Our Teachers
Our studio adheres to the Royal Academy of Dance methods and our teachers have been specifically chosen to give the highest level of training possible to our students.
Ann Eldore
co-owner, ballet teacher
Ann Eldore started ballet at the age of 3. She began learning Royal Academy of Dance syllabus at age 13. At age 14 Ann started assisting in classes and by age 16 was teaching her own. She also danced in competitions traveling to Las Vegas for Nationals.
Ann continued dancing after high school and had the opportunity to travel to, and perform in, Copenhagen and Russia. In Russia Ann was able to take classes with the Minsk National Dance troupe.
Ann attended her first Royal Academy of Dance teacher’s course at the age of 20 and earned her Royal Academy of Dance teaching degree at the age of 24. She has attended many Royal Academy of Dancing teaching courses to continually grow as a teacher.
Ann has trained and entered hundreds of students for their Royal Academy of Dance exams. One of the things that Ann loves most about teaching is interacting with her students and watching them grow as dancers. Everyone can benefit from dancing and grow as a dancer. Miss Ann likes to foster a positive environment that is inclusive to all.
Ann attended Eastern Washington University and graduated with honors with her BA in Political Science. In addition to teaching ballet Ann went through the management training program for Starbucks in Seattle and worked in a law firm in Seattle for 8 years as a paralegal and office manager. She had the opportunity to work on Asylum cases in Immigration Court and many federal criminal case trials.
Ann has a son named Kai who is 12 years old. She enjoys spending time with her family in Priest Lake, Idaho and Dallas, Texas.
Stephanie Getman Gronholz
co-owner, ballet teacher
Stephanie began dancing at the age of 3 and thankfully found Sandra Olgard's Studio of Dance six years later when she was about to quit. With Miss Sandra and Miss Ann, Stephanie studied ballet and modern through her senior year in high school, taking exams every year and teaching classes for younger dancers.
At Whitworth University, Stephanie majored in English but took as many dance classes as she could while continuing to teach at Sandra’s. After receiving a Masters in Teaching, Stephanie began a 15-year career in education in Denver, Colorado. She taught middle school and high school English and also served as the administrator of the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs at those schools.
Stephanie discovered yoga and barre fitness when faced with a scarcity of adult ballet classes. She is a registered yoga teacher and has also been trained in Barre Above, Balletone, and Cardio Yoga to offer ballet-inspired fitness classes. She still loves teaching dancers of all ages but especially appreciates the imagination and enthusiasm of our youngest dancers.
In addition to dance and fitness, Stephanie enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time outside with her family. Stephanie is thrilled to be back at a studio that instilled a strong work ethic and nurtured lasting friendships.
Marty Newell-Large
ballet teacher
Marty grew up in Spokane. He started dancing at the Bleker School of Dance at age 5, then the following year moved to Sandra's studio where he danced through High School. At age 5 Marty wanted to take a karate class, so his mom said, "Fine, but take a year of dance first." 27 years later and he still hasn't taken that karate class. He returned to Sandra's studio in 2016 and he is currently working to be accepted to the Royal Academy of Dance's Certificate in Ballet Teaching Studies program.
Marty graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 2006 and went on to study Japanese Language and Earth Sciences at the University of Victoria. While at university, he continued ballet before finding the UVic Ballroom Dance Club, serving 2 years as President during his time there.
He began teaching swimming lessons at age 16, and has continued to do so ever since. His teaching credentials include American Red Cross and YMCA swim lessons and lifeguard instructor.
When he's not teaching swimming or ballet you can find Marty outside. Kayaking, hiking, camping, rock climbing, and mountaineering are all among his hobbies. Every spring he helps to teach the mountaineering course offered by the Spokane Mountaineers.
Gabby Smith
tap teacher
Sara Stradley-Wright
ballet teacher
Born and raised in the PNW, Sara has 22+ years of classical ballet training, 15+ years teaching experience, and several years studying other dance genres, including, but not limited to: jazz, modern, improvisation, character, contemporary, flamenco, and tap.
She received the bulk of her training in Spokane. She also attended American Ballet Theater’s advanced summer program in 2009, Oregon Ballet Theater’s summer program in 2010, and was a trainee for Ballet Tucson 2011-2012, until she moved to Southern California where she focused for several years on teaching and performing in northern San Diego county.
