Jessica Nelson (Owner) -
better known as Jessie, is a graduate of Milwaukie High School where she received All State Honors in dance. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s of Science in Dance from Western Oregon University in 2005. Since she has danced with the modern dance company Kinetic Images in Lake Oswego & an all female dance team collective, Remix. Jessie has over 13 year experience in studio management and is the is the co-owner of Pacific Dance Academy. 

Amber Black (Owner) -
was raised in Portland and has taught with Pacific Dance Academy since 1999. She is proud to now co-own the studio with Jessie Nelson. In addition to studying dance, Amber received a Master’s in Occupational Therapy from Pacific University in 2008 and works for Kaiser Permanente. Amber enjoyed the opportunity to train and perform in major cities throughout the west coast with groups such as Rumba Y Cache Latin dance company and Remix all female dance collective. Additionally, she danced in the Eric Zimmer Dance Workout video and has been a guest dancer with Pacific University Dance Ensemble. Amber works hard to integrate mind body awareness into her teaching style. 

Briley Neugebauer (Instructor) -

is originally from Seattle, grew up studying many styles of dance and was a graduate of the pre-professional program at International Ballet Theatre. Upon high school graduation, she received talent and academic based scholarships to study dance at the University of Arizona. In 2011 she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.F.A. from the School of Dance where she performed roles such as Choleric in Balachine's Four Temperaments, Lead Female Daemon in Carmina Burana and was apart of commissioned works such as Bella Lewitzky's Recuardo, and Martha Graham's Panorama. During the summer of 2011 she joined ART-IF-ACT Dance Project for a five week tour in China performing numerous roles that showcased the history of dance in America. Upon returning to the states, she was accepted as an apprentice at Spectrum Dance Theater_Donald Byrd where she also had the opportunity to perform in the musical Oklahoma! at the 5th Avenue Theater. She then moved to Portland and was a company dancer at Polaris Dance Theatre for two years where she also created original works such as Derailed, Choice, and One of Everything. She afterwards became a Principle Dancer and Rehearsal Director for Moxie Contemporary Ballet. In 2015 Briley was one of the founding members of PDX Contemporary Ballet and serves as their Artistic Director.

Susanne Leolani Fuller (Instructor) - 

started her dance training in childhood with Polynesian dance: Hula, Tahitian, and Maori. Her hula genealogy starts first through her mother, who trained with, and had her uniki, from Uncle George Holoka’i and Uncle Joseph Kamohai Kahaulelio, whom Susanne trained with. She performed professionally in her mother’s Polynesian Dance company for 13+ years in addition to ballet, tap, and jazz. Susanne began acting and received her B.A. in Theater with honors from Notre Dame de Namur University in San Francisco, apprenticed at Williamstown Theater Festival, and trained at the Eugene O’Neill National Theater Institute. After college, she attended the American Conservatory Theater’s Summer Congress and Advanced Training Program. Her professional acting took her throughout the USA, Cayman Islands, and eventually to the UK, where she toured in England and Ireland with the New Vic Theatre Company of London. Susanne also had the opportunity to be the choreographer for Lord Richard Attenborough’s film "Chaplin" starring Robert Downey Jr.  Upon moving to L.A., she worked in Business and Legal Affairs at 20th Century Fox Television and Revolutions Studios. In 2011, Susanne moved to Portland, OR and reconnected with her childhood joy and bliss: Polynesian dance. In 2015, she founded The School of Polynesian Dance. The school’s performance group has won competitions at the 4 Days of Aloha Festival in the Hapa Haole Hula Competition. She has been a Dance Artist at Grace Arts Summer Camp in 2018, 2019, and will be returning in 2020. Susanne is thrilled to be teaching Hula for all ages at Pacific Dance Academy. 

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Susan Galbraith (Instructor) -

has studied, danced, and taught tap over time and distance. From the DC area to Africa, she has been part of the world of rhythm. Susan grew up on New York and has always loved percussion, but it wasn't until her 20's that she moved the Maryland and found tap dancing. In 2011, Susan had the opportunity to travel to a school in Accra, Ghana with 20 pairs of tap shoes to teach tap to children. This experience gave Susan a new percussive art to master; African drumming. Through workshops, festivals, and travel, Susan has had the opportunity to study tap dance and African drumming with the Masters. Susan is a former member of the East Coast based Abasi's More Than Drum Percussion Ensemble and has extensive experience teaching tap for college students and in a home school talent program. In 2020, Susan moved to Portland with her husband to be with her son, daughter in-law, and grandchild. 

Grace Armstrong (Guest Instructor) -

is from Shoreline, Washington and began dancing at the age of four. She trained with Olympic Ballet School through high school and attended summer intensives with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Canada’s National Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School, Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, and Colorado Ballet School. In 2014 and 2015 she competed in the Youth America Grand Prix and was awarded Top 12 in the semi-finals. Recently she graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Ballet with an Outside Field in Arts Management. While at IU, Grace was an instructor with Indiana University’s Pre-College Ballet Program from 2017-2020. Professionally, she dances with Oregon Ballet Theatre 2 and teaches at studios throughout Portland.

Jasmin Leonard (Intern) - Bio coming soon!













 

Zoey Burns (Intern) - Bio coming soon!