Michelle Chandler-Smith

I began my dance journey at age 12. With over 30 years of experience, my interests and expertise are in jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, musical theatre and modern. I spends my free time teaching and traveling the country continuing my dance education, choreographing, teaching master classes, intensives and judging.

I feel blessed to have studied under the guidance of Joe Tremaine, Gus Giordano, Dave Massey, Doug Caldwell, Sean Greene, and several others. I have also had the privilege of performing as a member of the jazz-based Eastside Moving Company and the modern-jazz Company Fusion, both in Seattle.

After three years at Chapman University in Orange, California and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Theatre, I began my teaching career in Bellevue, Washington at Backstage Dance Studio. Several of my students have won title awards regionally and nationally and have gone onto careers with Holland America, Carnival Cruise Lines, Stiletto Entertainment and are seen in many industrial pieces in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas and New York City, as well as Company work in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Pennsylvania, Saipan and London.

I also sit on the judging panel regionally and nationally for KAR, Rainbow, Showbiz and other esteemed Dance Competitions. Michelle continues to teach master classes, convention classes formerly on staff at Kids Artistic Revue (KAR) and Dance Masters of America (DMA), and am passionate in sharing my choreography across the country, all of which I feel so honored and blessed to continue to do.

I just sold my business as Co-Owner/Director at Inspire Academy of Dance which opened the summer of 2016 in the Seattle area. I am always excited to be sharing my passion and love for dance, as well as my knowledge and insight with students willing to pursue the heart and soul of dance as an innovative and expanding art form.