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!

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!

Thriving in Dance College

Becoming a good artist requires a lot of time and is a highly individual process. True art, in its various forms, comes from observing the world, coming to know yourself, and the synthesis between the two. There is no substitute for the hours of training, studying, and absorbing that need to be done in order to hone your craft and distinguish your voice as an individual.

The New Kid, Again (Pt. II)

I found a moment of relief as an artist in the 2nd iteration of Dani Tirrell’s “Black Bois”. We sold out The Moore Theatre on Valentine’s Day 2020; One Night Only. In a cast of only black people, I could just represent myself. It was truly a legendary community celebration. Even in this moment of happiness, I was still very physically and emotionally burnt out. I performed in the Seattle International Dance Festival Mini-Fest with Khambatta Dance Company, and the next performance on my calendar with The Tint Festival, which I had choreographed for.

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!

DWC How To's: Sewing Your Pointe Shoes

Sewing pointe shoes can be one of the most complicated processes for dancers, but it doesn’t need to be!. There are various ways that teachers want their students to sew them and many ways that dancers prefer their own pointe shoes to be sewn. While there isn’t a correct way to sew your shoes, there are many tips and tricks that can be helpful to know in order to sew your shoes efficiently and effectively. Read on to learn some tricks from DWC Staff Member Emma Neilson!

How Do You Cope?

During the month of May, mental health is brought to the entire country’s attention. Mental Health Awareness Month was put into effect in 1949 to reduce the stigma of mental health issues and to provide support for those going through those issues. We here at Dancewear Center believe that mental health is something that is very important to talk about and it is important to know that you are not alone in what you are feeling. Many people can feel stuck when they are experiencing bad mental health days and it is important to find ways to alleviate that. We got to speak with some of our staff and ambassadors about what they do to cope with their mental and physical health through hard times. Read on to learn more about how they take care of themselves during rough times.

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.

Living My Truth Out Loud: Embracing Human Expression

“Human expression on the most natural level is non-binary,” said Ashton Edwards, former Dancewear Center (DWC) Ambassador, in an interview for the DWC Blog. Ashton is a dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and an exquisite one. I’ve been following them on Instagram since they partnered with the DWC ambassador program in 2020. They inspire me and give me hope because when I was growing up, queer dancers were invisible.

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!