Guest User 12/12/22 Guest User 12/12/22

Ainslie Cyopik On Prioritizing Quality at Ainsliewear

Through the clothes she made, Ainslie’s mother instilled an appreciation for product quality in her daughter at a young age that shines through at the dancewear company. “The quality of AinslieWear is high,” Ainslie stresses, sharing that the factor that sets the brand apart is the depth of detail it puts into how leotards are made and how they fit. The company sets the bar high, paying close attention to how the leotard lays, the surface area it covers, the stretch and resilience of the fabric, and more. It helps that all the leotards are proudly made in Vancouver, B.C., just steps away from Ainslie’s office. “We have a great team here,” Ainslie says proudly.

A CEO On Progress in Dancewear

Pronouns: she/her | Name pronunciation: Ainslie Sigh-oh-pick

By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor

Few know the vast range of leotard qualities better than a professional dancer. The sensation of an uncomfortable leotard against your skin can feel like it impedes your dancing ability, even leading to a less confident performance. Former professional dancer Ainslie Cyopik knows this all too well - that’s why she founded AinslieWear, a world-class dancewear company celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022. Read on to learn more about AinslieWear President & CEO Ainslie Cyopik’s own artistic journey and the brand's plans for the upcoming future.

Before becoming a leotard designer extraordinaire, Ainslie led a career as a professional dancer for about 15 years. Like many children, her mother put her in dance at a young age and she quickly took to it. Training at a local ballet school, Ainslie explored ballet and jazz but fell deeper in love with ballet specifically. She eventually ended up dancing in the corps de ballet at The National Ballet of Canada in Toronto, a large company known for its classical ballet work. Ainslie later moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where she danced with Ballet BC. Here, she got to perform in work by renowned choreographers like William Forsythe. “It was a great career,” Ainslie says of her dancing years.

Ainslie grew up in a house full of color and creativity - her father was an artist and her mother had a passion for sewing. She describes drawers in her house being filled with beautiful, colorful fabric, sharing that a love for making beautiful clothes was instilled in her early in life.

“Even as a young teen, I was sewing clothes and loved it,” Ainslie shares. “[I] just adored going to fabric stores with my mom and [seeing] just rows and rows of fabric.” It was a feast for the senses!

Later on, Ainslie began altering some of her leotards that weren’t fitting quite right or that she thought would look interesting with a different color. It was at Ballet BC that she dove deeper into the art of designing and sewing leotards. During her lunch breaks, Ainslie would drop into Dressew, a fabric store next door to the company, and find the best “stretchy stuff” to make leotards with. “That’s where I really started making dancewear for myself and my colleagues,” Ainslie shares.

This year, AinslieWear is celebrating its 25th anniversary. “I can hardly believe it!” Ainslie shares. “We want dancers to feel good. We want people to feel good in the studio,” she says of the philosophy behind the brand. “What we wear does impact how we feel. It can boost us up.”

Ainslie places value in instilling confidence in her customers, whether they are professional dancers or mothers picking up leotards for their busy dancing children. “They know it’s going to last. They know it’s going to fit well,” she says. Ainslie wants dancers to put on AinslieWear’s leotards and feel like they “hit the mark,” making them feel more self-assured so they can focus on their actual dancing and not on the discomfort of what they’re wearing.

In terms of AinslieWear’s designs, Ainslie shares that the whole world can act as inspiration. She might catch inspiration from fashion trends on the streets or in magazines, but generally, Ainslie loves when happy design accidents happen. “Some things will just cross paths on the product development table,” Ainslie says of such serendipitous designs.

AinslieWear’s 2022 Fall Collection is currently out, featuring falling leaf prints in an elegant “blue heron” shade. In the winter, customers can expect a collection full of darker, edgier tones, as well as holiday-themed products, including those with motifs from The Nutcracker.

Moving forward, inclusivity remains a priority to AinslieWear, particularly in the dancers that are presented across its catalogs and marketing resources. Ainslie voices that it’s “one tiny step,” but through promoting equitable actions across the company’s different branches, she hopes to continue being a part of forward-thinking change. Even across dance companies, Ainslie is thrilled to see so many directors changing up their repertoire, bringing in fresh and dynamic choreography. “Classical ballet [is] not just one thing anymore. It’s really evolving,” she says excitedly. “We’re all broadening how we look at things.”

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DWC's Holiday Gift Guide 2022

Need ideas on what to get your dancer for Christmas? This DWC Holiday Gift Guide is here to help make Christmas shopping a little easier. We asked some of our own DWC Ambassadors what their favorite dance products sold at Dancewear Center are and put them in the perfect guide for the holidays. Read on to learn more about what items would be great to give to your dancer for the holidays!

