History
Sarah Dayley: Director
Founded 2007 by: Mark & Sarah Dayley
Dayley Dance Academy was founded by Mark & Sarah Dayley in Vancouver, WA. Sarah has been teaching & coaching Portland/Vancouver area dancers since 1996.
How We Began (2007)
In 2007 a persistent parent group (dance team parents) urged Sarah to open a studio that could provide more intensive technique classes to go beyond the dance team season. We began in humble beginnings, with a modest inheritance from Grandma Gabby, we remodeled our family garage & Sarah’s 1st studio space was born. The studio quickly grew to capacity & we moved out of our home & into a new studio space in East Vancouver WA.
Our second location (2011)
In the spring of 2011, we opened our second dance studio location in Washougal Washington and were warmly welcomed by the area schools & community. We fell in love with the Camas/Washougal area as we were invited to perform and participate in many local events, parades & venues. (Our family moved to Washougal too.)
Making Washougal our home (2014)
In 2014, we combined both locations into one large home studio located in the heart of downtown Washougal WA. Our 3 studio spaces are state of the art with modern sprung floors, wall to wall mirrors, bamboo & marley. We’ve been able to increase our curriculum offerings & the quality of instruction by attracting talented instructors/choreographers and adding new programs like our Pre-Professional Dance Training Program.
non-profit Dance School (2017)
In 2017, we merged Dayley Dance Academy with our non-profit Swell Events to form our new non-profit dance school Dayley Dance Academy NW (“DDANW”). To continue pursuing our mission of offering performing arts scholarships & subsidized tuition for low-income families. We believe that the art of dance enhances the lives of those who experience it first hand. At DDANW we want to instill a passion in our young performers & choreographers to share their art with the people. We are striving to give them a platform to do just that!