Get To Know DWC Ambassador Caroline Schmidt
For our new DWC Ambassador Caroline Shmidt, the Seattle dance community has always been somethihng that is special to her. Luckily, we got the opportunity to speak with her about it to see how it affected her dance journey! Read on to learn more about Caroline’s dancing journey and why she decided to become an Ambassador!
Pronunciation: Care-oh-line Shhmit | Pronouns: she/her
By Samantha Weissbach, DWC Owner & General Manager and Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
For our new DWC Ambassador Caroline Shmidt, the Seattle dance community has always been something that is special to her. Luckily, we got the opportunity to speak with her about it to see how it affected her dance journey! Read on to learn more about Caroline’s dancing journey and why she decided to become an Ambassador!
Caroline started dancing when she was around age two or three beginning in creative movement classes. When she got to middle school, she decided that it was time to try ballet and she instantly fell in love with it. Caroline danced for many years at ARC School of Ballet in Seattle and got to do a little bit of every style of dance throughout her journey. After high school, Caroline knew that she wanted to continue dancing, so she attended Western Washington University and got her BFA in Dance and BS in Kinesiology. Caroline currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri getting her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She shares that she hopes to keep dance in her life and work with dancers when she becomes a physical therapist.
When asked what inspired her to become a DWC Ambassador, Caroline shares that she loves seeing the Seattle dance community grow. Growing up a Seattle native, she loved seeing the community and resources of the dance world here and hopes that she can be a greater part of the community when she returns. She also loved the fact that she could find people that love dance just as much as she does and be able to shares resources with those same dancers.
Caroline shares that she will be in Seattle for the next couple of months for her clinical rotations and will be taking as many open classes as she can! She currently goes to Westlake Dance Center for classes and is planning on attending some workshops in the near future!
We are so happy to have Caroline as one of our new DWC Ambassadors! Be sure to watch the rest of her interview below to learn all about Caroline!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Coaching For Excellence and Debunking Misinformation
Ms. Robbins also wishes to see a greater focus on keeping Washington’s aspiring ballet dancers performing at a national level and being prepared to audition for international schools and companies. In her teaching and coaching philosophy, she believes in breaking down mechanics, dynamics, and coordination to find the root cause of a challenge a dancer is facing to eliminate incorrect muscle memory or habits that hold them back or cause weakness/insecurity in their performance. She is passionate about coaching pirouette and jumping techniques as separate classes in her workshops and developing dancers who articulate their epaulement and footwork at a high classical standard. Through KMCoaching intensives, Ms. Robbins aspires to help PNW-based students supplement their year-round training with hands-on attention and challenging high-stamina classes, to ensure dancers feel prepared to take the next steps in their careers.
Kathryn M. Robbins on Her Training Philosophy
By Madison Huizinga, Former DWC Blog Editor
Photo by David Cooper
Operating in a history-rich artistic genre like ballet has its benefits and drawbacks. While there are benefits in upholding the traditions of classical ballet training, there is also a need to push for more up-to-date information about important training aspects, particularly those relating to nutrition and mental health. Kathryn M. Robbins, the owner of The Sylvia Joyce Wanner School (previously known as The Ballet Workshop of Port Angeles) and director of KMCoaching Seattle, is passionate about technically progressing dancers through coaching workshops and helping demystify widespread misinformation in the dance realm. Click here for more information on KMCoaching’s Young Professionals Intensive 2023 being held August 21-25, 2023 at The Francia Russell Center at Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Ms. Robbins’ dance journey began in Toronto, where she only began serious ballet training at the age of 11. At age 15, it was The Joffrey Ballet School that would introduce her to the professional world of dance. She would go on to become an apprentice at Ballet British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and perform on tour with Vancouver Goh Ballet, Colorado Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre. Due to injury, and a desire to step into pedagogy, she stopped dancing in her early twenties. She shares that her goal in dance was always to teach, after first performing at the highest professional level that she could, as she saw the value in bringing the first-hand perspective of a professional dancer to her role as a teacher. She opened her first all-junior private academy, Vancouver Junior Professional Division, in 2005.
Before transitioning into teaching full-time, Ms. Robbins shares that she did a lot of independent research, using her Cecchetti certifications to help build her base of knowledge. She attended consecutive teachers' course summers at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she honed in on what type of content she wanted her teaching curriculum to contain, drawing inspiration from the renowned Marcia Dale Weary. She continued to stay connected with CPYB and is now a frequent guest teacher at their summer intensives.