By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor

Apolla Performance

Apolla Performance products are known to be top-notch for dancers around the country for recovery and performance use. Recently featured on Shark Tank, Apolla’s compression socks and legwarmers leave dancers’ feet and legs feeling and looking great. Apolla Performance products use shock absorption technology to help comfort the balls of the feet and squeeze the arch of the foot for maximum comfort and support in any style of dance. The Amp Shock, Performance Shock, Infinite Shock, and the K-Warmer are the perfect gift for any performer during this holiday season!

Claudia Dean World Tracksuit Pants

Feeling confident is something that is very important in the dance community. Everyone knows that when you feel confident, you are more likely to perform at your best. That’s where Claudia Dean World Tracksuit Pants come in! These pants are super comfortable and super cute for any dancer to wear. They are perfect to warm up during these cold months or for just lounging around the house. These pants make perfect gifts!

Capezio Technique Duffle Bag

Nutcracker season is infamous for requiring various types of dance gear for dancers during performances. This requires the dancers to have the perfect bag to store all of the things they need. The Capezio Technique Duffle Bag is perfect for carrying all of your dancer’s things! With the large center compartment, you can easily store all of the necessities and carry everything with you from the studio to the theater.

Christmas Keychain

Who doesn’t love some color on their tree? These Christmas Pointe Shoe Keychains can not only be used as Christmas ornaments for your trees but they can also be put on dance bags to decorate for the holiday season! They are great to add some personalized touches to dance bags and are perfect stocking stuffers.

Claudia Dean World Foam Roller

As dancers, we all know that this art form is very physically demanding. Because of this, it is very important that we take care of our bodies properly to ensure the best performance possible. Using the Claudia Dean World Foam Roller before or after class to help stretch and recover can really help prevent sore muscles. This is a perfect gift for any dancer in your life!

Officially En Pointe T

The Officially En Pointe T-shirt is perfect for any dancer wanting to showcase their dancing skills! It’s stylish, comfortable and perfect to wear to dance class or lounging around the house. This t-shirt comes in a variety of sizes and makes a perfect Christmas gift for any dancer!

Claudia Dean World Oversized Hoodie

The Claudia Dean World Oversized Hoodie is a perfect addition to any dancer’s wardrobe. It’s soft, comfortable, stylish, and comes in various colors. What more could you want?! This hoodie can be paired with any type of bottom and be instantly cute on anybody. Come find any of these hoodies in-store or online to give to your dancer for the holidays!

We hope this Holiday Gift Guide helps make Christmas shopping for your dancer easier!

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Guest User 12/8/22 Guest User 12/8/22

Getting To Know DWC Ambassador EmmaRose DeSantis

At Dancewear Center, we always look for people that can help fulfill our message that “every body is a dancing body.” New DWC Ambassador Emma Rose DeSantis was perfect for that! We got the opportunity to speak with Emma Rose about her dancing journey! Read on to learn more about what dance means to Emma Rose and what inspired her to become an Ambassador!

Pronunciation: Em-ma Rose Dee-san-tis | Pronouns: she/her

By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor

Emma Rose has been dancing ever since she was 3 years old. She shares that she started with creative movement/ballet classes and then took some modern classes. Emma Rose grew up on Vashon Island, so she took classes and trained at Vashon Center for the Arts. As she entered high school, Vashon Center for the Arts introduced some other styles like jazz and hip hop to their studio, which allowed Emma Rose to explore those styles during her later dance years.

After high school, Emma Rose went to Western Washington University to get her BFA in Dance with two minors in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship and Innovation. During her time at Western, she was involved in some dance clubs around campus and she shares that she mainly was involved with those clubs during her junior and senior years at the university. Emma Rose currently focuses on contemporary and hip-hop styles and continues ballet to help with her technique and training for other styles.

At first, Emma Rose didn’t think that she could become a DWC Ambassador. She then received a message on social media from Dancewear Center saying that she should apply. As she was applying, Emma Rose was looking at the mission of DWC and loved the message that they wanted to uphold as a company and she knew that she wanted to apply. She loved how friendly the community was and is looking forward to being a part of the DWC community as an Ambassador.

We are so happy to have Emma Rose as one of our new DWC Ambassadors! Watch the full interview below to hear more about Emma Rose’s dancing journey!

