DTN's PERFORMING COMPANY MEMBERS
Rena Ahdut has been featured as the Angel, Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen and as the Arabian Princess in DTN's NUTCRACKER. Rena originally joined the Jr. Dance Ensemble in 1999. Her most memorable leading roles have been in DTN's Gates of Balance, The Jewel Heart, & NUTCRACKER. A long time studentof DTN's school and now a parttime instructor, she has earned DTN's Student of the Year Award and is a recipient of the E. K. Lathrop Scholarship Award.
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Taliah Ahdut joined the company as an apprentice member in 2004 after performing for several years with the JR. Dance Ensemble. She was recently featured in Spanish Adagio, SWAN LAKE Pas De Trois and as Clara, Dewdrop Fairy, Russian and Chinese dancer in DTN's NUTCRACKER. Taliah has participated in several summer dance camps and intensive training programs at DTN and has also traveled with the company to New York for advanced training.
Tyler Arndt joined the company in 2003 and formerly the Jr Dance Ensemble in 1999. He has been featured in DTN's NUTCRACKER as The Cavalier, Prince of Snow and in English Toffee. He has also performed leading roles in Images, Pulse on Gershwin, Adagio for Strings, Tempest, The Jewel Heart, and Strike Up The Band. He has taught and studies ballet and jazz, and has earned a Silver Medal in Ballet, a DTN Student of the Year Award, Tyler has traveled with the company to New York for advanced study.
Monet Carter-Mixon joined the Company in 2003 after performing as Jr Dance Ensemble Members. She has performed numerous leading roles at DTN including the Black Swan, Arabian Princess, Sugar Plum Fairy and Snow Queen. She was awarded a summer study scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet and has also recieved the May Bell Hansen Scholarship Award.
Chhay Mam joined the Company as a scholarship student in 2002. He has been featured in Dance Theatre Northwest's SWAN LAKE as Prince Siegfreid, and in NUTCRACKER as Prince of Snow, the Cavalier, and Jumping Jack. He has also been featured in DTN's Spanish Adagio, Andante, Glass, Gates of Balance, Giselle, Blue Bird Pas de Deux, Mambo Jambo,Swing, and Adagio for Strings.
Vadne Domeika joined the Company in 2003 and has been featured in DTN's Les Sylphides, Giselle Pas De Deux and as the Snow Queen and Spanish Dancer in NUTCRACKER. Vadne has an extensive background in dance. She continues both to train and to teach at DTN where she also acts as a rehearsal assistant.
Caitlyn Hess joined Dance Theatre Northwest's Jr. Dance Ensemble in 1999. She was featured in Dance Theatre Northwest's NUTCRACKER as the Sugar Plum Fairy, English Toffee, Harlequin Doll, Whirling Dervish, Dew Drop Fairy and in the Russian & Spanish Dances. A long time student of DTN's school, she is also a parttime instructor and has been the recipient of both the May Bell Hansen Scholarship Award and the E. K. Lathrop Scholarship Award.
Casey Brown was promoted from apprentice member in 2005 and also performed with the Jr. Dance Ensemble. He recently danced in the Swan Lake Pas De Trois and performed the roles of Prince of Snow and Cavalier in as well as several years as Fritz in DTN's NUTCRACKER. He studies Ballet, Tap and Musical Theatre at DTN on full scholarship.
Leslie Rios was promoted from associate member in 2007 after performing several years as a student guest. She has an extensive background in dance including studies in Ballet, Tap and Jazz and is also currently an instructor at DTN.
Elise Walters was promoted from apprentice member in 2007 after performing several years with the Jr. Dance Ensemble. She recently danced in Images with Tyler Arndt and has performed numerous roles including the roles of Clara, Columbine Doll, Dewdrop Fairy and Chinese Master in DTN's NUTCRACKER. Elise studies Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Musical Theatre at DTN, has travel to New York with the comapny for advanced training, has earned a DTN Dance Captain Certificate and is an honor student.
Elizabeth Maloney, apprentice member, joined the Company in 2006 after performing as a Jr Dance Ensemble Member. She has performed the role of Clara in DTN's NUTCRACKER.
Kim Thornton joined DTN in 2003 after performing with the company as a student guest for two years. She has a B.A. from Central Washington University and graduated with honors (cum laude).
Olivia Hutchins, apprentice member, joined the Company in 2006 after performing with the Jr Dance Ensemble Member. She currently trains in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Musical Theatre and has performed the role of Columbine Doll in DTN's NUTCRACKER.