After years of research, Ms. Robbins would base her Vancouver ballet school’s syllabus on what she learned at CPYB, combined with principles from The Royal Ballet School’s teacher program, the Paris Opera Ballet School’s demonstrations, and ABT’s curriculum. “I was sort of getting a sense of all these different training methods and what I thought was useful from all of them,” she says of honing her own syllabus. From 2009-2015 her students would win consecutive medals at YAGP and in 2013, she was named Outstanding Teacher at the YAGP New York Finals. After running her ballet school for nearly eleven years, her syllabus produced graduates who would go on to dance with Princess Grace Academy, English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Dresden Opera, San Francisco Ballet, School of American Ballet, and The National Ballet of Canada, to name a few. In 2015, Ms. Robbins founded KMCoaching as a professional coaching/workshop outlet for Seattle-based students and relocated to Port Angeles, Washington where she bought an existing dance school, The Ballet Workshop, founded in 1970.
“The kids here are doing wonderfully,” Ms. Robbins says of The Sylvia Joyce Wanner School. “I’m very happy with where I’ve landed at this point in my life.”
Ms. Robbins’s parents are renowned sports coaches and educators, which helped instill an appreciation for excellence in athletic coaching and achievement in her. The way her parents superbly communicated athletic skills with students and team members greatly resonated with her growing up. “I latched on to them as mentors,” Ms. Robbins says, sharing that her parents involved her in coaching gymnastics and participating in dance.
“Ballet is 90% psychology. Dance is so much in your head,” Ms. Robbins says, sharing that the psychological approach to sports training that her parents often utilized was something that she was inspired to translate as a classical ballet coach. Teaching dancers to capitalize on their emotional capacity to invest in themselves and be fully present are aspects of sports psychology Ms. Robbins found particularly fascinating.
“It feels like a private language,” Ms. Robbins says of classical ballet. “I think there’s something so comforting about knowing that people understand this language that you speak.” She also has an appreciation for the rich history and traditions of ballet. “It feels like such a privilege to carry that history with you,” Ms. Robbins says, while also acknowledging how some of the old traditions and ways of thinking have become outdated and unhelpful to dancers of the modern age.
One of the biggest challenges Ms. Robbins feels she has witnessed in the dance world is the dissemination of misinformation about training, including antiquated beliefs about nutrition and body image. Growing up, she shares that she received a lot of conflicting information about diet and muscle recovery, which contributed to nutritional challenges, injuries, and issues with her body image as a teenager. Since she started dancing a bit later than many of her peers, Ms. Robbins was also often told that she could never make it as a professional, which wasn’t true.
“We still have very outdated ways of thinking [and] looking at things…which I think this generation of leadership is trying to change gradually in the ballet world,” Ms. Robbins says. She hopes to see improved access for dancers on how to take care of themselves, how to pace their training, recover nutritionally, and rehearse effectively. At this point in time, she encourages young dancers to always advocate for themselves and do their own research rather than just take information at face value. She feels hopeful seeing schools and companies talk more about mental health challenges on social media outlets and teachers encouraging open dialogues with their students.
Ms. Robbins also wishes to see a greater focus on keeping Washington’s aspiring ballet dancers performing at a national level and being prepared to audition for international schools and companies. In her teaching and coaching philosophy, she believes in breaking down mechanics, dynamics, and coordination to find the root cause of a challenge a dancer is facing to eliminate incorrect muscle memory or habits that hold them back or cause weakness and insecurity in their performance. She is passionate about coaching pirouette and jumping techniques as separate classes in her workshops and developing dancers who articulate their epaulement and footwork at a high classical standard. Through KMCoaching intensives, Ms. Robbins aspires to help PNW-based students supplement their year-round training with hands-on attention and challenging high-stamina classes, to ensure dancers feel prepared to take the next steps in their careers.
Sources:
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Get To Know DWC Ambassador Alaina Fowler
Here at Dancewear Center, our Ambassadors are something we love to share! We got the opportunity to speak with one of our new Ambassadors Alaina Fowler! Read on to learn more about Alaina’s dancing journey and why she decided to become a DWC Ambassador!
