Teresa Hanawalt (Artistic Director) received her BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts in 2003.  Since then, Teresa has worked with choreographers including Wade Madsen, 33 Fainting Spells, Deborah Wolf, and Michael Foley.  She performed with the LeGendre Performance Group and was part of Floor of the Forest, a performance art exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery created by Trisha Brown.  In 2004/05 Teresa danced with Kristina Dillard's Big Red Dance Company.  Teresa became a certified Stott Pilates instructor in 2008.  She is currently teaching Pilates at Pacific Northwest Ballet and Bodycenter Studios and dance at Marysville Performing Arts Centre.



Anne Motl (Artistic Director) began classical dance training with the Stroia Ballet Company in Little Falls, Minnesota. She moved to Washington in 1997 to pursue a career in dance and graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2002.  Teaching dance during college and then formally in 2002, it has been Anne's goal to make dance accessible to everyone. She teaches a wide range of styles including ballet, contemporary, modern, jazz and creative movement to all ages.  In 2003, Anne co-founded NWDS.  She performs with Marlo Martin/Bad Mar Mar Dance and Maya Soto/Soto Style.  Anne’s most recent project, Loretta’s Garden was featured in Tesee George/Dance Contemporary in March 2011 along with Just As Close featured in Kristen Legg’s Redd Legg Dance in May 2011.

Maya Soto (Artistic Director) has been creating, performing and teaching dance in Seattle since 1999. She has studied a wide variety of movement forms and is inspired by the integration of different styles. She is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts where she earned a BFA in dance. As an educator, Maya recently taught for PNB's REACH! program and teaches Contemporary Movement Styles at Velocity Dance Center every Tuesday.  She regularly teaches and directs the dance program at the Arts and Academics Academy: a public high school of arts and sciences. Maya has been co-directing NWDS since 2003. Her work has been shown regionally at On the Boards, Bumbershoot, the Firehouse Performing Arts Center, Tacoma Museum of Glass and the JFFA Festival. As a performer, Maya has worked with LeGendre Performance Group, Big Red Dance Company, Amy O'Neal and SANDSTROMMOVEMENT.  Her most recent project, Soto Style has been featured in the BOOST Festival, BAM Arts Fair, Annex Theater, Arts In Nature and JFFA Festivals, and the Pink Door Restaurant.