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Guest User 12/2/22 Guest User 12/2/22

DWC's Best Nutcracker Gifts for 2022

It’s officially Nutcracker season! Dancers around the area are scrambling to prepare for their annual performances of the classic tale The Nutcracker. This allows the dancers to create unforgettable memories and entertain hundreds of audiences from far and wide. From holiday-themed leotards to storybooks for little kids, any of the items on this list would make fabulous holiday gifts for your favorite Nutcracker performers sold here at Dancewear Center!

By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor

Motionwear Nutcracker Hoodies

During the winter months, it’s even more crucial for dancers to bundle up and stay warm when they train and rehearse. Fortunately, Motionwear has dancers covered with their line of Nutcracker hoodies, crewnecks, and tank tops. Check out the preppy “Nutcracker Academy” crewneck, laid-back “Nutcracker on Duty” hoodie, and more at Dancewear Center.

Nutcracker’s Back Tote Bag

Nutcracker season comes with endless rehearsals to make sure that the show is as best as it can be. This causes dancers to bring lots of things to these rehearsals to make sure they have everything they need. This Nutcracker’s Back Tote Bag is perfect for that! This bag has pockets big enough to hold laptops and lots of dance gear to make the transition between studio and theater go smoothly.

“Nutcracker Dancing Shapes” Book from Once Upon a Dance
Local small business Once Upon a Dance produces educational and entertaining dance and movement books for children of various ages. The brand is primarily known for its “Dancing Shapes” books, which outline different dance poses for children to learn and follow. The“Nutcracker Dancing Shapes” book adds a festive spin to the series, providing readers with twenty-five different Nutcracker roles to follow.

Danse de Paris Nutcracker Sweet Leotard

The “Nutcracker Sweet” line by Danse de Paris features products adorned with a celebratory Nutcracker print, displaying characters from the production, like Clara, The Nutcracker Prince, and the Rat King. This woman-owned business has the “sweetest” leotards for the holiday season.

“The Nutcracker Practice and Play Book” by Russian Pointe

One of the most endearing and exciting parts of The Nutcracker is the story itself. Who doesn’t want to follow Clara’s journey as she ventures through an enchanted, snowy forest and the Land of Sweets? “The Nutcracker Practice and Play Book” from Russian Pointe is the perfect gift for a youngster who enjoys ballet and allows for yet another fun and stimulating way to engage with the iconic plotline.

Cloud & Victory “Winter is Coming” T-Shirt

Cloud and Victory is a small, woman-owned business known for its charming and stylish graphic T-shirts, leotards, and other dancewear products and accessories. The brand’s “Winter is Coming” T-shirt is the perfect gift for a dancer who loves Game of Thrones, as it depicts characters from the fantasy series as characters in The Nutcracker.

The Nutcracker has become an important part of how many families celebrate the holiday season. Commemorate its significance with some of DWC’s favorite Nutcracker products - whether it’s gifting them to others or yourself, they're sure to add a pinch of magic to your dancing and holiday experience.

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Guest User 12/1/22 Guest User 12/1/22

What We Can Learn From Other Perspectives in Dance

As a teacher, I learned to meet students where they were at and help them comfortably reach the next level of technique or a skill. I didn’t expect them to be able to immediately perform perfectly or get something correct every time, like I do with my own dancing. Teachers don’t expect perfection out of their students, after all they are students, and more than that, humans. Teaching students helped me overcome some of my perfectionism when it comes to dancing.

A Local Dancer on Having Empathy For Industry Professionals and Students

By Laura Eberle, DWC Blog Contributor

I got a new job this year as a dance teacher for a small middle school team. I had never experienced this side of dance before, I had always been a student, so it really gave me a new perspective on dance classes and how teachers (re)act. I think that we’re often so focused on our own situations that we never notice how our actions may look to others. But if we take a step back, there are a lot of things we as dancers can learn from perspectives other than our own.

What are some things that only a teacher would see?

Similarly, teachers don’t usually focus on how far you are, but rather, on how far you’ve come. Yes, it is impressive to be able to do a triple pirouette, or a perfect split leap, but if a student starts the year without even a single pirouette, it is unlikely that they would be able to reach a triple by the end of the year. Students start at different levels and progress at different speeds; it is unreasonable to expect everyone to reach the same milestones at the same time. At the very core, teachers just want to see you grow, so the fact that you’ve made progress is often the most important part.

Teachers/choreographers have a vision when creating a dance – this includes the music, the costumes, the choreography, and even the tiny details of style. No matter how much you try to explain it, some dancers won’t be able to understand the ‘vision’, which can become really frustrating. Sometimes the ‘vision’ isn’t visible until every piece is complete and put together, so we should try to hold our judgements until we can see the whole vision. Even then, everyone has a different brain and a different imagination, so we can’t expect every dancer to understand every vision, and as dancers we have to accept that not every dance or ‘vision’ we’re in will click with us.

