Meet The Administration Team
Susie Grafte
Mrs Ooh La La
Salsa Susie
Owner/Director
Susie Nguyen Grafte, Mrs. Ooh La La "Salsa Susie". Owner, Founder, Creator, Director, Choreographer of Ooh La La Dance Academy, Inc, and Ooh La La Revue. A Petite Powerhouse. Passionate Dancer. World Traveler. ESPN World Salsa Cabaret Finalist-Ranked 15th in the World. America's Got Talent 2011 Season 6 Semi Finalist. Latin Heels Fusion Pioneer. Raw Award Indie Winner. All-American Cheerleader. Captain. First American to hold a National Costa Rican Championship Title. MTV's Hip Hop Finalist. An SDSU Aztec International Business Major. A Spanish & Finance Minor. President's Club Achiever. First Generation Dreamer. Lover. Fighter. Mother. Susie loves intensified living, adventure and spontaneity. Always laughing, embracing change and coming up with new ideas, Susie keeps life exhilarating! She pirouettes, sails forbidden seas, gallivants the globe and does it in high heels! She has a powerful religion and it's called Life. Dance makes her feel physical, strong and empowered so she equates Movement with Freedom. "Music is my diet & dance feeds my soul”. Susie started teaching dance in San Diego in 2005, but quit her 6 figure corporate sales career to start Ooh La La Dance Academy in 2008 when she built up enough clientele, credit and courage. In 2011, Susie opened up her brick and mortar dance studio in the heart of La Jolla. Ooh La La Dance Academy Inc has been voted Best Dance Studio in San Diego for 17 years consecutively. In 2021, Susie's stock went up when she became a French citizen which further solidified her Ooh La La-ness. Her dual citizenship really allows her to be a world citizen. Ooh La La offers all genres of dance to preschool, youth, teens & adults. We L-O-V-E what we do so please join us in the dance….in our journey of life.
Fay Awad
Studio Manager/Admin
Fay Awad started dancing with Miss Susie at Ooh La La Dance Academy when she was 2 years old. She has been at Ooh La La Dance Academy since the inception of Ooh La La's story when Miss Susie started teaching in San Diego at the YMCA Firehouse in La Jolla. Fay has trained extensively in all genres of dance at Ooh La La Dance Academy with incredible instructors such as Miss Susie, Miss Lynnrae, Miss Amber & Miss Odessa. Fay graduates in May and will join the staff as the Front Desk Admin and Instructor at Ooh La La starting June 1. Fay will be attending SDSU in the fall and is so very excited about officially joining the Ooh La La Staff to continue to share her passion of dance to the newer generations.
Meet the Faculty
Odessa Uno
Ballet Master, Contemporary, Musical Theatre, Competition Coach
Odessa Mae Uno is a Filipino American movement based artist currently based in Southern California. Ms. Uno is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts and the most recent recipient of the San Diego's Young Choreographer's Competition. With a mission to make dance an accessible art form, she develops and nurtures spaces that encourage movement as therapy, investigation, and celebration.
"I believe that dance has the power to strengthen mentally, physically, and emotionally. As a teacher my goal is to push students to work with thoughtfulness and specificity that transcends the dance studio. I am grateful to be able to work with the fantastic students at Ooh La La, and I am excited to continue seeing their growth!"
Ashley Garcia
Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop
Ashley's dance journey began at the age of three, where she danced at Melodic Remedy Dance Studio in the Bay Area. There, she explored a variety of styles including Jazz, Tap, Hip-Hop, Musical Theater, Lyrical, Contemporary, and Ballet. Throughout her journey, she actively participated in numerous dance conventions and competitions, alongside training on both her high school and college dance teams.In her most recent chapter, Ashley dedicated four years to the University of San Diego Dance Team, where she not only danced but also led as captain during her final two years. Alongside her passion for dance, Ashley pursued her academic aspirations earning a degree in Business Administration and Real Estate.Ashley finds fulfillment in inspiring young dancers and sharing her love for dance with others. She values the opportunity to witness her students' growth and development, serving as a mentor and source of encouragement along their dance journeys.
Amber Hoffman
Competition Director,
Tap Master, Ballet, Contemporary, Musical Theatre,Competition Coach
Amber Hoffman began dancing at age seven in tap. At the age of 8 she took on jazz, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical and musical theatre and by the age of 12 she fell in love with contemporary and trained extensively in all fields. Amber began apprenticeships under the direction of Sharon Keller, Kristen Hibbs and Brittney Markle at San Diego Dance Centre, training and apprenticing 40 hours a week. During her stay at SDDC, Amber won countless championship awards as a soloist in tap, musical theater and contemporary.
When Amber entered high school, she danced for her school team, Poway Dance Project, and continued dancing at San Diego Dance Centre as well. She held Junior Captain and Captain titles in her 4 years on the varsity team and she became the only dancer to ever win a solo championship title for both United Spirit Association and Miss Dance Drill Team USA in the same year at PDP! Amber’s love of teaching began during high school.
After graduating, Amber was chosen as one of only sixteen dancers across the country to participate in a program with Mather Dance Company in Anaheim. MDC trained gifted dancers in the commercial dance industry and helped guide them in the direction of their dreams.
Throughout the years Amber has trained under some of the best Master instructors around including Shannon Mather, Blake McGrath, Dee Caspary, Dennis Caspary, Melissa Sandvig, Tara Hall, Erik Saradpon and many more!
