, Joe performed music and taught Montessori school for 3 years.  During that time he witnessed the magic of music in early childhood and went on to teach music at daycares, preschools and elementary schools.  He has been teaching guitar, piano, drums, mandolin, ukulele, autoharp, songwriting and a rock band classes for students of all ages for the past two years at a large nonprofit music center in Portland, Oregon. 

Morgan started dancing at the age of 3 at Christine’s Dance Studio in Orange, CA. Attending mainly ballet classes she also enjoyed tap and jazz. In junior high she started as a teacher’s assistant and often filled in for other teacher’s classes. Morgan attended summer intensives and trained with Ballet Pacifica, Nevada Ballet Theater and Joffrey Ballet. At 13 she auditioned for and was accepted into the Classical Contemporary Dance Department and the Commercial Dance Department at the Orange County High School of the Arts. She chose Classical ballet as it has always been her love and passion. There she studied classical ballet, modern and pointe under many well known teachers and choreographers.  Her sophomore year of high school she suffered a hip injury that prevented her from dancing for years. After finding an awesome doctor and healing from the injury her love of dance has brought her here to Aspire Academy to jump back into the dancing world and share her love of dance with young and excited students. She plans to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Dance.

Morgan moved to Port Angeles, WA a year and half ago from Orange County, CA with her husband Kyle who is in the United States Coast Guard.

Travis comes to Aspire from Canada, where he grew up and eventually worked in a music store, teaching acoustic, electric and bass guitar.  He has a passion for writing, performing and teaching music and loves spending time playing his guitar.  Travis can teach any genre of guitar and embraces the play first, read later approach. 

Robin is a licensed Kindermusik and Simply Music educator. She has been teaching Kindermusik in Sequim since 1995 and Simply Music since early 2004. She also is a Certified Zumba Instructor.  Robin studied Suzuki Violin in elementary school and began piano studies at age ten. She studied piano for eleven years through the completion of college and taught traditional piano lessons for 5 years before she found Simply Music.  She and her husband have four children.

Carry is a licensed Kindermusik & Simply Music educator. She has been teaching Kindermusik in Eastern and Western Washington since 1999 and Simply Music since mid-2004. She returned to Sequim in 2003 and joined Robin in teaching and developing Olympic Peninsula Music Academy (OPMA) which is now Aspire Academy of Expressive Arts.

Liesl isn't a teacher but she is the first person who will greet you when you walk into Aspire Academy!  She sings and plays the piano and she can answer your questions, help you register, assist you with dancewear and make you feel at home.  Welcome, Liesl!

Viletta comes to Aspire with over 25 years of experience directing choirs in school and church settings and teaching voice lessons.  She is a certified teacher with a master's degree in Education Administration as well as both a bachelor's and master's degree in Vocal Performance from San Francisco State College.

She has performed in drama and musical productions in the community, at church, at universities and in professional settings.  She currently directs the Men's Choir at Sequim Community Church, is a choir member, and is a singer with The Peninsula Singers.