I really did get frustrated when students were gone so often, especially when they wouldn’t explain why they were gone. As a teacher who only sees students once a week, it becomes difficult to teach properly/well when a student is gone often. That’s not to say that there aren’t good reasons to miss class, there certainly are, but the more often a student gives excuses for missing class, the less valid those reasons start to feel. And to the teacher who receives little to no excuses or warning for a student being gone, it may seem like the student is disinterested in their own classes or not committed to the craft.

Something a little more concrete I understood from being a teacher is the significance of going back to the basics. Sometimes as you become a more advanced dancer you unintentionally sacrifice basic technique in order to get those fancy moves down. But when you’re teaching new dancers, you have to start with the basics, and keep practicing them, you can’t just go over them once and expect them to stick. I found that reviewing the ‘simple’ elements that we often forget to maintain helped me to reapply those elements to my dancing.

Now what might a fellow student dancer see that we may not?

Being in front of a mirror so often can make it really easy to compare ourselves to others, especially in a community where that has been encouraged for so long. It’s easy to think that other dancers judge us the same way we judge ourselves. But our fellow dancers and friends don’t see what we see in the mirror. They see us just as we are. I know I certainly don’t judge my friends based on how high their développé is, or how many turns they can do. So why should we base our own self-worth as dancers on those things?

Instead of comparing ourselves to our peers, we can learn how to have better attitudes from our friends. Sometimes if I can’t seem to find the motivation to dance I can look to my hard-working, passionate friends and get the motivation to take my training seriously from them. On the other hand, if you can’t have fun in your dancing, friends are a great way to take dance a little less seriously. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t take dance seriously, but just that you should be able to enjoy dancing.

What are some things that we can learn from a parent or an admin perspective?

Now these ones I don’t have any first person experience with, and I won’t pretend to know what it’s like. However, I have talked with my mom – the head administrator at a dance school – a lot, so I thought I might pass on some of the things she has talked about.

Admin and teachers work very hard to create a safe, supportive environment for students to come in and dance because they care about the students. They get to see the many different personalities in dance and watch them grow – both as people and as dancers – and truly want them to succeed. There are so many different jobs that go into making dancers look good in a performance, it really does take an amazing, caring team to make us look so good on stage. We as dancers can’t forget this when we are performing or when we see the people who help us look good, we have to remember that they are also people who put in a lot of time and effort and deserve our respect.

The business side of dance is something that I think most dancers never really see or pay attention to, but it really does take a lot of work to keep a dance school/company running, to order and organize costumes, to book venues, to create programs, and to coordinate between all the different people involved. These people work behind the scenes and don’t often receive much recognition outside of mentions at the back of programs, but without them our dance world would be very different. We should be grateful when we can show up and just dance without having to worry about any of that stuff.

Something my mom has talked about is that for many dancers dance isn’t just a way to spend time–it serves as much more. Along with creating a safe environment for people to express themselves, dance also teaches many life skills that will be very helpful throughout all of life. There are a myriad of skills that can be taken from dance: you learn diligence from the commitment and the hard work that it takes, you learn how to work in a team when collaborating with other dancers and choreographers, and you learn how to listen to a teacher and how to take constructive criticism, among many other skills. These skills can be helpful in nearly every field that exists, as well as daily life.

My mom also pointed out that having dance helped me, and probably many others, cope with the pandemic and the lockdown. If you were lucky enough to have dance online (as different as it was), you could keep some semblance of your regular routine while everyone was stuck at home, and continue to have a creative outlet during one of the craziest times of our lives. Having this form of expression can be uber important for sharing feelings that we may not want to talk about, as it allows us to tell our story without having to put it into words and open up to someone about our insecurities.

These are just some of the things that I’ve learned from exploring other perspectives of dance, but there are certainly hundreds of additional things we can learn from others in our environment, or even those in different environments. I have only experienced a small slice of the pie that is the dance world; there are so many other perspectives to be considered. I highly encourage everyone to take a step back and try looking at something from someone else’s point of view when you have the opportunity.

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Guest User 11/21/22 Guest User 11/21/22

Local Young Choreographer Christian West on What Modern Dance Means to Him

This show is formatted like a double feature where the first act is a showcase of pieces to Kate Bush songs and the second act is its own piece to a concept suite on one of her albums Hounds of Love, which is on the B side of the record called The Ninth Wave. The plot of the concept piece is that she is drowning and it explores themes of rebirth, grief, death, life and love. “It’s a very cathartic human sound, all of her music is, and it’s such a heavy subject matter that we’re having so much fun with,” he shares, laughing.

