Director/Instructor

Amanda Cruz is the Director of Pulse Dance Studio, a dance studio that provides top instruction offering programs for a variety of commitment levels to allow all dancers to enjoy and grow in dance.

Amanda’s love for dance began at a young age, training in all styles at Footlites Dance Studio and Eastern Washington Elite All-Stars. She went on to become a varsity member of the University of Cincinnati Dance Team from 2013-2015 where she won two UDA D1A Hip Hop titles and three gold medals competing as Team USA at the ICU Championships.

Amanda has since devoted her career to perfecting her craft and sharing her talent with others teaching and coaching at studios across the country. Over the last year she has taken on the Manager and Director role at Pulse Dance Studio. Amanda’s mission is to share her passion for dance and provide the same experience she had growing up to her students while creating a sense of community.

Instructor

Jen started dance at the age of five. She toured Oregon and California with the Oregon State Ballet and Beaverton Ballet beginning at the age of 12. Jennifer has received scholarships to many Dance Institutions around the US, and studied at The Orange County High School of Performing Arts, Tremain’s Dance Studio, Philadelphia Institute of the Arts, All That Jazz, Joseph Wyatt Dance Studio, The Edge and Broadway Dance Center where she has taught, managed the front desk and produced their student shows for 5 years. Jennifer is a graduate of Point Park College with a BA in dance, a concentration in Jazz, where she worked and performed with famous modern/jazz companies from around the United States including Hubbard Street Dance Company, River North Dance and Pilobolus. She performed with Tracie Stanfield’s company Synthesis Dance Project at the International Dance Festival in NYC and Michelle Barber at the Alan Awards. She choreographed, danced, judged and taught classes with En L’Air Aerial Dance Theatre, Ticket to Broadway and other studios both locally and across the country. Jen was invited to Dublin Ireland to perform and assist with :pushing progress artistic director Calen Kurka. Jennifer has been teaching in the Pacific Northwest for over 19 years, and Artistic Director of disORDER dance for 6 years. Jennifer is currently working towards her Master in Creative Practice at Saint Mary's College in California. She continues to encourage young dancers to find their creative voice by empowering their abilities to excel in what she loves the most.

Instructor

Makayla grew up dancing since the age of 3 and has lived in the Vancouver, WA area for her whole life. She has trained in a multitude of styles, including jazz, tap, ballet, acro, acro stunting, lyrical, hip hop, point, contemporary, and pom. She gained this diverse experience from Schell Dance Studio, Style Shock Dance Studio as an all star dancer for two years, and Pulse Dance Studio, where she completed her high school career. In high school she was given the opportunity to choreograph for her schools theater department and in 2020 and won the choreography award for “The Fifth Avenue Awards Theater” in the state of Washington. In 2023 she was certified in Acrobatic of the Arts.

Makayla attended California Baptist University where she was on the Dance team there 2020-24. Earning 5 National college titles, two in D1 pom, one in D1 Jazz, and two in D1 game day!

Instructor

Natalie is from Walla Walla Washington and has been training in dance since the age of 3. She began technical training in jazz, hip hop, ballet, pointe, and gymnastics. She completed two years on an acrobatics team, two years on her high school dance team, then finished her high school career with two years of cheerleading. In 2011, Natalie competed at the prestigious Italian ballet Grand Prix. She worked as a Walt Disney cast member from 2014 to 2015, performing at the iconic parades and park events as various characters. Following this job, Natalie made the Trail Blazers professional dance team. She danced at games and represented the Trail Blazers from 2015 to 2021, becoming a captain for the Portland’s favorite dance team. Not only is Natalie an established and accomplished professional dancer, she is also a well renowned choreographer. She has choreographed for Thunderbird dance, Proaction prep and Dance Team Social. She is a choreographer for multiple studios in the Portland and Vancouver area, and is loved by all of the students and staff at Pulse. She brings vast experience, extensive dance expertise, amazing choreography, and great energy to our studio! She is also a spin instructor and has been teaching spin since 2016. She is a lover of all things dance, cats, and her new baby June!

Instructor

Heather has been teaching and coaching competitive dance for 17 years. From the age of 7, she has trained in Ballet, Lyrical, Contemporary, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Musical Theater. As a dancer, Heather has won several first place titles, technique, and performance awards. Heather developed a passion for performance and artistry at a young age and deeply enjoys sharing that passion and helping her students develop into the best they can be. As a choreographer and coach, Heather has won awards for choreography, judges choice awards, and overall piece concept awards.

As a dance teacher and coach, Heather feels that it is important for her students to feel confident, inspired, and supported.

Instructor

Kelly is a freelance teacher, dancer and choreographer based in Vancouver, Washington. She grew up on a farm in Wyoming, dancing in a small town studio studying ballet, jazz, lyrical and gymnastics. She moved on to receive her B.F.A. in Dance from The University of Montana. Kelly has studied and performed with Doug Varone and Dancers, Bebe Miller, Top Shake Dance, and Muffie Delgado Connelly. Kelly is a co-founder, director, and choreographer of Pathways Dance Company and a certified The Ellové Technique® instructor. She currently teaches at Pulse Dance Studio, Columbia Dance Center, Multnomah Athletic Club and through Portland Parks and Recreation. As an instructor, she is passionate about building community and finding joy through movement.

Instructor

Alyssa started dancing at the age of five and has lived in the Vancouver, WA area her whole life. She has trained in jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical, acro, hip hop, pointe, tap, and pom, completing 9 of those years of training at Pulse Dance Studio. She also spent all four years of her high school career as a cheerleader, gaining experience in crowd control and game day performance. This led Alyssa to attend Oregon State University where she cheered on their Dance Team.

Alyssa now choreographs for a local competitive high school cheer team and, as an instructor and coach, is devoted to spreading her passion and experience with her students. She is also continuing to study Kinesiology at OSU in order to apply her understanding of biomechanics, exercise physiology, and sports psychology in her work.

Born in Lacey, Wa. Jason started dancing at the age of twelve. With continued training, he pushed his skills to the next level and since then, has continued training with the industries finest. He has taught at over 50 studios in Washington alone, and went on to found and co-own an all hip hop dance studio. Jason is currently teaching at numerous places in the PNW; directing and choreographing for competitive dance crews and training the new generation of dancers.

"I love helping dancers make smart choices that, in-turn, create dramatic results! Pushing limits and evoking failure are my forte. Face your fears! Learn from them and grow. I’ve always believed that in EVERY class I teach, a student should walk away with knowledge that will help them succeed in ANY class."

CAREER:

-Choreography Award & Overall top 10 placements from Thunderstruck, Velocity, Spotlight, Radix, & Tremayne. 2019-2023.

-Back Up Dancer/ Choreographer: Horizun @ Crystal Ballroom 2018

-Co-Director on "Welcome To Sunnyville" A full-length urban dance showcase. 2018

-Choreography Top 5 for Radix, Velocity, 24 Seven, Jump, + Monsters A-List. 2017

-Choreographer for RAW. 1st place, winners circle. WOD (World Of Dance). 2016

-Choreography Award for Monsters A-List. Seattle. 2015

-Dancer w/ PG Fam. 2nd place, WOD. Seattle 2013

-Dancer w/ Static Crew. Seahawks vs Falcons Playoff half-time show. 2012

-Dancer/Actor. Microsoft Employment Video packet. Green screen. 2011

-Model/Dancer for Rich Kids Brand Clothing Co. 2011

-Dancer for New Era Hat Co. 2010