Sandra Stejer Olgard slid into her first pair of pink leather ballet shoes at the age of 5. Her mother had enrolled her in Spokane’s renowned Tessa Williams School of Classical Ballet where her career as a dancer got its start. At the age of 11, she was promoted to teacher’s assistant. Her dancing ability was not only noticed by Williams, a Royal Academy of Dance instructor, but she was also invited to attend summer schools in Vancouver, Edmonton, Banff, and London at the Royal Academy of Dance. As a teenager, Sandra danced in plays at the Spokane Civic Theatre and performed solo at Our Lady of Lords Cathedral Easter Services.
After graduating from Ferris High School, Sandra went on to dance professionally on MGM’s glitzy stage in Las Vegas and the Lido in Paris, France. She also became the principal dancer for Sun City’s Extravaganza in South Africa. Sandra returned to Spokane and opened Sandra Olgard’s Studio of Dance in 1988 after receiving her degree with the Royal Academy of Dance. For over three decades, she taught thousands of students.
In addition to running the studio during the school year, Sandra spent summers choreographing, selecting costumes and music, and preparing for the next year’s recital, including Olgard’s interpretation of classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Les Fille Mal Gardee, and Don Quixote, and modern ballet themes such as the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen, The Swan Princess, and Candy Land.
Sandra also took her work to film. She received film credit cast as the Dance Teacher, Mrs. Maxfield, in the movie, Different Drummers. She also choreographed the dance scenes which included many of her students.
In 2018 Sandra received the Women of Achievement award in Arts and Culture by the YWCA Spokane.
Upon retiring in 2021, Sandra says her greatest pleasure was nurturing students of any age to learn and love the art of dance. Several of her students have moved on to professional careers. However, helping her students develop a passion for the appreciation of dance, music, athleticism, good posture, and confidence, is what brought her the most joy.
Along with her husband, Bruce Olgard (retired administrator in the Mead School District after over 30 years in education), Sandra raised 4 daughters: an administrator for District 81 Skill Center, a senior marketing manager for Amazon, an associate commercial multifamily broker for CBRE in Seattle, and an administrator for a wealth management firm in Southern California who also had a professional volleyball career.