An hour before a dance class at Debbi’s Dance Etc. in Olympia begins, students start to trickle into the studio, carrying their multi-colored tote bags and wearing a combination of dance and street clothes. One dancer’s t-shirt reads, “I came. I slayed. I left glitter.”
Debbi’s Dance owners Andrea Patton and Michelle Segerson (formerly Hager) greet each dancer and family member as they arrive, chatting about school and other personal topics. Segerson helps one dancer choose a birthday prize since she won’t be back to the studio before her birthday three days from now. One dancer’s grandmother, an alum of the studio, spends time catching up with Debbi’s family before departing.
Debbi’s Dance Turns 50, Celebrates With Event
This year, Debbi’s Dance will celebrate “50 Years of Magic” and will showcase students and alumni in three performances on June 20 and 21, 2026. The performance at 5 p.m. on June 20 will feature at least 70 alumni, many of whom – including Debbi Halfhill who founded Debbi’s Dance and now lives in Las Vegas – will return to Olympia for this celebration.
The History of Debbi’s Dance in Olympia
Debbi’s Dance Etc. started out as Suzi and Debbi’s Dance Center 50 years ago in 1976. About five years later the women expanded into two studios: Suzi’s Dance Center and Debbi’s Dance Etc. The original Suzi and Debbi’s started with just a couple of students in their classes. Studio enrollment now stands at 326, with students ranging in age from 2 to 96 and a team of 12-15 teachers providing instruction. Many of the instructors are former students.
Patton and Segerson started dancing at Debbi’s as kids, Patton at 13 and Segerson at 5 or 6 years old. “My little sister had started taking lessons. She danced around the house all the time,” says Patton. “I went to her first recital and was blown away. I was like—how come she gets to do this and I don’t?”
During an early ballet class, Segerson saw Halfhill doing a jazz dance routine. “With hips flying, hair flying,” she remembers. “Everyone was having a blast. I told my mom, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ The next year, she put me in jazz.”
Andrea Patton and Michelle Segerson Take Debbi’s Dance into the Future
Patton and Segerson started teaching dance classes at Debbi’s during their high school years. In 2008, Halfhill sold the studio to them before moving to Las Vegas. Since taking over, the duo have tried to grow, but not too fast.
They’ve added a fourth dance room and recently added K-Pop classes. The dozens of classes and programs they offer include everything from Latin Jazz and Commercial Hip Hop, to Leaps & Turns, Ballet Technique and Acro. Three-day summer camps include Unicorns & Rainbows and Under the Sea.
They’re also focusing on how to make it easier for families to have their students dancing at Debbi’s by automating processes, like enrollment in the summer camps, and intentionally trying to balance the volume of competitions and shows they schedule so kids can still participate in other activities like school theater, cheer and sports if they want to. “We love our showcases and shows, and we like having those competition programs because we see their value,” says Patton. “But we’re big on balance.”
A set of plastic drawers holds ballet, jazz, and tap shoes in various sizes for prospective students to use if they want to try a class. They can try a class and if they decide they would prefer another style of dance, they can try a different one.
Annual shows range from their multi-day Winter Showcase and the Dance Spectacular in June to a more casual outdoor performance at Huntamer Park in Lacey. They also schedule three or four competition events each year, will dance on an upcoming cruise in July, have performed at Disneyland, and during halftime for the Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trailblazers.
Halfhill now teaches a tap class and staffs the desk at the Las Vegas studio of Debbi’s Dance alumna Heather (Shanahan) Gordon. She participated in the 40th June Dance Spectacular in 2016 and will dance again at the 50th on June 20. Halfhill praises how Patton and Segerson get the studio involved in fairs and other community activities, how they take advantage of online opportunities, and are generous in their support of letting students compete. “They’re doing everything right,” she says.
Tickets for the 50th Anniversary Dance Spectacular on June 20 and 21 at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts will go on sale in June and be available at the door.
To learn more, visit the Debbi’s Dance Etc. website.
Debbi’s Dance Etc.
6715 Martin Way E, Olympia
360.456.6350