A Conversation on Promoting Young Dancers

By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor

The DWC Blog loves to highlight dancers and choreographers in the Seattle area. Because of this, we got the opportunity to speak with Christian West who is a newly graduated high school student who has put together a show coming on stage this November! Read on to learn more about Christian’s dance journey and what his show has in store!

Christian started dancing when he was in the first grade. He has been dancing at Spotlight Dance Center since he started and shares that he has taken some tap classes at Village Theater KidsStage. One of the main reasons why he started dancing was because he did musical theater, which is why he primarily started out with tap. He shares that his immense passion for dance outside of musical theater didn’t occur until his junior year of high school. “So, fairly new!” he says, laughing.

Christian has always been fascinated by dance and it is a pivotal part of his life. Dance has allowed him to view the world around him in ways that he wouldn’t have if he wasn’t as involved in dance. “[I’m] just constantly looking at people and the way that they move and how that's fascinating to me,” Christian shares.

All his dance training has been through Spotlight Dance Center and he shares that it feels like a home. “It’s definitely a big part of my dance upbringing,” he says. Modern dance is a specific style that he says means a lot to him and he shares that dancing at Spotlight is why he thinks it means so much to him. Through his own choreography, he has noticed that it is much more geared towards the performance bases of dance rather than the competition-based dance of other studios.

In late November, Christian is putting together a show dedicated to Kate Bush. He shares that he has been obsessed with her music for about four years ever since his sister showed her music to him. “She showed me all of her really weird music videos where she has all this modern dance, and that’s almost been like a spell, like it’s entrancing,” he recalls, smiling. The meaning of the music and her own dancing in her music videos is something that he gains inspiration from, specifically for this show.

Christian loves incorporating small, specific movements in his choreography, so he shares that Bob Fosse, Pina Bausch and Mark Morris are some choreographers that inspire him as well. Aside from big-name choreographers, Christian seeks inspiration from co-choreographer of this piece Pilar Galdamez. Both have danced at Spotlight Dance Center together and he says that they can connect in ways of understanding one another very easily because of it.

Christian and Pilar’s choreographic process involves many different aspects. Most of the process is expressing a vision to one another and then choreographing it themselves and placing it on the dancers. But, they also use a unique technique that is used by one of the teachers at Spotlight where they tell the dancers to improv and then film them dancing. “We then watch the way their bodies move and the poses that their bodies naturally fit into to try and make it seem as natural and authentic for the dancers to perform as possible,” he says.

When asked about what he enjoys about the style of modern itself, he shares that he appreciates the time that it was born and how much it changed the dance world. He loves the pure innovation of what modern dance has done and the authenticity of what it means and looks like in every dancer’s body. He shares that there is a specific piece in his show where there are multiple different dancers in pointe shoes, and bare feet doing what they love and feel good in their bodies. Christian and Pilar’s main goal for this piece is to integrate personality and just being a person into their choreography which is how they are trying to bring light to modern dance.

“She’s 16 years old and I’m 18, so we’ve never done anything like this before,” Christian shares. “This is a huge project to take on.” Just simply creating everything and being in a room full of people and telling them what to do is something that he shares has been a struggle for the both of them. In light of the pandemic, he shares that any struggles that they have faced while putting this production together have come as a hidden blessing. All of the dancers that they are putting into the show are close friends or attend Spotlight, which has helped them in the long run.

When asked about what aspect he is most excited for people to see in this show, Christian shares that he is really excited for people to see something that he loves and hopes that they love it too. He hopes that people can be as entranced and fascinated by the music as he is. He is also really excited to share younger people’s viewpoints on the subject matter of this piece and to introduce new choreographers to the dance scene.

You can come and see this show at the Erikson Theater in Capitol Hill, Seattle on November 25th and November 26th and all of the proceeds of this event will go to the charity LANDBACK. This show will feature dancing from Christian West, Pilar Galdamez, Mia Behnke, Alivia Behnke, Nicole Barrett, Tija Dupont, Miles Rich-Davis, Simone Joshua and others. Buy tickets here for any of the three performances. We hope to see you at the show!