Pronunciation: Ah-lay-nah Fow-ler | Pronouns: she/her
By Samantha Weissbach, DWC Owner & General Manager and Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Here at Dancewear Center, our Ambassadors are something we love to share! We got the opportunity to speak with one of our new Ambassadors Alaina Fowler! Read on to learn more about Alaina’s dancing journey and why she decided to become a DWC Ambassador!
Alaina started dancing when she was just 2 years old and her parents enrolled her into a local dance studio’s mommy and me dance class. She shares that her parents would trade off on taking her to those classes each week. Her mother danced when she was younger so that was a big part of what sparked her to continue taking classes. Since then, Alaina has taken classes at Fidalgo Dance Works. When she was 12, she shares that she had a really big turning point in her dance career when she got her first big role as Clara in The Nutcracker. She shares that this is what made her want to take dance more seriously. Later that same year she got her first pair of pointe shoes and went to her first summer intensive at Summer Dance Lab, pushing her to continue dancing more.
Alaina shares that the summer intensive she attended is the reason that she is where she is today and gave her that kickstart to make dance a career. During the pandemic, Alaina had a teacher that was offering her privates so she could still continue dancing. She shares that if it wasn’t for that teacher and those privates she may have quit dancing altogether so she is forever grateful for that opportunity. Alaina is still continuing her training and is off to another summer intensive this summer!
When asked about why Alaina applied to be a DWC Ambassador, she shares that one of our former Ambassadors Kendall Hadley introduced her to the ambassador program. She shares that she helped her with certain social media posts and she shares that she loved it. Alaina says that she was really inspired by the amount of change and impact that DWC promotes and loves that DWC creates a safe space for dancers to be who they are. She shares that she is really excited that she applied and was accepted and is excited to see where this journey goes!
We are so excited to have Alaina as one of our new DWC Ambassadors! Be sure to check out the rest of her interview below!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Get To Know DWC Ambassador Marika Jaffe
Here at Dancewear Center, we are always so excited for our new Ambassadors to come in each quarter! We got the opportunity to speak with one of our Ambassadors Marika Jaffe! As a teacher in the local Seattle area, she is no stranger to how the dance industry functions. Read on to learn more about Marika’s dancing journey and why she decided to become a DWC Ambassador!
Pronunciation: Maar-ee-kaa Jah-fee | Pronouns: she/they
By Samantha Weissbach, DWC Owner & General Manager and Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Here at Dancewear Center, we are always so excited for our new Ambassadors to come in each quarter! We got the opportunity to speak with one of our Ambassadors Marika Jaffe! As a teacher in the local Seattle area, she is no stranger to how the dance industry functions. Read on to learn more about Marika’s dancing journey and why she decided to become a DWC Ambassador!
When Marika was young, she shares that she would dance around her house to U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer. Her parents loved it and came to a point where they needed a way for her to get her energy out. At the age of 4, she was signed up for her first creative movement class, and by the age of 8, she was in more than ten classes per week. She shares that she was obsessed with all styles of dance and in middle school, she was on the competition team.
During eighth grade, Marika saw an ad for a hip-hop team that was having auditions. She went in and auditioned and fell in love with it. This led her to quit the competition team that she was on and was on the hip-hop team all through high school. After high school, Markia moved to Thailand and taught some hip-hop classes at her college there and those were mainly to youth that wanted to take dance classes but didn’t have access to them. She then moved back to the U.S. and started teaching at a few studios in the area and a few years ago became the director of The Dance School in Everett.
When asked about why she applied to become a DWC Ambassador, Marika shares that her love of shopping in our Kirkland location was a big factor. She shares that this is her go-to spot and loves how knowledgeable the staff is. Marika shares that she also loves watching the social media of DWC and the community that is built within the company.
We are so excited to have Marika be one of our new DWC Ambassadors! Be sure to check out her socials here and watch the rest of her interview on YouTube!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Self Discovery in Life & Dance
When Birgitte was 6 years old, she started taking a ballet class. She shares that she took the classes, had the recital and she shares that that experience woke the little ballerina in her. After that class she kept begging with her parents to take more classes, but they didn’t allow her to. She ended up taking some ballet classes for her P.E. credit in college and she shares that she loved it but it was absolutely terrifying. At 53 years old was when Birgitte finally fulfilled her dream to become a ballerina. Birgitte started with one to two classes per week and within 6 months she was taking fourteen classes and was en pointe. Since then, she hasn’t stopped dancing and loves what she does.
