About

Darrah Blanton (she/her) began teaching children’s dance in Seattle in 1999. She specializes in ballet, tap, creative movement, parent-toddler, beginning jazz, and musical theater. Her students have ranged in age from 1 to 18. Darrah has been on faculty at All That Dance, American Dance Institute, Spectrum Dance, Urban Monkeys, Young Child Academy, Interlaken preschool, The Secret Garden preschool, and the Queen Anne & Laurelhurst Community Centers. She created original choreography for Ingraham High School’s productions of Grease, Guys & Dolls, and Seussical: The Musical.

Darrah graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Washington with a double degree in Dance and English. She continued her studies in workshops at the Creative Dance Center, featuring the BrainDance.

As a child growing up in Bellingham, Washington, Darrah studied with Wendy Setter at the Dance Studio and with Isabel and Teo Morca at the Morca Academy. After moving to Seattle, Darrah performed at the University of Washington, Velocity, Seattle Center, The Chamber Theater, On The Boards, and Freehold Theater. In 2016, she relocated to her hometown of Bellingham with her husband and their two sons.

Aubra Julia Heller (she/her) has been dancing her whole life and finds movement in everything. Teaching for Darrah Blanton Dance is her ideal job because it combines so many things that bring her joy; dancing, working with children, and facilitating fun! Aubra has enjoyed sharing her love of movement with young dancers in childcare centers, public schools, and yoga/dance studios. Her number one priority is creating a space where students can use dance to express themselves, learn, and have fun. Aubra graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Washington with a Major in Dance and a Minor in Education, Learning, and Societies with a focus in infant, toddler, and elementary education and psychology.

Sara Stevens (she/her) Update August 2024: After a long and successful career, Sara has decided to retire from teaching. We are so thankful for her years of dedication. We are also fortunate that Aubra Heller is going to take on Sara's classes this Fall.
Sara is passionate about ensuring movement and theater art opportunities for youth. When she was 11, a dance studio opened in her rural MN town and she never stopped dancing. She continued to study ballet, tap, and modern, performed in several musicals, recitals, and talent shows, even after becoming a mom. She has been teaching creative movement classes in preschools and beginning ballet/tap in elementary schools in Seattle since 2013. She was a choreographer for 4 musicals at Loyal Heights Elementary. She also helped develop the theater arts program at Whitman Middle School – during the COVID school closure, her students performed a live Radio Play over Zoom with listeners tuning in from all over the US.

With this diverse background, her dance classes often include aspects of dance, music, and theater. The joy that dance brings to children gives her energy to keep up with the little ones! She also loves swimming in Puget Sound, doing yoga, and hiking with her teenagers.