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Guest User 11/18/22 Guest User 11/18/22

Getting To Know DWC Ambassador Aubrey Zappen

Promoting body positivity is something very important to new DWC Ambassador Aubrey Zappen. When she heard about DWC, she instantly loved what the company stood for and new that she wanted to apply for the ambassadorship. We got the opportunity to speak with Aubrey about her dancing journey! Read on to learn more about what dance means to Aubrey and what inspired her to become an Ambassador!

Pronunciation: Aw-brie Zap-in | Pronouns: she/her

By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor

Starting at the age of 3, Aubrey knew that she always wanted to dance. She shares that there were very few times in her life that she ever doubted that she wanted to dance. She knew it was for her. Aubrey currently dances at the Academy of Dance in Port Orchard, Washington, and shares that she loves the community there. Within the past year, she realized that she wanted to dance as her career and go to school for it. As a senior in high school, she is preparing for auditions for various schools that she is wanting to go to.

One reason why Aubrey was inspired to become a DWC Ambassador was because of some of her peers at her studio. She had just heard about Dancewear Center and she shares that when she did she immediately fell in love with everything about it. Aubrey loves the importance of “every body is a dancing body” and appreciates that this business is promoting diversity and body positivity in every way. She shares the importance of this acceptance in the dance world and hopes to do that as a DWC Ambassador.

We are so happy to have Aubrey as one of our new DWC Ambassadors! Watch the full interview below to hear more about Aubrey’s dancing journey!

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Guest User 11/14/22 Guest User 11/14/22

Local Dance Non-Profit on Prioritizing Dance Education for Adults

This new upcoming show will be held on November 18th and 19th at Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle at 8 pm. Dare to Dance’s shows started in 2010 with the first show simply called Dare to Dance. These shows aim to get people who don’t have a lot of dance training but want to start dancing on stage and perform. To include people who are dance enthusiasts and just want to dance. These dance pieces specifically are meant to showcase different dance styles and the utter joy that the people onstage have when performing.

A Conversation with the Directors of Dare to Dance Seattle

By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor

The dance world has come a long way in recent years for the acceptance of everyone. Gender norms are being broken and traditional ways of training are being pushed aside. One gap that is still working its way through the realm of dance is the gap for adults starting to dance at an older age. This is something that Dare to Dance Seattle is trying to tackle with their yearly performances. We got the opportunity to speak with Administrative Director Cindy Jacobs and Artistic Director Zheng Wang about their upcoming performance on November 18th and 19th! Read on to learn more about the mission of Dare to Dance and details for their upcoming show!

Zheng shares that he was not a dancer when he was growing up. He says that he never considered himself a dancer until he found a group that participated in flash mobs in 2010. The flash mob was performing at Westlake Center in Seattle and he says that he went with a friend and was a part of the big crowd dancing together. “That was just really fun, really exciting, so I just kept going back,” he recalls.

While participating in the flash mobs, he met a group of people that were very passionate about dance, but they weren’t “professionals.” He credits meeting this group of people as the true beginning of starting Dare to Dance and his reason for creating a show with the flash mob community.

Cindy started taking dance classes when she was five years old and shares that back when she was training, there were no performances or recitals. There were just strictly classes for technique. Her father was in the military so she says that she moved around a lot and learned different dance styles such as tap and hula. She continued to dance throughout high school and shares that she took a little break after graduating.

Later on, in her adult years, she started dancing again in some community-based performances and stage musicals. She then started dancing with a community show choir and later on choreographed for them. Cindy and her choreography partner Sue have worked together for many years and have choreographed numerous pieces in various locations. “I just love to dance,” she shares, smiling.

Dare to Dance encourages group performances to share the joy of dancing together. Each specific piece showcases a dance style and choreographers from various locations bring these pieces for the dancers to perform. This organization just wants to share dance with everybody.

Cindy shares that when she joined the team in 2018 she was very impressed with the organization of the company and loved the mission. “It was extremely welcoming,” she shares. She says that something that surprised her was the amount of diversity between the dances and the dancers. “It’s really a fun show!” Cindy says.

The goal of Dare to Dance as a non-profit organization is to provide professional-quality opportunities for dance enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels to create, perform, connect and grow. “It’s really about providing that opportunity to people that don’t get it otherwise,” Zheng shares. He emphasizes the fact that “non-dancers” don’t get the opportunities to perform onstage like dancers that train at a studio do. Zheng believes that the audience can see themselves onstage when they are watching these performances that they might not with other shows.

When coming up with this idea, Zheng shares that he thought that this was a very out-of-the-box concept to create. He says that he disguised the first show as a big birthday celebration for his 35th birthday to ensure that people would turn out and want to celebrate. “I figured that if it was a total disaster, we could just write it off as having fun for my birthday!” Zheng shares, laughing. What surprised him the most was how successful it was and it allowed him to continue doing these shows from then on.

