Mission
At Dancewear Center, we believe that every body is a dancing body. Our team of dancers for dancers strives to empower local dancers by providing knowledgeable pointe shoe fittings, product and community education, and continuous support.
Vision
To create a central hub for a dancer's health, well-being, and comfort in the Pacific Northwest.
Core Values
INTEGRITY - We are committed to treating our customers, each other, and ourselves with honesty, care and respect.
LAUGHTER - We laugh as hard as we work—100% of the time!
TENACITY - We are passionate and persevere in the pursuit of our goals.
The DWC Story: A little more about the new DWC…
Samantha Weissbach, Owner & General Manager
Photo by Muñoz Motions
WHO am I?
I’m a dancer, a teacher, and a forever student. In addition to managing the operations of Dancewear Center, I am a local ballet teacher, and am a company member and Executive Director of local dance company Intrepidus Dance. I’m a wife, a step-mom, bird-lover, an undercover introvert, and a deep lover of humanity. I value loyalty, honesty, and relationships. I strongly believe I was put on this earth to fiercely love and support this beautiful dance community in the Pacific Northwest.
WHY did I take over Dancewear Center?
While ballet is one of my first loves, my pointe shoe journey was a particularly challenging one. Over the course of my training, I was poorly fitted on multiple occasions and overall was dismissed when expressing concern to my fitters over the pain I was feeling in my pointe shoes. I spent many a Nutcracker bleeding into my pointe shoes and using Orajel on my toes like my life depended on it... all because I was never properly fit, or educated enough to know that pointe work shouldn't have gone hand-in-hand with excruciating pain. I have been dancing for almost 3 decades, and while I love ballet, pointe shoe fitting is a mostly unregulated craft which leads to dancers receiving fittings that too often leave them unnecessarily and sometimes severely or irreparably injured.
Photo by Muñoz Motions
I took a leap of faith taking over DWC from Marv and Patrice because I wanted to continue to provide excellent fittings and grow and deepen DWC’s knowledge of fitting. I want each dancer who gets fitted by DWC to leave feeling more educated and empowered when it comes to their pointe shoes.
What’s our VISION at Dancewear Center?
Our team of dancers is for dancers. We believe that every body is a dancing body and make it our personal mission to empower each dancer through continuous support and product education.
Continuing education is my personal bedrock, and each DWC employee dedicates daily time prior to the store opening towards furthering their fitting knowledge. As the saying goes, "if you aren't growing, you're dying." I want to band together to bring a new kind of life to this industry: one dancer at a time.
As a fellow dancer, I personally want to support all of you: the amazing artists that make up this vibrant Pacific Northwest dancing community. I want to be one of your trusted consultants that helps you dance your strongest, safest, and most confidently. If there’s ever any way the team at DWC can support you and your dancing aspirations—please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re just a phone call or email away.