Marrina Simpson originally joined the company as an apprentice member in 2004 after performing for several years with the JR. Dance Ensemble. She has been featured in Pulse on Gershwin and in NUTCRACKER and SWAN LAKE performing numerous roles includng Spanish, English Toffee, Harlequin, Columbine Doll, Snow Queen, and Sugar Plum Fairy. Marrina has won awards in dance including Student of The Year and has also won awards for her choreography. She trains in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Musical Theatre and has participated in intensive summer programs including summer study at Walnut Hill.
PERSPECTIVE…SO MUCH MORE
By Wendy Walters
DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST is so much more than dance. DTN provides opportunities to learn skills that help its dancers grow into respectful, thoughtful, creative adults. DTN provides important community service. DTN provides once-in-a-lifetime exposure and experience with renowned dance companies and groups.
While studying dance is an important part of DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST, learning to be disciplined, respectful and passionate is important too. Students are given responsibilities at DTN to help keep it in excellent condition. Students also learn to respect and encourage each other in their accomplishments.
Many dance studios have one recital each year and maybe one other performance. At Dance Theatre Northwest, students have many opportunities throughout the year to perform. They include the traditional Nutcracker, spring show, recital and University Place Festival.
Dancers are also involved in community service. Several times a year DTN’s junior and senior dance company performs at senior centers. This brings so much joy to those who can’t get out to experience a live performance, and it gives the dancers a chance to share their passion with others. It takes a lot of work and time to provide these performances, but it is Miss Melanie’s commitment to the community that makes it happen.
Last spring’s educational dance trip to New York was an experience of a lifetime. My daughter Elle and I had such a wonderful time. Elle was able to catch a glimpse of the life of a professional dancer, watch her first Broadway show, and experience New York for the first time. Those memories will last a lifetime and inspire her to work hard to reach her goals.
Thank you DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST for being such a bright light to my daughter, numerous other students and the South Sound community. Respect, passion, discipline, commitment - DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST.
DTN JUNIOR DANCE ENSEMBLE MEMBERS
Kaleigh Barnett, Diana Clabots, Haylee Olson, Camille Brown, Ana Fox, Daniella Garza, Alexandra Hansma, Alana Liteanu, Yana Martianov, Amanda Morgan,
Meg Rainier, Allison Zakhorav
FINDING DTN by Krista OlsonBefore my husband accepted a job in the Northwest in fall, 2004, we checked out schools, neighborhoods and crime and tax rates. We looked at property, communities and prospects for our daughters' futures.
Our youngest daughter, then 11, was a member of a junior dance company in Southern California and was well into formal training for a career in ballet. The prominence of arts in this region gave us confidence that her work could continue after we moved.
My husband left to take the job. The girls and I stayed 10 more months in our hometown. They finished a school year. I completed my work contract and took care of real estate details. Of course, Haylee continued to dance.
We lived in the hometown of an amazing young dancer who came home - after nearly a decade on scholarship at the New York Joffrey, complimented by work at other elite companies - to establish a non-profit ballet company and school where she shared her art.
By the time our properties there sold, I had resigned and hired my replacement at work. My husband was living in our new home here. But I still had not found an appropriate school for Haylee.
Most ballet in this region is in the American style - a beautiful art that is, unfortunately, not what Haylee trained in. Still, having talked with other dancers and relatives here, we were sure we would find a classical instructor within driving distance of our new home.
We left California the morning after Haylee's final summer performance in July of 2005. We were certain she would be back onstage in no time.
It was 17 months before she danced in another theater.
By then, she had very nearly quit. We called and visited countless dance schools. We tried private lessons, hectic Friday-night commutes to faraway studios and she even attended classes at an excellent competitive dance academy that offered a few hours of ballet each week.
The day I realized her dreams were fading, I was watching through a studio window at one school she tried.
Amid teens clad in all manner of contorted pajama pants, tights and leotards in various states of slouch, Haylee looked starkly out of place, poised with her neatly pinned hair, traditional student attire and silent posture. A girl in jazz clothes and pigtails ran past me in the hall, munching nachos as she went.
By spring, Haylee lost momentum. She was in no shape to audition for the summer workshop in New York, where she and her junior company friends from California had planned to reunite. She wanted to quit.
Her teacher in California invited her to study there for the summer. With her friends in New York for the first few weeks, the studio seemed empty - a reminder of what Haylee was missing. She worked furiously, training five weeks with her instructor and one week directly with the artistic director of the New York Joffrey, who visited to present the final week of the intensive program.
When we returned here, Haylee was ready to try again, even if it meant changing from the classical style - something she did not want to do. I searched a wider area for a performing company and ballet school within a reasonable commute.
I had to find a place close to us where students learned the art of dance, not how to copy routines or dance moves. It had to be a traditional setting, with expert instructors nurturing talent by sharing students' love of dance, building on their art and working with them toward their goals. Ideally, it would be home to a ballet company, provide classical instruction and give students opportunities to perform in theatrical productions with professional dancers.