Something that makes Dare to Dance stand out amongst other organizations is the fact that every idea is open for discussion. “‘Hey, you have a good idea? Sure! Can you get some dancers?’” Cindy shares, smiling. She elaborates that there aren’t the boundaries that typical dance organizations have and they focus their time on allowing adult amateurs to have the opportunity to dance onstage. Cindy states that the most important thing about Dare to Dance is that there are no pre-existing rules for what kind of dance or dancers they need. “We are willing to look at everything,” she shares.

Dare to Dance 11: Together Again, will take place on November 18th and 19th at 8 pm at Broadway Performance Hall in Seattle, Washington. Be sure to check out their website here for more details, or go here to buy your tickets now! We hope to see you there!

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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.

Guest User 11/4/22 Guest User 11/4/22

Exploring Dance in Academia as a Parent

“It’s my personal way of processing and understanding the world,” CarliAnn says of why she loves dancing. She describes herself as a kinesthetic person, using physicality as a way to connect with others and share experiences. CarliAnn also appreciates what a great medium dance is for storytelling, as communicating stories through the body can utilize a richness that simple text cannot, making it an accessible storytelling tool.

CarliAnn Bruner Recounts Her Dance Journey

Name pronunciation: Carlee-Ann B-run-er | Pronouns: she/her

By by Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Contributor

Photo by 127th St.

The role dance plays in a person’s life can vary immensely, from taking community classes, to professionally performing, to becoming a trained educator in the practice. Dance artist and educator CarliAnn Bruner has experienced this wide range of dance roles throughout her journey and currently works as an adjunct professor of dance at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Read on to learn more about CarliAnn’s dance journey and experiences exploring dance in academia and as a parent.

Some of CarliAnn’s earliest movement memories are in gymnastics lessons, which her parents enrolled her in at age two. She loved gymnastics but felt especially drawn to the dance and style aspects of the balance beam and floor routines. After participating in competitive gymnastics until she was thirteen, CarliAnn dove head first into dancing and fell in love with it.

“At fifteen, I was like ‘Mom, I’m going to be a dancer when I grow up!’” CarliAnn recollects. At sixteen, she began regularly driving herself two hours from her hometown of Yakima, Washington to Seattle to take dance classes at Velocity Dance Center, Spectrum Dance Theater, and Westlake Dance Center. “My parents were so trusting,” she laughs about her younger self driving so far for dance.

CarliAnn attended Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, where she received her BFA, majoring in dance and minoring in kinesiology. While in the Vancouver area, a standout moment for her was getting to perform in the closing ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

After college, CarliAnn auditioned for some dance companies in other cities, eventually landing a job with 127th St. Dance Company in Seattle. “That was my jumping-off point, my entry into the Seattle [dance] scene,” CarliAnn says of the job. “I met a lot of people who I’m still good friends with.”

CarliAnn later danced with Khambatta Dance Company, where she performed at venues around the world, including India, Brazil, Mexico, and Lithuania. She also danced in the inaugural season of Intrepidus Dance, with DWC Owner and General Manager Samantha Weissbach and former DWC staff member Holly Logan Livingston.

Through Khambatta Dance Company, CarliAnn was introduced to fellow dancer and DWC Director of Marketing Ethan Rome. The two artists were drawn to the art of choreography and desired to create their own dance company. So, they started Forthun + Rome Dance Theater in 2016, which created and showed work around Washington for about three years.

In 2018, CarliAnn and her husband found themselves itching to live in a new city. After some searching, they landed in Spokane. CarliAnn got connected with Gonzaga University Dance Director Suzanne Ostersmith and became a guest artist at the university, choreographing work for a production of theirs.

Teaching at Gonzaga prompted CarliAnn to think about getting her master’s degree. In 2021, she earned her MFA in dance at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Her thesis focused on indigenous contemporary dance, a subject personal to CarliAnn as a descendant of the Colville Tribe in Washington. “It was a nice way to use my art to reconnect to my heritage and my ancestry,” she says. Due to COVID-19, much of CarliAnn’s master’s program took place over Zoom in Washington, while she was pregnant with her second child. While this virtual format posed many challenges, she appreciated having the opportunity to interview family members for her thesis research, an opportunity she may not have had if she was living in a different state.

