OUR TEAM
AMANDA WOLF, OWNER
Professional Competitor, NDCA
Board Member, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Dance Council
Originally from Milwaukee, she turned professional at the age of 17, and instantly fell in love with teaching people how to dance! She later moved to Pittsburgh in 2008 for a professional competitive partnership, and helped open Absolute Ballroom Dance Center of Pittsburgh.
Amanda has been teaching beginners and advanced competitors since 2004. Her competitive students have achieved top national placements, and continue to compete across the country in various pro/am events.
In 2013, Amanda created Pittsburgh Wedding Dance. She has an incredible reputation among Pittsburgh's elite wedding professionals, and choreographs an average of 70 weddings per year!
Amanda is so excited to offer her studio and the wonderful staff members of Studio 101 to the dancers of Pittsburgh!
Stop in, take a class, and become part of a great community!
NATHAN HART, INSTRUCTOR
Board Member, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Dance Council
Nathan teachers American Smooth and Rhythm dance.
He's been teaching for 19 years and has competed professionally as well as the Pro-Am division. Nathan teaches private lessons and group classes and has worked with beginners up to coaching professionals.
He said he's seen how dance can transform lives and I love seeing the joy dance brings people.
FUN FACT: He never had dance training until he went to college! In 2016, he was named Pennsylvania's K-12 Dance Teacher of the Year by the Pennsylvania State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.
SARAH & BRAD WHEELER,
INSTRUCTORS
Sarah took up dancing in 2006 as a way to meet people after relocating to a new city. She met Brad in her first west coast swing class in 2007 and fell in love with the dance (and with Brad soon after). She proved a natural, and was invited to begin teaching within months of her first class, which was soon followed by international level west coast swing competition. She has continued to teach, compete, and dance with Brad ever since.
Brad’s passion for dance began in the winter of 2006 when he started social dancing. He rapidly progressed and by fall was teaching locally and competing nationally in the swing and country circuits. Since then, Brad has had the honor of teaching with his wife, and dance partner, Sarah at national and international venues. He also continues to place regularly in competitions from New York to California in the national west coast swing circuit.
FRANK & VICTORIA, INSTRUCTORS
Frank and Victoria train dancers to cultivate their own personal style within the framework and structure of traditional dance concepts. Building strong dancers from strong foundations provides students the tools to forge their own path to become the dancer they strive to be. His background in sports and her training in classical independent movement present a creative teaching style that is uniquely tailored to each student and community. With a primary focus on West Coast Swing, Frank and Victoria can be seen teaching, competing, judging and performing across the country at World Swing Dance Council events.
FUN FACT: Teaching dance brought them together and they are getting married this fall!!!
TREVOR RUNCO, INSTRUCTOR
Since an early age, Trevor took an immediate interest in music and movement. Trevor began developing his interest in movement with competitive style skating. As years progressed he added to his studies by
engaging heavily in music and a variety of musical instruments. Continuing his studies at the collegiate level, it lead Trevor to be hired in a franchised studio where he gained more knowledge and experience from the industry’s most sought after teachers and professionals.
While there, he competed professionally as well as in the Pro-Am division where his students consistently placed and achieved top awards. Trevor’s body mechanics based style of teaching makes learning to dance an uncomplicated experience, no matter what the student’s level, as he enjoys teaching beginners and experienced dancers alike!
MAY OLIPHANT, INSTRUCTOR
May’s love of partner dancing started with Salsa in 2006. After a dance hiatus involving marriage and babies, she returned to partner dancing in 2011. This time it was West Coast Swing and she was hooked almost immediately. She began teaching in 2015 and has truly enjoyed getting to share her love of not only the dance but the amazing community that is West Coast Swing with Pittsburgh.