Our Team

Samantha Weissbach (she/her) | Owner, General Manager, & Pointe Shoe Fitter

Samantha Weissbach, NASM-CPT, YES (she/her) was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest and has been dancing for over 3 decades. She has trained at various establishments but received her primary training through Body Language Studio (formerly Cornerstone Studio), Ballet Bellevue, and Emerald Ballet Theatre.

Samantha has worked with many local Seattle companies and choreographers such as Caitlin Schafte, CarliAnn Forthun, Ethan Rome, Diana Cardiff, Inlay Dance, Relay Dance Collective, Pitch+Roll Productions, FAUNIX, and Sixth Day Dance. Samantha was a Dancer and Executive Director of Intrepidus Dance in Seattle for 7 seasons. Currently, she is Co-Director of Equipoise Dance, Seattle-based dance company drawing inspiration from the elements, nature, and the transformative power of alchemy.

A lifelong learner, Samantha continues her learning journey with annual continuing education seminars, freelance professional work, and weekly classes & cross-training.

Awards & Certifications

• National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer

• National Academy of Sports Medicine Youth Exercise Specialist

• Danscend Mental Wellness Certified Dance Educator Level 1

• PointeSafe Certified Instructor

• 2022 Dance Educators Association of Washington's Annual Educator of the Year Award

Additionally, Samantha is the Ballet Program Director at Body Language Studio, is a member of pointe shoe fitting resource ThePointeShop+ (home of the Progressive Pointe Method), and is a member of Danscend's Council, an organization that brings mental wellness to the forefront of dance training for dancers, educators, and professionals.

Melissa Koh Krienke (she/her) | Pointe Shoe Fitter & Director of Operations

Melissa Koh Krienke is a dancer, teacher, and artist here in the Pacific Northwest.  She started dancing ballet at the age of 3 and her passion grew from there.  Melissa trained through high school with Ballet Chelsea and got her BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts. She has performed with Beth Terwilliger, Converge Dance Festival, the Chihuly Garden and Glass, Dance This, Bridge Project, Tint, PRICEarts N.E.W., Forthun+Rome Dance Theater, Intrepidus Dance, Seattle International Dance Festival, Trillium Dance Collective, and Carnegie Hall. 

Melissa is now dancing professionally, and teaching Ballet, Pointe, and Contemporary.

In her free time Melissa enjoys board games, reading, and snuggling with her black cat, Mochi.

Olivia Floyd (she/her) | Pointe Shoe Fitter & Buying Manager

Olivia Floyd has been dancing in the Pacific Northwest for 16 years. She has trained in various styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and hip-hop. Post graduation, Olivia opted to continue her training in ballet and pointe, and teaches creative movement, ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop in the Greater Seattle Area. One of her favorite things about working at Dancewear Center is meeting new dancers from all over!

Outside of work, Olivia has received her BS in apparel design and merchandising at San Francisco State University. She loves to watch Marvel movies (her favorite superhero is Iron Man!), and loves to spend time with her adorable Shih Tzu Bichon Frise mix, Parker.

Emma Neilson (she/her) | Pointe Shoe Fitter & Social Media Manager

Emma Neilson started dancing at age 4, when she first started studying Scottish Highland Dance. She danced competitively throughout the greater Northwest until the age of 8, winning numerous medals and awards and passing several medal tests through the Scottish Dance Teachers’ Alliance (SDTA). She then moved into competitive figure skating for four years, and during this time took her very first ballet class at age 13. She trained professionally at the International Ballet Academy (IBA) in Bellevue, WA under the direction of Vera Altunina and Francois Serre y Berga. Emma performed with the International Ballet Theatre, resident company of IBA, dancing roles in The Nutcracker and Don Quixote. She also spent summers training at Whitman’s Summer Dance Lab, Summer at Cornish at Cornish College for the Arts, and IBA’s Summer Program. She graduated from highschool and Shoreline Community College in 2017 with her AA in Psychology.  Emma is currently a Seattle based freelance dance artist, and has performed professionally with Dance Conservatory Seattle, Westlake Dance Center, The Guild Dance Company, Evoke Productions’ Full Tilt as well as guesting with local ballet studios and other independently produced projects.

Emma is also a Certified American Barre Technique Instructor and a Certified Flexistretcher Instructor. She currently teaches at Body Language Studio and International Ballet Academy.

Her favorite parts about working at Dancewear Center are always learning more about pointe shoes, meeting amazing community members through the DWC Ambassador Program, and having fun creating content for social media! In her free time, Emma enjoys supporting the local arts community, going to Renaissance Faires and concerts, and listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks.

Anna Nelson (she/her) | Pointe Shoe Fitter

Anna Nelson started ballet at the age of 13 in a small studio in Oak Harbor, WA. From there her desire to dance professionally blossomed and she began more serious training at Cornish Preparatory Dance in Seattle, WA and eventually the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. After a short stint dancing professionally, Anna decided to pursue higher education, receiving a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Washington in Seattle. During her last year at university, she underwent a major hip surgery that took over a year to recover from. Post recovery and graduation from UW, Anna re-started her professional career with Olympic Ballet Theatre in Edmonds, WA where she performed in the 2021-2022 season. 

Anna is currently a company dancer with Dance Theatre Seattle, and a ballet teacher at Emerald Ballet Academy in Bellevue.

Bizzie Adams (she/her) | Retail Salesperson

Bizzie began training in Seattle Washington, with The British Dancing Academy in ballet, modern, jazz, and contemporary styles eventually completing the RAD examinations. Continuing her passion, Biz began studying a concentration of multimedia pursuing her double major at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. While having performed in many Las Vegas theaters and projects, She has also worked on larger-scale dance in multimedia forms designing lights, digital projections, and videography for many choreographic works throughout the west coast. Prior to graduating, Biz joined the State Street Ballet Company Trainee program. December 2022 has Graduated with an "Outstanding Graduating Senior" recognition by the UNLV Department of Dance for earning her double BFA in Dance Production and Management, Dance Performance and Choreography with a minor in Business Administration and a certification in Athletic Pilates from UNLV and is currently a company dancer with Dance Theatre Seattle and instructor with Dance Conservatory Seattle.

Lily Vogt (she/her) | Retail Salesperson

Lily began her dance journey at the age of 4, training in ballet, jazz, and contemporary at Body Language Studio (formerly known as Cornerstone Studio). Her passion for dance quickly grew as she started competing and attending multiple conventions both locally and nationally across various styles. Over the years, she has received numerous awards and scholarships from these events. In the past 12 years that she has spent with BLS, she has performed multiple roles in their production of The Nutcracker, and annually participates in the yearly spring recital. In June 2024, Lily was invited to perform at Encore Dance Competition’s Nationals in Las Vegas, participating in their Senior Elite Team showcase. Lily continues to train at Body Language, and is the captain of their select competition team for the 2024-2025 season.

Staria Belle (she/her) | Retail Salesperson

Staria Belle started dancing at age 12 beginning with hip hop. She quickly added a variety of styles under her belt including ballet, jazz, contemporary and tap. She danced competitively for several years in many of these styles. Staria began teaching at age 15 and has continued for 10 years and still counting. Today she focuses mainly on hip hop and contemporary fusion. Post high school she began filming dancers all over the country which has led to countless opportunities. Staria is currently a Seattle based hip hop choreographer and dance videographer. She has returned back to the studio she got her dance education from, Body Language Studio (formerly known as Cornerstone), and is now their advanced hip hop teacher and is also choreographing for their competition team.