An Interview with Dancer & Teacher Birgitte Necessary
Pronunciation: Bi-gee-ta Ne-ses-aerie | Pronouns: she/they
By Samantha Weissbach, DWC Owner & General Manager and Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Here at Dancewear Center, we love to highlight local dancers and teachers that relate to our message. We got the opportunity to speak with one of them, Birgitte Necessary who is a local dancer! Read on to learn more about Birgitte’s dancing journey and how her identity affects them in the dance world!
When Birgitte was 6 years old, she started taking a ballet class. She shares that she took the classes, had the recital and she shares that that experience woke the little ballerina in her. After that class she kept begging with her parents to take more classes, but they didn’t allow her to. She ended up taking some ballet classes for her P.E. credit in college and she shares that she loved it but it was absolutely terrifying. At 53 years old was when Birgitte finally fulfilled her dream to become a ballerina. Birgitte started with one to two classes per week and within 6 months she was taking fourteen classes and was en pointe. Since then, she hasn’t stopped dancing and loves what she does.
Birgitte came out as non-binary during the pandemic and shares that all she really thought about was training and dancing and didn’t associate her new identity with dance yet. She shares that she was just doing what she was taught before which was existing in the binary of dance. Coming out as non-binary made her feel a little rough around the edges and made her think of how she was going to represent and be herself in this world that she loves. Now thinking about it more, she worries about how much she is represented in the studio and struggles with how much she should really worry about this.
We loved getting a chance to speak with Birgitte! Be sure to check out the rest of their interview down below!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Journey & Identity Through Dance
Pride month is upon us and what better way to celebrate pride than to highlight queer dancers in the Seattle community! We got the opportunity to speak with local teacher and dancer Annie St. Marie about their experience with the dance and LGBTQIA+ community. Read on to learn more about Annie’s dancing journey and their identity in the dance world!
An Interview with Dancer & Teacher Annie St. Marie
By Samantha Weissbach, DWC Owner & General Manager and Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Pride month is upon us and what better way to celebrate pride than to highlight queer dancers in the Seattle community! We got the opportunity to speak with local teacher and dancer Annie St. Marie about their experience with the dance and LGBTQIA+ community. Read on to learn more about Annie’s dancing journey and their identity in the dance world!
Annie started dancing when they were 4 years old. Their first experience with dance was at a local community center in Seattle and then moved to the American Dance Institute in Greenwood. They share that their neighbor across the street also danced there and went on to audition for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Annie says that they thought to themself “If they can, why can’t I!” and auditioned there as well. They initially got into PNB and danced there from ages 8 to 17. Annie trained very extensively in various different styles of ballet and Horton technique and shares that it was a great experience.
After consideration from their family, they decided to stop training at PNB when they were 17 and continued doing musical theater that they had done all throughout high school. Then when Annie was a senior they decided that they wanted to keep dancing and applied to Cornish College of the Arts. After not attending initially after their senior year, they did Cornish’s three year program and graduated in 2018. Since graduating, Annie has been teaching at various studios, performing and taking classes as much as they can.
Annie uses he/she/they pronouns and shares that they identify as non-binary which can affect the way they are seen in the dance world. They share that people can assume their gender or pronouns being she/her or that they present feminine which they share isn’t great. Now that they have found places where they are accepted they share that it is better, but growing up in the ballet world, there are lots of specific gender roles. Females are supposed to curtsey and males are supposed to bow and Annie tries in their classes to eliminate those gender roles as much as they can.
Annie shares that they have lots of things coming up for them in the next few months! Annie currently teaches a ballet/contemporary class at Westlake Dance Center in Shoreline every Saturday. They will also be teaching some master classes throughout the summer and just performed at the Seattle International Dance festival with Coalescence Dance Company. In September they are performing in a show called A Night In Paris which is taking place in Leavenworth. Lastly, in the fall they will be teaching some adult intermediate ballet classes and modern classes at eXit Space.
We are so happy that we had the opportunity to speak with Annie! Be sure to follow them on Instagram here and check out the rest of their interview on YouTube!
Sources:
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Don’t Do It Yourself Virtual Assistant Services
Here at Dancewear Center, we host a lunch and learn on the last Wednesday of every month where we bring in local experts in our community to give a presentation about their expertise in that field. Fortunately we get the opportunity to have Santina Rigano-Lesch be one of our presenters this month! She will be presenting on her business Don’t Do It Yourself Virtual Assistant Services (DDIYVAS). Read on to learn more about her dancing journey and more information on her business!
