A Conversation About More Accessible Information for Dancers
Fulfilling the Legacy of Bremerton Dance Center with Mallory Morrison
By Nicole Barrett, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by Iklil Gregg Photography
The beginning of Mallory Morrison’s dancing journey doesn’t just start with her; she has a long family history of dancers stretching back to her grandmother. After starting dance at the age of 11, her grandmother opened up a studio in her basement that started with just 30 students. She then expanded to another location and that is where Bremerton Dance Center has been since 1969. Read on to learn more about Mallory’s dance journey and her ownership of Bremerton Dance Center!
Mallory’s first appearances on a dance stage were when she was just 18 months old. “I was told that when I went onstage, and then they just couldn’t get me off of the stage,” she shares. She then continued to dance at Bremerton Dance Center and shares that she participated in many dance intensives and has worked with numerous choreographers and guest teachers through her time at the studio. Later in her dance journey, she got asked to perform with the Peninsula Dance Theater, which is a non-profit pre-professional company, all the way until her senior year of high school.
After graduating high school, Mallory decided to steer away from a dance path and went to college for business. She studied at Central Washington University and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration while still continuing some dance training at school. When she returned from college, she continued on with dance but shares that she stayed more on the business and teaching side of things at the studio. Now, she has fully taken over Bremerton Dance Center and Peninsula Dance Theater and shares that she is teaching classes every day and strives to better the studio as a whole.
Photo by Iklil Gregg Photography
When asked about what her favorite thing about dance is, Mallory shares that the ability to walk into the studio and leave everything at the door is something important to her. Growing up, she knew that she could always go to the studio and get lost in her movement and not have to think about anything else. “I could just be in a place that made me happy,” she shares.
Mallory shares that one of her biggest struggles in the dance world was finding and having access to dance programs outside of her studio. She shares that she struggled with having the right information about different dance programs that she just didn’t know about. Mallory shares that the differences in technology from when she was having these struggles to the present day are very different, but still thinks they can be prevalent. She shares that information overload is something that dancers can struggle with, and the constant need to sift through this information can be draining. For her own students and others struggling with this issue, she shares the need to pick certain schools and programs that speak to them the most and that they enjoy. “It’s about not overwhelming yourself with all that information out there, because it is a lot,” she shares.
Although there are lots of changes being made in the dance world to further equality, Mallory believes that schools should normalize the need for more integrated schools. Her main goal in her own studio is to make sure that she has the same mindset that everybody in the dance world should be accepted. She shares that she wants to make sure that she is holding lessons for dancers that are appropriate for everybody and to continue the efforts of making sure that all bodies can dance. She emphasizes on the matter that she wants to make a space where everybody can dance and feel comfortable.
Bremerton Dance Center started its fall season with classes on August 29th after doing numerous camps during the summer for their dancers. The performing companies have been hard at work rehearsing for their performances coming up in the fall and spring and like many other studios, they are working on rehearsals for the Nutcracker! Along with that, Mallory is getting ready with her junior company to do school tours around the area. The company puts a storybook ballet to a certain book each year and travels to schools around the area and performs them in front of the students and allows them to ask questions and meet the dancers.
Be sure to check out their websitehere for more information on classes and performances!
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