Alberto shares that what initially attracted him to dance was the challenge it presented to him. “It felt like something that you would have to try forever and never be perfect at,” he says. "That was something very alluring to me.” Today, he has an appreciation for the numerous skills dancers acquire, including musicality and coordination.
Read MoreOne of the things that Dominique is looking forward to about being an ambassador is that it can allow her to become more of an advocate for mental health in the dance world. Having gone through these experiences herself, she wants to be able to raise awareness for these issues that are very common in the dance world. At All That Dance where Dominique teaches, there is Love Your Body Week that has been picked up by numerous other studios around the country where time is taken out of dance classes during the week to discuss loving your body. Dominique shares that this week is something that has helped her want to lift up the voices of people struggling with these issues and advocate for more awareness.
Read MoreMoving forward, Lex wishes for dance teachers to communicate with one another more. There’s a strong feeling of competition that runs across the dance industry, causing teachers, dancers, and other industry professionals to retreat to their silos. Lex points out that it’s hard for dancers and teachers to grow when they feel like they’re being judged. “There’s this weird expectation that if you’re a teacher, you have to be good at everything and that’s just not realistic,” Lex says. “So it’s hard to find a space in your community as a teacher, where you feel like you can work on yourself free of judgment.” She says that it would be great for Drop Zone to host events where teachers can come into conversation with one another about their unique struggles.
Read MoreThe title of Alberto’s work is “1 in 10^2,685,000" in reference to the statistical probability of a human being born. “The possibility of someone [being] alive is…a miracle. An honor,” Alberto says. After reading about this statistic and literature about the persistence of human survival, Alberto was inspired to create a piece that recognizes the triumph of being alive as well as the challenges of living. “It’s not easy to be alive,” Alberto recognizes. “It is happy, but it is a struggle.” He shares that the piece is about the miracle of existing on Earth and the heaviness that human journeys can carry. “You have to find beauty within the journey to be able to be happy,” Alberto says of human struggle.
Read MoreMy mission is to support dancers and their personal growth inside and outside of the studio to produce better performance outcomes and a more sustainable dancer long-term,” Josh says of his goal behind Flexible Mind Counseling. Through individual and group therapy sessions, Flexible Mind Counseling provides clients with “a bridge back to understanding [their] authentic needs.
Read MoreAlex Ung shares that when people ask about his nationality, he often uses an umbrella term, like sharing that his family is from Laos, rather than diving deeper into his more specific tribal culture of the Tai Dam. “It was just easier,” Alex says. “Immigration Stories” provided Alex with an opportunity to share more about his culture, in an effort to “not let it disappear into history books” and simultaneously help write history. “We’re a small tribal culture that not a whole lot of people know about and so I wanted to bring that to light,” he says of the Tai Dam people.
Read More“I would like to see a lot more empathy towards the culture and the people that created the dance,” Miguel says of a change he hopes to see made in the larger dance industry. He shares that many of the people who created dance genres like hip hop and breaking are still alive and accessible to dancers, yet their contributions can get drowned out. More focused on physicality, Miguel also hopes to see more dancers treating and training their bodies like the athletes that they are so that they can keep dancing for as long as they can. “You’ve got to put that work in so that you can keep going,” he shares.
Read MoreOn May 28, 2022, Megan will be holding “INTRODUCING SALTSHAKE” at the Nod Theater in Seattle, WA. At this workshop, Megan will be introducing “saltshake,” a movement form designed to help relieve trauma in the body. The movement form involves choreographed somatic healing techniques and Yoga Asana poses that have specific intentions behind them, such as regulating the nervous system.
Read MoreFrom her numerous years of experience in the industry, Kari Hovde knows that finding and securing opportunities for talented young dancers can be challenging. Due to numerous circumstances, opportunities for personal and professional development in the industry can be out of reach for even the most technically proficient young dancers. That’s why Kari founded The Backstage Foundation, a non-profit organization that funds opportunities for young dancers to build their talent and character via scholarships. Read on to learn more about Kari’s background, the story behind The Backstage Foundation, and the upcoming "In the Spotlight” benefit show on May 20, 2022, at 7:00 PM at the Kirkland Performance Center.
Read MoreAt the end of AAPI month, Jerome Aparis shared his journey to becoming a co-founder and current member of the world-renowned breaking crew, Massive Monkees. From studying VHS tapes of breakers in sixth grade to creating an internationally acclaimed crew and achieving global accolades, Jerome recounts how the values of hard work and creativity from his cultural heritage have fueled his drive for success and purpose.
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