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Writer
Here at Dancewear Center, we host a lunch and learn on the last Wednesday of every month where we bring in local experts in our community to give a presentation about their expertise in that field. Fortunately we get the opportunity to have Santina Rigano-Lesch be one of our presenters this month! She will be presenting on her business Don’t Do It Yourself Virtual Assistant Services (DDIYVAS). Read on to learn more about her dancing journey and more information on her business!
Santina was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. She shares that she came to America when she was 21 to become an au pair. Santina has been dancing her whole life since she was 4 years old and shares that her mother was the one that put her into dance classes. Because of this, Santina fell in love with dance and that became her passion. While in Australia, she shares that she studied various different dance styles, managed a performing arts company and coached national hip hop champions. When she moved to the states, she says that even as an au pair she was trying to insert herself into the dance scene to see what it was like here.
She later moved here to Seattle where she met her wife. After meeting her wife, Santina started a dance studio in West Seattle that allowed her to teach over 400 kids aged 2 to 12 and build a community atmosphere through her dance studio. The pandemic hit which unfortunately forced her to close the studio doors. This then lead her to start her two businesses she has today. Don’t Do It Yourself Virtual Assistant Services Santina says was built from the pandemic. She knew that as a studio owner herself, she struggled with the social media and virtual assistance aspect of the business. Her main goal with the business is to support studio owners in the area that feel they are struggling in these areas and give them as much support as they need.
Don’t Do It Yourself Virtual Assistance Services (DDIYVAS) is an organization that is built for dance studios/schools, fitness brands, child-related businesses and various other types of businesses with virtual assistance needs. Some of the services include various administrative tasks like website management, inputting class data into enrollment software, and getting emails out to clients. They also help with social media management which can include crafting and creating content, strategizing content, and engagement and online presence. Lastly, DDIYVAS also helps with podcast management which can include information on creating a podcast, managing editing the podcast and making sure it gets onto various channels.
Santina will be presenting about culture and creating content with ease through that cultural lens at the lunch and learn. This will focus on the core values that want to be showcased through this content and how to achieve that. Be sure to come and watch Santina’s presentation on June 28th from 12:30-1:30 at our Renton location! We hope to see you there!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
Links to educational content not created by Dancewear Center are taken at your own risk. Dancewear Center is not responsible for the claims of external websites and education companies.
Get To Know DPT Era Terry
All dancers have struggled with the issue of trying to find a physical therapist or doctor that understands how a dancer’s body moves. There are various doctors out there who just don’t understand how dancers move which can be frustrating in the recovery process. Luckily we got the chance to speak with Dr. Era Terry to learn more about the dance medicine field in Seattle. Read on to learn more about Era’s dancing journey and what got her into doing physical therapy on dancers!
By Samantha Weissbach DWC Owner & Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Pronunciation: Air-ah Tear-ee | Pronouns: she/her
All dancers have struggled with the issue of trying to find a physical therapist or doctor that understands how a dancer’s body moves. There are various doctors out there who just don’t understand how dancers move which can be frustrating in the recovery process. Luckily we got the chance to speak with Dr. Era Terry to learn more about the dance medicine field in Seattle. Read on to learn more about Era’s dancing journey and what got her into doing physical therapy on dancers!
Era grew up dancing and primarily did ballet while exploring competition dance in high school. While getting her undergrad degree after high school, she danced with Chattanooga Ballet in Tennessee where she was a contracted ballet dancer and taught various ballet classes. Once she graduated from undergraduate school, she suffered an ankle injury that took her out of the professional dance world, which allowed her to transition to physical therapy school. She obtained her degree from Columbia University in 2017 and moved to Seattle to pursue her physical therapy career upon graduation. Era still dances around the Seattle area and her mission was to work with dancers specifically to give back to that community.
Era shares that what sparked her decision to start working at her current practice was to work one-on-one with patients for longer periods of time to build that connection with her patients. She started working right after graduating from physical therapy school at a larger clinic where she was meeting with patients every 30 minutes and she realized that this wasn’t the scene for her. She then met the owner of her current practice Kinetic Physical Therapy through a mutual friend and has been a great fit for Era.
Era shares that Seattle is a great place for dance medicine and shares that there are some great resources to help dancers who have injuries.Seattle Dance and Performing Arts Medicine is a great resource for information on clinics and doctors in the area. Era also works in West Seattle at Kinetic Physical Therapy so be sure to come by and see her for all your dancer needs!