LynnRae Hiers
Technique and Turns Instructor, Youth Program
Lynnrae Hiers danced for 23 years. Her love for dance started with her dance Instructor Terry Schulke at J.P.D. She went on to win various awards such as Ms. K.A.R and Ms. Showbiz and scholarships at L.A. underground. Lynnrae trained with Keri LaGrande(Tremaine),Julie Rhoton, and Sharee Giles who formed her technical background. She later won performer of the year with LA/San Diego dance company, Unity, as an assistant to Tessandra Chavez who is a Grammy award winning choreographer. She also signed to an Agent in LA with an agency called Dorothy Day Otis. Lynnrae was hired by Sharon Keller, amazing tap instructor/choreographer, 40 year dance studio owner at San Diego Dance Centre in 2003. She worked there for 14 years, where she trained Sophia Lucia who broke the world record for 55 pirouettes in Guinness world of Records. Lynnrae has trained dancers who have become mothers, dancers with Cirque de Soleil, been on music videos, toured with popular artist, danced with Disney, danced on cruise ships, danced in New York, danced on college dance teams such as Pace University, SDSU, GCU, Chapman, ASU, Udub. She has also trained dancers who are now Laker girls, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, and dance for the Phoenix Suns. Also many of Lynnrae’s students are dance instructors themselves. She has now been teaching in San Diego for 19 years. She teaches masterclasses at various High Schools and with Aerial Achievements. Lynnrae enjoys teaching privates and continues to share her passion teaching at Ooh La La Dance Academy.
Nalani Dikitanan
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Ballet, Lyrical, Jazz, Acrobatics, Contemporary, Youth Program
Nalani has studied many styles of dance including ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop and some tap. She has had the opportunity to learn from many instructors that are prominent in the dance industry including Kyle Hanagami, Whitney Bezzant, Dee Caspary, and many more. Nalani has competed at many regionals and nationals throughout her years of studio dance, winning multiple awards and scholarships. She has also had the opportunity to assist many of her mentors and help inspire many dancers. Nalani is currently attending SDSU and is in her junior year of college as a kinesiology major, in hopes to become an occupational therapist. Nalani is currently on the Nationally Winning SDSU Dance Team and teaching at Ooh La La Dance Acadmy.
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"I strive to inspire and share my love for dance for every student I encounter and I'm grateful to just be a part of their dance journey."
Claire O'Brien
Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Technique
Coming Soon
Kayleigh Puckett
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Acro
Kayleigh began ballet, gymnastics, and yoga at a young age and eventually gravitated toward competitive gymnastics, reaching Level 9. She enjoys teaching kids, helping them build strength, coordination, and confidence through foundational tumbling and acro techniques.
As a certified yoga instructor, she integrates principles of alignment, mobility, and injury prevention into her teaching, creating a fun and supportive environment where students can explore their abilities and progress at their own pace.
Whether guiding beginners through fundamental skills or challenging more advanced students, Kayleigh is dedicated to fostering a positive learning experience that encourages growth and self-expression through movement.
Jaden Moreno
Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Technique, Hip Hop
Jaden Moreno began dancing when she was three years old. She explored a variety of styles including ballet, tap, musical theater, jazz, contemporary, and lyrical. In high school she was a 4-year varsity member of the La Serna Pom team. Two of these years she served as captain, and pioneered her team to becoming the first high school in their school district to compete at UDA Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Jaden is a current member of the UC San Diego Dance Team, a D1 pom and jazz competition team, which also performs at UC San Diego sporting and school events. She is currently pursuing a degree in World Literature and Classical Studies. Jaden loves teaching and inspiring young dancers to pursue their dreams. She hopes to provide guidance and share her love of dance with her students.
Yared Martinez
Ladies Styling & Ladies Bachata Teams
Bio Coming Soon!
Eric Payan
Hip Hop
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Bio Coming Soon!
Ari Rubin
Acro Teacher
Ari Rubin began her training at North County Academy of Dance with Matt Malufau doing hip hop when she was eight years old. Three years later she was encouraged to expand her repertoire to include ballet. She then began to study ballet under Pablo and Cassi Infante and quickly fell in love with the art. One ballet class a week quickly become forty hours a week in the studio training in many styles including: ballet, acrobatics, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary. She started teaching in 2020 and has found her true passion. Miss Ari has been a part of the competition team at NCAD for many years and has competed at Youth America Grand Prix several times, including Finals twice. She has also performed in the Nutcracker as Clara and Dewdrop, La Bayadere, Coppelia, Alice in Wonderland, etc. She graduated from Classical Academy High School June of 2021 and is now attending San Diego State University. Ari is so excited to be part of the Ooh La La Staff and has been teaching here since 2022.
Kirra Healy
Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Technique
Kirra Healey grew up in Carlsbad, California where she began dancing at San Elijo Dance Academy at age 2. From then on she began training in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Musical Theater and Tap. She later attended ABT’s summer intensive in Irvine in 2015. In later years she also competed at Evoke Dance Movement. Throughout her years of competing she won several scholarships and awards at competitions and conventions such as ASH, Hollywood Vibe, Jump, Velocity etc. Whilst attending high school she joined La Costa Canyon High School’s dance team and was captain of her team her senior year. She choreographed several half times and dances in her annual shows at LCC. After high school, Kirra joined the dance program at UC Irvine, Kirra performed in shows including works by Cyrian Reed, Kyla Chaney and Frankie Henderson. In May 2024, Kirra debuted her original choreography, “Vault of Time” on the Claire Trevor Stage as part of the Physical Graffiti concert. Kirra graduated from UCI in Spring 2024 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art of Dance Choreography and a Bachelors' degree in Psychological Sciences. In 2022, Kirra began teaching dance to ages 3-18 at Pacific Dance. In 2024, Kirra performed with Legoland in their annual “Brick of Treat” shows and their Christmas season shows. Kirra is currently continuing to pursue her love for teaching and performing and is excited to join the Ooh La La Dance Academy family!