Sandra Russell Ishida

Sandra Russell Ishida , JD, BS, AS, AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) opened PCAD in 2002 and built the entire program around a foundation of classical ballet. Guided by her vision of performance artistry and technical virtuosity with a focus on the preservation of high level classical ballet, the youngest studio in Southern California quickly rose to the forefront of dance education and earned a reputation it continues to enjoy today for technical excellence.

Miss Ishida holds degrees in sociology from Cerritos College and education with a minor in psychology from CSUF. She received her teaching credential from IAPM (International Association of Progressive Montessorians) and a Juris Doctorate with honors after completing law school. Sandra is a member of the California and Supreme Court Bars and practiced as a trial lawyer for eight years representing abused children before closing her practice in order to raise her two children, Kali and Zachary. Primarily an academic, her daughter's gift for dance enhanced Sandra's love of the arts and over the years, the two of them spent hundreds of hours at local dance studios.  

From actively serving on numerous dance studio and other arts related boards while her children finished elementary and middle school, Miss Ishida gained a working knowledge of the dance world. When the opportunity arose to purchase a dance studio built by the Pagliaro family in beautiful San Clemente, Sandra saw a way to extend her life's work in the protection of children and the enhancement of their self esteem from the courtroom to the education environment of a dance studio.

With the help of family and friends (especially Michael and Deborah Vaughn), PCAD launched! The name Pacific Coast Academy of Dance was selected as acknowledgment of the two dance studios Kali attended in the area (Coast Ballet and Pacific School of Ballet) and the beloved teachers at those facilities, Larry and Sarma Rosenberg and Maryann Bayless and Rosemary McCarter who continue to operate stellar programs in southern California.

Miss Ishida celebrates her eighth year as Executive Director with the debut of this new website and considers it an absolute honor to continue to serve the children and families of south Orange County by preserving the beauty of the arts through the universal language of dance.