Disclaimer
All content found on the Dancewear Center Website, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and all other relevant social media platforms including: text, images, audio, or other formats were created for informational purposes only. Offerings for continuing education credits are clearly identified and the appropriate target audience is identified. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this Website.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor, go to the emergency department, or call 911 immediately. Dancewear Center does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on dancewearcenter.net. Reliance on any information provided by dancewearcenter.net, Dancewear Center employees, contracted writers, or medical professionals presenting content for publication to Dancewear Center is solely at your own risk.
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Dancing Beyond the Binary: A Conversation with Ashton Edwards
Ashton Edwards, originally from Flint, Michigan, has studied dance since the age of four years old at the Flint School of Performing Arts. Ashton has attended summer ballet intensives on full scholarships at The Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago, Houston Ballet School, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. In 2018, Ashton represented Flint in the NAACP’s National Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) competition in San Antonio, Texas, against over 250 students of all high school grades all over the country. In the Performing Arts, Ballet dance category, Ashton came in 3rd place, winning a bronze medal. Ashton is currently a Professional Division student at Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Dancing Beyond the Binary: A Conversation with Ashton Edwards
Ashton Edwards, originally from Flint, Michigan, has studied dance since the age of four years old at the Flint School of Performing Arts. Ashton has attended summer ballet intensives on full scholarships at The Joffrey Academy of Dance in Chicago, Houston Ballet School, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. In 2018, Ashton represented Flint in the NAACP’s National Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) competition in San Antonio, Texas, against over 250 students of all high school grades all over the country. In the Performing Arts, Ballet dance category, Ashton came in 3rd place, winning a bronze medal. Ashton is currently a Professional Division student at Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Why do you love to dance?
I love to dance because I can’t survive without it. I love to dance, because I make people happy, and that makes me happier than I could ever be. I like to dance, because it feels natural. The uncomfortable feels right. It’s indescribable the feeling I have when I’m dancing.
It’s a connection to the depths of our soul. I grew up religious, and in church we talked about our soul and how it’s connected to heaven… but I didn’t really understand until I started dancing and getting lost in the movement. What you are as a being, and not just as skin and bones--that’s why I like to dance, because I feel the most myself. It’s a gift I give to myself.
Why do you think dance is necessary? For yourself, but also for our community and our culture?
Because, not everything can be said with words. I can tell you I’m sad, but I think there’s deeper communication, just as humans as we connect soul to soul. Dance is one of the few languages that we all do, with natural body language.
That is dance, that is movement, that is art, and it’s so necessary, because we take our natural humanity and we put it on the stage, to observe, and reflect, and take a moment and connect as humans again. And I think that’s really special. We need to take time and reflect and look back and experience humanity on the stage as REALness, and like real people, real time.
We all can make a face, and frown, and you know, release our shoulders and just sit there--but, we never take time to appreciate it or declare “this art”, declare “this” as art. But we put it on the stage, and we take time, and we appreciate it, and I think that’s why dance is necessary--because we take the time to reflect on life and natural human processes and emotions… on a deeper level. Because we take this natural slouch and frown and we take it deeper. That’s why I think it’s necessary for us as humans.
What do you think is missing from the dance world as a whole right now?
Oh, *laughing* we’re so far behind. I talk about how it’s reflecting humanity, but especially specifically in ballet we’re so far behind in how equal we all are. I think specifically in ballet companies there is this fantasy of perfection. Everything is binary, everything looks a certain way--but that’s not real, that’s not realistic. That’s not art or humanity. That’s a constructed idea of what “perfect” is.
I think ballet could go so much deeper than that. It could explore gender roles, and race and so much more. Like the Agon pas de deux traditionally is always cast with a black man and a white woman… and I’m just like “No! There’s so much more that could happen there!” We need to stop making it about tradition. Art isn’t controlled. We need to take the control off of art and dance, and make it human.
Ballet is like a fantasy! We have Sugar Plum and Dew Drop, and they’re magical beings. Why isn’t a magical being also a man sometimes? Or why isn’t she black? Who’s fantasy is it? Why is it this one white man’s fantasy; that Sugar Plum is this beautiful white lady the only version being represented? That’s not humanity’s fantasy.
