Business Details
23 Years
experience
Your Premier Dance School in Burien, WA
Momentum Dance Academy Dance Academy has been enriching lives through dance education since 2003. Our mission focuses on inspiring through performance, empowering through education, and fostering creativity while providing high-quality instruction in ballet, contemporary, hip hop, Irish, jazz, and tap for ages 3 to adult. With over 20 years of experience, our faculty cultivates life-long advocates of the arts through diverse programming, including pre-professional training, community outreach performances, and $40,000+ in annual scholarships.We emphasize technical excellence in a non-competitive environment with proper alignment, balance, and musicality across 12 full-length ballet productions and regional dance festivals. Our commitment to trustworthiness is demonstrated through transparent operations, youth leadership programs, and partnerships with local senior communities in Burien, Renton, Des Moines, and Seattle.
Services
Creative Ballet
Ballet
Contemporary
Hip Hop
Irish Dance
Tap
Jazz
Musical Theater
Adult Fitness
Birthday Parties
Details
- Year established: 2003
Highlights and features
- We offer pre-professional dance training for ages 3 to adult
- Our faculty includes instructors with 20+ years of experience
- We provide $40,000+ in annual dance scholarships
- We offer community outreach performances at senior residences
- Our teen leadership program develops arts management skills
What people say
Second family
Great teachers
Friendly place
Positive environment
Confidence growth
Services
Creative Ballet
Creative Ballet classes introduce preschoolers to dance fundamentals while developing body awareness and coordination. Our curriculum combines classical ballet positions with musicality training, offering Tap or Jazz as complementary focuses. Students benefit from age-appropriate themes and props that create a safe, supportive environment for early dance education.
Contemporary Dance
Our Contemporary program bridges jazz and ballet while emphasizing self-expression through fluid movement. Classes focus on rhythm, spatial design, and gravity utilization in a fun environment. Dancers develop individual style while mastering proper alignment and balance techniques across multiple levels of instruction.
Hip Hop
Hip Hop classes combine street-style moves with isolations and floor work set to contemporary music. Instructors teach age-appropriate urban choreography while developing basic movement skills. Students learn popular Hip Hop techniques and are encouraged to add personal flair to performance pieces.
Irish Dance
Irish Dance instruction covers traditional solo and group performances. Beginners start with soft shoe techniques before progressing to hard shoe work. Classes emphasize muscle development, rhythmic precision, and proper technique while preserving the cultural heritage of Irish dance forms.
Performance Division
Our Performance Division offers pre-professional dance company experience with opportunities in ballet, jazz/contemporary, hip hop, and tap. Members participate in community tours, dance festivals, and two annual full-length ballet productions as principle and solo performers.
People
Rachael Forstrom
Executive Artistic Director
Rachael Forstrom has 20+ years of teaching and choreography experience. She received her BFA in Dance from Ohio University and has staged 12 full-length ballets at Momentum Dance Academy. Dedicated to creating a positive learning environment for all ages and abilities.
Nikki Wells
Contemporary Program Coordinator
Nikki Wells graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Visual Art. She has taught jazz, tap, and ballet at Momentum Dance Academy since 2005 and creates original choreography for biannual productions. Trained at Dew Ann Cotten Dance Academy for 15+ years.
Austin Sexton
Rehearsal Director
Austin Sexton trained at Spectrum Dance Theater and Dance Fremont! She brings multi-disciplinary expertise in ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance. With family roots in dance education, she emphasizes technical training and performance preparation for advanced students.
Mario Manansala
Ballet Instructor
Mario Manansala trained with Momentum Dance Academy Dance Ensemble and Moscow Ballet on scholarship. He has attended summer programs at Evergreen City Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theater. Specializes in ballet, jazz, contemporary, and partnering instruction for advanced students.
Denise Smithhisler
Tap Instructor
Denise Smithhisler has 31 years of dance instruction experience, teaching tap, jazz, and ballet. She has taught at Momentum Dance Academy since 2016 and brings expertise from running her own dance studio. Her students have performed at major venues including Disneyland.
Questions
What dance styles do you offer?
We offer ballet, contemporary, hip hop, Irish, jazz, tap, and musical theater classes for ages 3 to adult in both recreational and pre-professional tracks.
Do you have a performance program?
Yes! Our Performance Division offers pre-professional dance company experience with opportunities in ballet, jazz/contemporary, hip hop, and tap across two annual full-length productions.
Are there birthday party options?
We host themed dance parties with 50 minutes of instruction, craft projects, and performance opportunities. Packages start at $200 with customizable options available.
Do you offer financial assistance?
Yes, we provide over $40,000 in annual scholarships through our Arts Access Program for individuals needing tuition assistance in the Burien-Seattle area.
Are adult classes available?
We offer teen and adult classes in all genres including ballet, hip hop, jazz/contemporary, and tap with beginner to advanced levels in a fitness-focused environment.
What community outreach programs exist?
Our outreach includes senior community performances in Burien, Renton, Des Moines, and Seattle, plus youth mentorship programs developing arts leadership skills for teens.
Reviews (4)
Cristina Vazquez
Apr 13, 2020
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From September to February my daughter's classes started late for more than 5 minutes sometimes 10 or more, I sent emails and spoke in person with Momentum staff and no one cares, I never recived a apologize . The classes of my daughters never started late for 4 years until September 2019.
Gretchen Arentzen Hanshew
Dec 04, 2019
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Very professional and highly trained staff, despite the limited budgets of a non-profit organization. A friendly, helpful and inclusive community. My son dances, and feels lots of love and support from fellow dancers and instructors. A great activity if you are tired of rained out little league ball games and freezing cold soccer matches. Bring them to class and stay to watch on the monitors or run a quick errand!
Tonie Urrea Basulto
Aug 07, 2018
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We chose Momentum 4 years ago because the Director at the time had a heart for quality dance education and was dedicated to providing access to all dancers. She made the effort to know and bond with every family and she addressed problems genuinely and quickly. Over the past 2 years Momentum has gone through 4 different Directors. The current… Executive Artistic Director seems to focus on the large performances, rather than developing the technique of all the dancers and building relationships with families. Staff does not appear to be overseen, as a result customer service and the classroom
Tay Perry
Jun 12, 2018
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My child has attended Momentum for 7 years. They started out in Kindergarten doing hip hop once week and gradually added more genres throughout the years. One thing that has been great about Momentum is the opportunity for young children to be exposed to so many classes, from hip hop, to irish, to musical theater, to ballet. The convenience of… having all of these options under one roof and right off the freeway sounded perfect for our family needs, it helped solidify my childs love of the arts. Sadly, that’s where they stopped meeting our needs. Over the past 7 years I have witnessed