The day we walked through the door at Dance Theatre Northwest, I knew we had found it. What I recognized in the instructors and dancers was exactly what my daughter had been missing.
For a homesick dancer, of course, the first few classes were not perfect. She did not know anyone. It was not her comfortable old studio, where she was a company member. She was not in the front of the class, learning from her first teacher. It was not home. But it was undeniably an atmosphere where she would grow as an artist.
Within weeks, she and I both knew that she was in the hands of experts, people who would make her a stronger dancer - instructors who can help her become great if she works for it.
When I saw Haylee step onstage in the Nutcracker in December - her first theater performance since that summer night in her hometown - I could see in her face that she was back on her path.
I am sure she will always feel a bit homesick for her first studio and the friends she made there. Now, though, I can expect her nostalgia for those days will come not in moments she despairs the loss of a dream, but in moments spent living it.
NOW A GRACEFUL SWAN By Leslie Rios
I took my first ballet class during the Spring of my 16th year. An older friend from church got inspired and decided to give free classes to all the pastors' daughters in the church gym on Sunday afternoons. I was elated and reveled in every plie and jete, fulfilling an early childhood dream by finally taking a ballet class. I was hooked and soon sought out teen/adult classes at one of the local dance studios.
My dance training slowly progressed, but without the ideal body type, youth, or financial resources there was not a lot for me to do at this pre-professional studio. I doggedly kept at it through high school graduation and beyond, working two jobs in order to pay tuition and to buy a car to transport myself back and forth to class. When I married my husband in 1998, I decided it was time to take a break from classes, very much having an all or nothing attitude about dance. I'd still linger over dance magazines and take in every dance performance I could.
Eventually married life settled into a happy routine. After about a 4 year break, the ballet bug came back with a bang. I discovered a studio within walking distance of our North End apartment, bought a new pair of ballet flats and started up taking class one night a week. I was working full time and attending Tacoma Community College in the evenings. Each new quarter, I always seemed to end up at the dance section of the college catalogue. I noticed a class titled "Modern Jazz Dance" taught by a Melanie Kirk-Stauffer. On a whim, I signed up. My heart pounded as I walked up the stairs to Dance Theatre Northwest for the first time. Would they frown at me, throw me out, tell me I was hopeless? Inside the studio, the spring sunshine poured in the through the windows and a positive vibe reverberated throughout the halls. Love of dance seemed to seep out of every nook and cranny. Class began and right away I was hooked by the teaching style. Steps were broken down logically, counts were given, and proper technique was taught kinesthetically - working with the body, not harmfully against it. Absent was the pressure to obtain an unhealthy weight through any means necessary, gone were the cutting remarks made to students. When the North End studio closed its doors for the summer, I began taking a taking an adult ballet class at DTN. One class soon became four and then nine. When I was asked to understudy a part during their first production of the Nutcracker, I felt like I had just been handed the keys to a castle.
In the five years since my first class at Dance Theatre Northwest, I've experienced much personal growth as well as continued growth in my dance training. In the Summer of 2005, my husband and I joyfully welcomed our firstborn son, Micah. As his little toddler body spins and taps to Mommy's rehearsal music, I overflow with maternal pride. I take pleasure in sharing my love of dance through regular and substitute teaching roles at Dance Theatre Northwest. Thursday nights find me waxing eloquent on the fine points of posture and on the beauty of a fully extended foot and leg to a wonderful group of teens and adults. With the support of my kind husband, I've continued to train and perform and am currently deep into rehearsals for my role as a swan in Dance Theatre Northwest's March 2007 production of Swan Lake. When I hear the music begin, my heart swells and a smile lights my face. Life has lots of phases, some good and some difficult. I expect that dance will be an ongoing theme in mine, not always the main melody, but always there and always joyfully vibrant.
NEW PERSPECTIVE ON DANCE
By Anne CarpenterA year and a half ago, I called Dance Theater Northwest, looking for an adult ballet class. It had been over ten years since I had taken ballet, and I had doubts about dancing as an adult. Just the thought of putting on tights and a leotard was a little intimidating. All sorts of questions ran through my mind. What would it be like to start over, knowing I would be nowhere near my previous level? What exactly was I supposed to wear? How much had changed in the ballet world? Would I run into my own band students? My hair was short- how was I going to get it into a bun? Would I have the energy after teaching all day? Would I hurt myself? Would I ever gain any flexibility again? At that time, I never would have believed that I would be dancing as a swan in Swan Lake.
