NIKA

ABOUT US

 The NIKA INERNATIONAL ACADEMY  was founded in 1976 in Penza, Russia by professional dancerand choreographer Elena Zakharova. Starting as a youth dance program it has since developed into a prestigious and international dance school.  2004 was a big year for NIKA as studios in the United States adopted their program, launching their dancers into national and world competitions leading them to impressive results of US National finalists and champions, as well as World Open finalists! Since then, several of the original NIKA students have become successful professional ballroom and latin coaches and adjudicators in the United States, Russia and other countries, as well as performers and choreographers for popular TV shows such as “Dancing with the Stars” in the US and Russia, “America’s Got Talent”, “Oprah” and more. 

The NIKA alumni include… 

• Natalia Kuzieva (Kherson, Ukraine)- International adjudicator, coach and competition organizer 
• Alexander Muratov and Kseniya Putko (Russia)- Norway and Dutch Open champions. Kseniya is also a professional dancer on “Dancing with the Stars” Russia
• Alexander Muratov and Elena Markelova (Russia)- Russian Open champions
• Pavel Balykin and Maria Gershenovich (Russia and USA)- multiple US National champions and finalists. Pavel is also World Pro/Am Ballroom Champion
• Stepan and Olga Pogorelsky (Samara, Russia)- Russian National Professional Ballroom finalists, coaches, adjudicators and competition organizers
• Nathan Murstein and Polina Dickenson (Seattle, Washington- USA)- multiple US National champions and two time Blackpool Junior festival semi-finalists
• Gabriel White and Lyubov Morgan (Seattle, Washington, USA) - 2015 US National repretentatives to the World Pre-teen Championships
• Scott Nicholson and Evgeniya Gorobets (Seattle, Washington, USA) - 2014 US National representatives to the World under 21 10-dance Championships
• Yegor Novikov and Ekaterina Zakharoff (Russia and USA)- US National finalists, US/UK/British Open RS Professional finalists. Ekaterina is also a choreographer and coach, her routines have been showcased on TV’s “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Got Talent”
• Sergey Nekrasov (Russia and USA)- World Pro/Am Show dance champion w ith student Nina Nikolova 

Although we are oriented a lot towards competition and enjoy seeing our students progressing quickly nationally and internationally, we are also glad to offer all kinds of social programs for your personal enrichment. Whether you are having an upcoming wedding, anniversary, going on a cruise, or just want to dance for everyday exercise purposes, you can trust our teachers' experience. You can purchase a gift certificate for any number of lessons to give to your friends and family. Our directors Elena and Ekaterina Zakharov are available for guest coaching for competitive couples. Ekaterina is also available for an online consultation.  Our Academy is located in the heart of Bellevue, between the downtown and the Crossroads, at 13635 NE 8th St. We also offer classes and lessons at the Hayloft Dance Hall in Lynnwood at 15320 35th Ave W.

We offer...

• group classes for beginning children ages 3-4,  4-6 and 7-10
• syllabus competitive classes for children age 7-10
• Championship level classes for children age 10-14, youth and adults
• a weekly supervised competition rounds open to all competitive dancers on one of the largest floors in the area. Please refer to our schedule page for more information
• A social dance course for adults
• A wide  range of private lessons for any age and level