Since coming back to the Pacific Northwest, She’s transitioned her focus primarily to teaching and sharing the beautiful world of dance with those who seek it. She’s thrilled to be a part of the beautiful family at Sandra Olgards School Of Dance!!
Mia Person
contemporary teacher
After her mother’s 2 failed attempts to get her sisters to take dance classes, Mia fell in love with dance at age 3. She joined a competitive dance team at age 6 and competed in various different styles with her team at All About Dance for 10 years. Then, as she entered high school, she became a part of the Desert Dance Company and was team captain her junior and senior years. Her time on this company really helped her expand her repertoire beyond technique and into choreography. Her proudest accomplishment from her years of dance in Arizona was when she was awarded Top Elite Soloist and National Scholarship Winner at The Pulse.
Mia also worked closely with Scottsdale Center for the Arts where she trained under world renown companies such as Diavolo, Complexions, Jacob Jonas, and Martha Graham. This experience made her realize she could not let go of dance as she entered into college. Now, Mia is working on her undergrad at Gonzaga University. She is a double major in Criminology and Dance with a minor in Solidarity and Social Justice. She is super excited to get to share the love of dance with all the students and expand their vocabulary beyond ballet and into more contemporary and urban styles!
MacKenzie Koppa
volunteer coordinator
MacKenzie’s introduction to the arts started at the age of three when she began tap and jazz at Carol Lee Studio of Dance, where she danced for eight years before moving into the local theatre and film communities. MacKenzie was a 7 year member of the Box ‘n Hat Players and Missoula Children’s Theatre Performing Arts Camp, as well performing in more than 40 plays and musicals over the years. She has also acted in commercials, industrial videos, and feature films, having been trained by casting agents such as Patti Kalles and others.
MacKenzie currently hosts the Live Well Anyway Podcast and YouTube channel, as well as working as a professional Voice Actor, represented by Donna Baldwin Agency, Denver and DDO Chicago.
MacKenzie teaches drama classes, coordinates picture day, and helps stage manage the recital.
Sandra Olgard, founder
Sandra Stejer Olgard slid into her first pair of pink leather ballet shoes at the age of 5. Her mother had enrolled her in Spokane’s renowned Tessa Williams School of Classical Ballet where her career as a dancer got its start. At the age of 11, she was promoted to teacher’s assistant. Her dancing ability was not only noticed by Williams, a Royal Academy of Dance instructor, but she was also invited to attend summer schools in Vancouver, Edmonton, Banff, and London at the Royal Academy of Dance. As a teenager, Sandra danced in plays at the Spokane Civic Theatre and performed solo at Our Lady of Lords Cathedral Easter Services.
After graduating from Ferris High School, Sandra went on to dance professionally on MGM’s glitzy stage in Las Vegas and the Lido in Paris, France. She also became the principal dancer for Sun City’s Extravaganza in South Africa. Sandra returned to Spokane and opened Sandra Olgard’s Studio of Dance in 1988 after receiving her degree with the Royal Academy of Dance. For over three decades, she taught thousands of students.
In addition to running the studio during the school year, Sandra spent summers choreographing, selecting costumes and music, and preparing for the next year’s recital, including Olgard’s interpretation of classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les Fille Mal Gardee, and Don Quixote, and modern ballet themes such as the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, The Swan Princess, and Candy Land.
Sandra also took her work to film. She received film credit cast as the Dance Teacher, Mrs. Maxfield, in the movie, Different Drummers. She also choreographed the dance scenes which included many of her students.
In 2018 Sandra received the Women of Achievement award in Arts and Culture by the YWCA Spokane.
Upon retiring in 2021, Sandra says her greatest pleasure was nurturing students of any age to learn and love the art of dance. Several of her students have moved on to professional careers. However, helping her students develop a passion for the appreciation of dance, music, athleticism, good posture, and confidence, is what brought her the most joy.
Along with her husband, Bruce Olgard (retired administrator in the Mead School District after over 30 years in education), Sandra raised 4 daughters: an administrator for District 81 Skill Center, a senior marketing manager for Amazon, an associate commercial multifamily broker for CBRE in Seattle, and an administrator for a wealth management firm in Southern California who also had a professional volleyball career.