As a child and teenager, I danced in the Seattle area for eight years. When I was eleven, my family attended PNB's Nutcracker and I remember simply thinking, "That's something I'd like to try." I started at the local parks department and local studios, but by high school I wanted a more rigorous program and joined the preparatory program at Cornish College. While I had many other interests, ballet was my passion. During school breaks, I took every open class or dance camp I could get into. I was often frustrated, however, by the limits of my body and by my inflexibility. In college, I included dance classes in my schedule but found few opportunities. Soon the demands of being a music education major grew, and I stopped dancing.
Even though I was no longer dancing, I was still always performing as musician. Now I am a band teacher and flute player. Music has many of the same traits that attracted me to ballet. In both art forms, I love the dichotomy of discipline and artistic expression, of tradition and creative renewal. I love the process of putting on a performance, going through painstaking attention to learning a new piece and having it transform from a rough outline to something beautiful. Whether it's a simple Mozart melody or Swan Lake, I love seeing a new generation of students rediscovering the artistic value of works that have stood for hundreds of years. But without ballet, I missed the joy of dancing and the satisfaction of physical exercise. Whenever I listened to music, I still saw choreography in my head.
I had been missing ballet, but it took some time to get the courage to try it again. It is probably fortunate that I happened to call on the same day as the beginning adult class. By the time I had to get there, I didn't have time to talk myself out of it! I will always remember how nice Miss Teresa was, helping me get what I needed for the first class. Miss Katie's adult beginning class was the perfect way to review the basics and gain some confidence and strength. When I started ballet as a child, most of the girls my age had more experience and I just tried to catch up. In Miss Katie's class, I found that I learned more about fundamental theory than I ever remember being taught. It didn't take long, and I can remember the exact moment, in the middle of the first tendu combination. I felt the thrill. I was hooked.
Due to scheduling, I soon had to move up to a more difficult class taught by Miss Melanie. Though I was definitely out of my comfort zone, Miss Melanie was patient, understanding, and helpful. I found myself simultaneously regaining old skills and gaining a new, better understanding of ballet technique. Soon I was taking two classes a week, then three, then more. When I went back on pointe, I felt just about as thrilled as I had as a child. I could hardly believe it when I was asked to perform in Swan Lake last year. By just a year later, I was signing up for unlimited classes.
When I took that first class at DTN, I never suspected I would be performing or taking advanced classes. I credit Miss Melanie and all of the staff at DTN with providing such fine training and offering those opportunities. Here I have learned not just what to do, but how to do it. Miss Melanie was the first teacher I have had who combines knowledge of traditional, classical ballet with modern understanding of kinesiology and injury prevention. As a child, I just struggled to imitate the lines and steps of ballet. Now I am learning how to use specific muscles to more efficiently and safely meet those same goals. As a result, I feel like I am working with my body instead of fighting against it. I am even able to achieve some flexibility and skills I could never reach when I was younger.
Miss Melanie has a great ability to accommodate different skill levels in the same class, so I always feel comfortable trying a new level. She knows when to allow students to go through the stage of "just figuring it out" and building strength, and when to offer corrections that can allow them to advance to a new level of skill. In fact, being a student of dance again has made me reflect on my own teaching. I can better appreciate how my own band students feel when they are moving through the learning process. Ballet has even reminded me of why I went into education. I love being a student as much as I love being a teacher.
I especially appreciate how Miss Melanie welcomes all ages and all body types. She welcomes and encourages all students, not just the ones with the strictly traditional ballet physique. In this regard, DTN stands above many other studios. I also have found DTN to be unique in the spread of ages represented. In any given class, you will find children, teenagers, and adults. I am amazed by the incredible strength and ability of the young dancers, and just enjoy being able to watch them in class and rehearsal. At the same time, I do not feel out of place because there are other adults in the classes as well. In fact, seeing the other adults dance so beautifully is the biggest inspiration because I think if they can do it, so can I.
As an adult, I have a new perspective on dancing. When I was young, I always worried about being good enough. I still push myself and strive to do my best, but now I can remove the pressure and just enjoy what I am able to do. I know my body and am more accepting of it. Because this my second time around, it has been a thrill to see how fast I can relearn skills. Many "first times" stand out in my mind since I have started dancing again: being able to do a set of pique turns across the floor, making it to the next level of class, managing a double pirouette, flying through a petite allegro combination, finally getting my leg on the high bar, or my favorite, anything with battu.
If I am worn out from a long day at work, I still want to go to ballet. After a class, I may feel physically tired but mentally energized. The classes move fast, and I don't even have a chance to worry about my responsibilities at my job or at home. I can be totally in the moment and experience the joy of dancing. For years, I watched ballets like Swan Lake and wished I could be part of it. Now, thanks to DTN, I do have that opportunity and can truly enjoy it.