When I was growing up and I saw a black Clara, I wanted to be the black Clara. That was my fantasy. For all the Latinx girls in the audience, all the Trans women in the audience--when is their fantasy represented on the stage? I think that’s what it’s missing. Everyone’s life, everyone’s representation.
What are you hoping to bring into the dance world as you are stepping into the professional world?
Hopefully some representation for someone--for people like me, who don’t really know where they fit in - who just exist as a human. Hopefully I can be the representation that I didn’t see, that I fantasized about. The guy who did the work just as good as the girls, and who had the opportunity to perform it.
I wish I saw an incredible man en pointe, doing a [traditionally female] role, and it feels normal. Hopefully I can teach people and tell people and show people that it should be--and it is.
Hopefully, I’m not just helping younger kids and audiences, but also the directors. [I want] directors to see me, and see what’s possible. I hope it opens their mind for the next person. Hopefully it’s not just the young minds, but ballet’s current audience. Hopefully we can change those minds too.
How has your queer identity influenced your dancing/training?
I was 4 years old when my mom told me not to be gay. I realized, “oh wait, everyone thinks this. Everyone around me homophobic.” Especially in my small town.
Who are these people to just steal someone’s innocence and someone’s joy in life? I feel like that’s the deepest evil, to take someone’s happiness, someone’s innocence, someone’s carelessness. I feel like someone stole a chunk of my life from me, and now I just can’t waste any more time, and I need to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone else.
And that’s what I hope I can do with dancing. Hopefully I can show all the little girls and boys and little people that anything is possible and you don’t have to limit yourself. Because why? For who? Why am I not happy--for what person? I think not.
It’s hard--training en pointe, taking extra classes at the end of my day. I’m doing more than everyone else. It’s really tough--but who else is going to do it? Who else is going to make it easier for someone else?
Human expression on the most natural level is non-binary. It’s just life, and people are different. My Agon shouldn’t look like anyone else’s because we are different humans with different experiences and different lives. Why am I so crazy to want to do those roles? I’m good at them *laughing* I’m not going to lie! I can do the work. So it’s a little different, a little more masculine, I look a little “new” and unfamiliar--but so does everyone else! We’re all different humans. Not only do we need to accept the work, we need to accept the body and the person.
Korean Folktales in Contemporary Dance
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is in full swing. This month is here to celebrate and recognize the contributions and influence that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans have on the culture in our society. We got the chance to have blog contributor MiYoung Margolis share a story about a Korean folktale that influenced her choreography for her dance company. Read on to learn more about MiYoung’s piece and to learn more about Korean culture!
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor & MiYoung Margolis
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is in full swing. This month is here to celebrate and recognize the contributions and influence that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans have on the culture in our society. We got the chance to have blog contributor MiYoung Margolis share a story about a Korean folktale that influenced her choreography for her dance company. Read on to learn more about MiYoung’s piece and to learn more about Korean culture!
MiYoung Margolis: “I have presented the original Contemporary Korean Fusion pieces inspired by Korean folktales.
Once again, I would love to talk about “One World” through the Korean Contemporary fusion dance piece since I deeply feel that is what we all need especially after the pandemic.
To me, living in this one world together means ‘Love’. And as we all know, love is all you need.
Embracing our unique heritage, while celebrating our common life journey. Though we all come from different backgrounds, We can come together to create a beautiful performance.
In my choreography, I enjoy blending Eastern to Western and Western to Eastern. To create a fusion of cultures and a performance we can all connect to.I am proud to present an original Contemporary Korean Fusion piece that once again draws from my Korean Heritage
and borrows from another Korean folktale:
Photo courtesy of www.miyoungmargolis.com
The tragic love story of So-Hwa, A Court Lady, who’s unreturned love for the king, left her waiting forever and dying alone. Her remains transformed into the imaginary flower, the “Trumpet Creeper” which to this day, still waits for the king’s return. This story is told by a diverse cast of extremely talented dancers for the screen dance film version. Kang-He and Christie are professional Korean dancers. Parmida is a professional dancer from Iran, with incredible upper-body movement and control. And the amazing Tatiana with her legendary High Kick and professional ballet and contemporary dance background.
I am so glad to be able to bring these dancers together to tell So-Hwa’s story.”
MiYoung performed this piece on May 21st at ACES: Artists of Color Expo & Symposium. We are so happy to have MiYoung share the wonderful story behind her amazing performance! Keep an eye out for more information on future performances on her instagram here! MMDC performs again May 28th at PRIDEASIA.
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