Meet the Teachers

Alicia is very excited about offering Acrobatic Gymnastics to kids in Sequim. Alicia believes children with gymnastics experience will forever be better athletes. Focusing on strength with flexibility is the key to body awareness. She is a former competitive gymnast and gymnastic coach as well as a martial arts instructor and acrobat.

She is a graduate of neuromuscular integration program at the Soma Institute. Alicia Laxson has been married to her husband Gary for ten years, and they have a six year old son named Logan. The Laxson family relocated to Sequim from Tacoma three years ago. Alicia has a deep commitment to teaching children movement, and what their bodies are capable of.

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.

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.

Shaina is  23 years old and  from Sequim.  She started dancing at the age of 4. Although classically trained, she studied most styles of dance including Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Lyrical, Modern, and Broadway. Shaina started competing at the age of 9 and won two national dance competitions in the styles of Hip Hop and Jazz, before the age of 15.

She  trained with PCPDA, The EDGE Performing Arts Center, and Westlake Dance Center and has studied with choreographers such as Shane Sparks, Gregg Russell, Jason Chong, Leslie Scott, Mia Michaels, Adam Parsons, Dan Karaty, Brian Friedman, Mandy Moore, and Tabitha and Napoleon.

Shaina brings experience and energy to her edgy style of hip hop. 

                                                       Carol brings to Aspire Academy over 30 years of classical ballet experience.  Her students are dancing in professional capacities nationally as well as abroad. 

Carol has staged full-length productions of all of the ballet classics:  Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and more.  Her childrens' pre-ballet program is geared toward children 3 to 6 years of age and is much sought after nationally by classical ballet teachers.