Currently, CarliAnn is working as an adjunct professor of dance at Gonzaga University. She’s in the process of creating a curriculum for a course on arts leadership and administration with a specific focus on art management in the nonprofit sector. She’s passionate about making sure organizations are conscious of the voices that they are uplifting and hopes to bring attention to that through her teaching. CarliAnn also recently launched a course on dance improvisation, something that many of her students had been seeking more education about. She’s also planning on being the rehearsal director for the Gonzaga University Repertory Dance Company. This season, dance artist Ashley Menestrina will be setting work on the Gonzaga dancers, which CarliAnn is greatly excited to see.

In addition to her academic work, CarliAnn has been making a greater effort to slowly come back into the studio for herself for the first time in a while. She’s created a couple of pieces largely inspired by her thesis and personal research. She shares that being able to travel and tour her art around the world again is a long-time goal of hers.

“It’s interesting being an artist and a parent,” CarliAnn says. Not only has she had to re-acquaint herself with her body after having children, but she also says she’s learning where her place in the dance community is again. She says that in many ways, due to COVID-19, dance opportunities have been made more accessible to her as a parent due to the abundance of online options. At the same time, there are also many opportunities that aren’t as accessible due to time and distance limitations interfering with her important role as a parent. She shares that she sometimes feels like she has to hide her children away as an artist when in reality, they are an important part of her art-making. CarliAnn is excited to see discussions about being an artist and a parent beginning to happen more and hopes to see more holistic acceptance of artists and dancers as whole beings.

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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.

Guest User 10/26/22 Guest User 10/26/22

Scary Dance Pieces to Get You in the Halloween Spirit

Whether it’s curling up to watch your favorite horror movie or tip-toeing through an eerie haunted house, Halloween is one of the only times of the year when people choose to get scared! There’s something about the rain clouds rolling in and the chill that falls in the air that makes people enthusiastic about spooks. For dancers that are passionate about the spooky season, we’ve curated a list of the most chilling dance pieces to get you into the holiday spirit.

By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor

“Dark Matters,” Kidd Pivot, choreography by Crystal Pite

In “Dark Matters,” the incomparable Crystal Pite showcases chilling choreography on her company Kidd Pivot. The work features a dancer being attacked by a puppet controlled by several shadow figures. The piece turns quite meta, as the person’s body is dragged away and his home is dismantled, with the words “THIS IS FAKE” projected across the stage. Lights flash, shadows are cast, and bodies move with creepy contours.

“Double Murder - Clowns,” choreography by Hofesh Schecter

CONTENT WARNING: IMAGES OF GUNS

“Clowns” is a part of the double bill, Double Murder, choreographed by the renowned Hofesh Schecter. Images of clowns are certainly evoked, from the billowy costumes, the bouncing motions, and the circus-esque atmosphere. Yet, there is something on edge about the movements, with shaking and flailing adding an eeriness to it all. It feels as though you’re peeping in on the inner workings of a cult of ex-clowns.

“The Hospital,” Quest Crew

Quest Crew’s “The Hospital” fittingly takes place in an eerie hospital, full of scares and creeps around every corner. Piercing music plays as a brooding nurse storms through decrepit halls. The patients swing axes and ramble nonsensically as the camera pans into each room of the hospital. The crew of doctors at the end showcases remarkable, gravity-defying breaking moves. With a surprise twist ending, this dance piece is undoubtedly not worth missing.

“The Rite of Spring,” choreography by Pina Bausch

Pina Bausch’s “The Rite of Spring” is a thriller through and through. Expertly blending frantic gestures with smooth lines, all kinds of energy flows through the piece to draw viewers in. Dancers flail about, throw harsh stares, and engage in jerking gestures, often in large clusters and circles, alluding to cult-like motifs. The chilling nature of the dancers’ movements and facial expressions, paired with the heart-pounding orchestral music makes the whole piece rather unnerving, perfect to watch during this time of the year. Click the link above to view behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage of “The Rite of Spring,” or this link to see an excerpt.

“Creature” (Because of What You Have Done) by Akram Khan

Finally, “Creature” by Akram Kahn conveys thriller-like qualities as well, but in a rather different form than “The Rite of Spring.” Stumbling around to a warped recording of Richard Nixon’s 1969 speech to the Apollo 11 astronauts, performer Jeffrey Cirio’s character appears in a sort of psychological prison. Timed with Nixon’s words, Cirio moves in slow motion and then snaps into jittery upright motions, mouthing the words and pulling at his jaw. The whole piece contains unsettling and evocative qualities fit for the scary season.

Who said dance can’t be spooky? Take a break from your trick-or-treating, horror movie binging, and candy-eating to check out these scary dance pieces. They’re sure to get you in the Halloween spirit!