Michelle Richey received her education in dance from Long Beach State in California and CSUF. She worked for United Spirit Association (USA) for 6 years as a songleading head coach. For over 10 years, Michelle made her home at Disneyland Park, performing in both parades and live shows such as the “Queen Mary” and the “Spruce Goose” show. Michelle has performed for many superstars including Milton Berle, Dustin Hoffman, Michael Jackson, and Frankie Avalon. Some of her choreography credits include Grease, Anything Goes, Cabaret, Oliver, Peter Pan, Bye Bye Birdie, Godspell, The Wiz, and Beauty and the Beast. Michelle also was the proud owner of MKR Productions. 

Michelle’s choreography and students have been the recipients of countless regional and national titles. Many of her students have performed on TV and in music videos, received dance scholarships to major universities, and have become nationally ranked choreographers themselves. Michelle judges for competitions and is in her 12th year of being a faculty member of KAR Dance Convention. She was also honored to be one of the judges for the very first KAR Live event in Australia. 

Michelle’s warm heart paired with her vast experience and thoughtful approach to teaching dance makes her a truly exceptional part of the KAR Dance Convention faculty.

Patrick Pulkrabek grew up in Hutchinson Minnesota where he studied Ballet and Jazz. He graduated in 2003 from Perpich Center for Arts Education, the Arts High School. He received his BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts in 2007. Patrick joined Spectrum Dance Theater with artistic director Donald Byrd as a company member in early 2008 to 2012. He has performed many lead roles by world famous choreographers including Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Gus Solomon Jr. and Donald Byrd, and has performed many full length ballets including the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Coppelia, and many more. Patrick has worked with the 5th Avenue theater in Seattle and was featured as "Dream Curly" in Califormia Music Theater's revival of Oklahoma! Patrick started teaching at Allegro Performing Arts Academy in Kent, WA in 2006, and since has won multiple awards regionally as well as nationally. Some of Patrick's students have gone on to pursue their own dreams and have worked professionally as a featured character in ABC Family's "Bunheads" as well as a Top 3 finalist on "Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition". His students have also attended Tisch School of the arts, University of Arizona, University of Idaho, and Chapman University. His love and passion for dance is infectious and he loves sharing his passion and knowledge with everyone he meets.

Raymon Ashley found his passion for dance at the young age of 8 years old, while residing in Northern California. He went on to attend the University of Arizona where he continued to study dance and furthered his training extensively in the styles of Ballet, Modern, Jazz and Tap where he graduated with his BFA in Dance. Raymon immediately went on to pursue a professional career in dance, booking jobs with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble as well as the David Taylor Dance Theatre, both companies located in Denver, Colorado. Raymon has had the honor and privilege of working with legendary educators and choreographers, Donald McKale and Milton Meyers. After pursuing his career in the "company" world of dance, Raymon made his way to San Diego as well as Los Angeles where he turned his sights to the "commercial" industry of dance. He booked steady work dancing in Industrials, Pepsi and Ford commercials as well as Music Video's with some of the music industries top recording artists. Once Raymon fulfilled his passions as a dancer, he began pursuing his career as a dance educator. His fresh, upbeat approach to teaching has made him one of the most popular and in demand teachers in Southern California as well as across the Country as a guest teacher. When not traveling as one of our fabulous Directors, Raymon spends much of his time traveling with "Fusion Dance" and "KAR Dance" Conventions. The VERY MOST rewarding opportunity in Raymon's life, is being the proud father of his amazing son, Rylan.

Sara Brendel is a native of St.louis, MO and has years of dance training and performance experience. She started her professional career dancing for Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruise Lines. She has worked industrial shows and special events for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Nissan Motors, Siemens Technologies, and several other companies with Event Show Productions. She performed in Branson, Missouri with the production shows "Dino's - Somewhere in Christmas" and "The Shoji Tabuchi Show”. Sara also danced in the Broadway-style production of "Katonga" at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay. Sara has performed beside talented dancers with the Les Grand Ballets Canadians and appeared in the musicals “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, "The Music Man", and "42nd Street". Sara received her education from Columbia College Chicago and Webster University as a dance major with a concentration in choreography. She has choreographed numerous nationally award-winning pieces and has received several choreography awards as well as having her work featured on ESPN. Her work has also been performed by the SueMo Dance Company in Milwaukee,WI. Sara's students have been accepted into prestigious dance programs at the Edge Performing Arts Center, Oklahoma City University, Chapman University and several other universities. Many of her students have successful dance careers performing with world tours, professional dance companies, production shows, music videos and cruise lines. Sara is a faculty member for KAR Convention and a judge for Rainbow Connection and Kids Artistic Revue Dance Competition. She has had the honor of teaching and judging talent across the country as well as internationally with Kids Artistic Revue in Australia. Sara encourages her students to push their boundaries and to never settle.