Owner/ Director
Ms.Samantha James
Ms.Samantha Pulsifer-James is a Mom and Wife who's originally from NH. She began dancing at a young age and has had the opportunity to dance and train in multiple styles of dance in New York, Africa, London, Boston, and more. She has had the opportunity to be an instructor at the Legendary Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio. She has always had a passion for dance, and making a positive impact on todays youth that she new someday she would open a studio of her own and spread the love of the art. SDA was opened in Chatsworth, CA in 2018. Ms. Samantha is YPAD certified and a proud member of More Than Just Great Dancing. She aims to bring the best dance education to the Los Angeles Valley area and welcomes everyone with open arms and a big smile!
Coach Andrew Moore
Coach Andrew Moore was born in Jackson, Mississippi and is SAMPUL'S awesome tumbling coach. Coach started his career in performance during elementary school in show choir. He then continued to pursue performing by cheering for his high school team as well as for Mississippi Cheer Academy. Andrew competed twice at the USASF Cheerleading Worlds and coached a mini one level team to achieve multiple national championships.
Ms. Christa Wallin
Ms. Christa has been born and raised in Southern California. She started off dancing at the age of 3 at her pre-school. When she got older she ventured into theater and color guard, but dance was where her heart belonged. At the age of 14 she joined a dance studio for the second time in her life. She trained, as well as, competed in different styles of dance in her studio time. After High School she joined Fullerton College's Dance program and expanded her knowledge of dance. Ms. Christa is very excited to share her passion for dance and everything she has learned with the students at Sampul Dance Academy.
Ms.Maddie Schneider
Maddie is a dancer and emerging choreographer in Los Angeles. She is a recent graduate of California State University, Northridge. While majoring in Dance and Kinesiology she apprenticed under Evan Rosenblatt and his personal practice, “The Conscious Dancer.” She has also trained intensively under J.M. Rodriguez, Dasha Tertova, Volta Collective, and FLOCKWorks. She has choreographed and danced for various studio and college performances in the San Fernando Valley including CSUN, Cantinas Arts Foundation, Shepherd Church, and Studio 1 Dance Academy. Maddie is also passionate about bridging the art and science of dance as she is continuing her education to pursue a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science. She looks forward to providing students with a fun and nurturing experience in all her classes!
Ms.Eliana Gonzalez
Eliana Gonzalez is a Sampul Alumni and has been dancing since she was 3 years old. She has trained in many different styles of dance like tap, ballet, jazz, and contemporary. She's currently a student at Cal State Fullerton where she's studying biology. She loves watching her students grow each and every week and is happy to continue being a part of the Sampul family!
Ms. Liz Strano
Elizabeth Strano moved to Los Angeles from Vermont in 2018 to pursue her performance dreams. She began dancing at age 14 on her high school dance team, then attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges where she studied Dance, English, and Theatre, graduating with her Bachelor of Arts degree. While there, she received technique training in ballet, modern, dances of the African Diaspora, jazz, hip-hop, and improvisation, as well as studying dance history, anatomy and kinesiology, and dance composition. During her summer hiatuses, she attended the Bates Dance Festival Professional Training Program, studying with Jennifer Archibald, Rennie Harris, Angie Hauser, Vincent Mantsoe, Yin Mei, Donna Mejia, Alex Springer, and Nancy Stark Smith. After graduation, she continued her training at the ArchCore40 Summer Intensives in New York City and served as the Varsity Dance Head Coach/Choreographer at Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, VT. Since moving to California, she has studied with Lando Coffy, Laure Courtellemont, Mikey DellaVella, James Marino, Claude Racine-Levinsky, and Tevyn Cole. When she’s not dancing, she’s walking her pitbull Dottie, trying a new recipe in the kitchen, or planning her next camping trip. She’s excited to share her passion for movement and expression with everyone who walks through the studio doors!
Ms. Saryh Deadmon
Ms. Saryh Deadmon is a hiphop fusion dancer from Southern California who has grown up as a self taught artist. She's now taking the industry route and constantly working on her craft as well as helping train others to develop theirs as well. She's currently studying Theatre and Dance as well as being President of Cal State University Northridge Hip Hop Team. She follows anything that she can adapt to through her passions not only including dance but also video production and the music industry. When she's not teaching class you can catch her behind the desk as one of our awesome admin!
Mr. Ra
Ra is a talented dancer originally from Philadelphia. He has received extensive training in different styles falling under the Hip-Hop and Funk categories. At the young age of 13, Ra was already recognized as a student protege by various members of the prestigious Rennie Harris Puremovement. By age 22, he was touring theaters both nationally and internationally. Ra, also known as FLitz, is an expert in Breakin', Lockin', Poppin', Hip-hop, House music, dance, and history.
Ms. Paula
Ms.Paula has been the office manager for SDA since the day the doors opened . She's always there to answer any questions you may have or just a friendly face to say hi to.
Ms. Analiese
Ms.Analiese is a former SDA alumni and one of our friendly greeters at the studio. She's happy to help in anyway and answer any questions you may have.
Ms. Kayla Mason
Kayla was born and raised in South Lake Tahoe, CA where she trained at Marcia Sarosik Dance Studio since the age of 2. In high school, Kayla danced with the STHS Dance Team all 4 years and attended CSSSA at Cal Arts in Valencia, California. Currently, Kayla is attending California State University Northridge where she is studying Computer Information Tech and Geology, and with the CSUN Dance Department.
Ms.Diana Cabral
Ms.Diana is SDA's very talented Folklorico specialty teacher.
Ms.Lindsay Benay
Lindsay Benay is an American dancer born and raised in a small town outside of Wichita Kansas. Lindsay’s humble beginnings started in Wichita where she danced for Semi-Pro hockey and was the lead dancer at Wildcats Rock Bar. Lindsay became a regional dance choreographer and trainer for WRB and traveled the country choreographing routines and training dancers at different locations across America. Lindsay has debuted on the reality TV series Full Throttle Saloon with the All Female Burlesque group The Flaunt Girls, and has traveled the World doing live stage shows with Flaunt. Lindsay has performed on stages with artist such as Kid Rock, Bret Michaels, Pop Evil, Tech Nine, and DMC. She has traveled with the Paranormal Circus and been a performer in the live stage production Shahrooz Mystere. Lindsay’s biggest passion is partner dance. She has been teaching salsa, bachata, ballroom, and Country dance since 2010. Lindsay is the owner of Your First Dance LA & Lindsay Benay Fitness, and she is also a teacher for the non-profit Fostering Dreams. Sharing her love for dance and connection and helping others grow and achieve their goals is her greatest passion!