At Dance Conservatory Seattle ballet belongs to every body

Ballet has earned a reputation for being both a transcendent art form and a brutal experience for dancers, who too often hear the message “You’re too_____…”

Too short, too tall, clumsy, or even the wrong race … the list goes on.  

A different message

Dance Conservatory Seattle (DCS) has risen to challenge those messages that have dictated who can be a ballet dancer for too long. These messages may be overt or unspoken, but they are always clear, especially to the young dancer. 

Company founders Joshua Grant and Chris Montoya hold that dancers should not be defined by their body type, age, race, or identity but instead by hard work, an internal spark that makes them want to speak through movement, mentors who challenge them, and caring adults who support them.

Located in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, the DCS is making dance accessible for all types of bodies, all ages, races, and identities. Grant and Montoya, both professional dancers, say they purposefully set up shop in a neighborhood where, per the City of Seattle, 68.7% of the population is non-white and where 13 languages are spoken. Grant and Montoya believe that dancers from all those communities should have the opportunity to flourish in ballet–and feel safe in the dance environment.

“We deliberately chose to be in the backyard of the people who are least likely to have access,” DCS co-director Johnathan Grant told me.

Dance Conservatory Seattle student Alistair O’Connor in pointe class. Photo by Marcia Davis

Witnessing the difference

I recently attended a dress rehearsal where I was thrilled to see serious dancing— both original and from the classical ballet repertoire. More thrilling was the realization that at least one corps de ballet member in a scene from Giselle was likely the age of other dancers’ mothers. And yet, this older dancer held her own with her younger co-artists, pouring her body, heart, wisdom, and soul into each movement.

Later, a group of young students danced to the music of Vivaldi, making clear that short, tall, and non-white are all rightful heirs to this art form. I know from my own experience in ballet that dance in any form is a universal art and should be experienced by anyone who wants to feel what it is to speak with the body—without fear of ridicule or discouragement. 

How ballet should be taught

“It turns out that dance can be taught differently than it has been for a hundred years,” said co-director Chris Montoya. 

Grant, Monntoya, and instructor Sierra Keith are proving it.

I learned a lot about this new way as I watched the rehearsal and saw DCS teaching decisions in action: 

• The instructors pay serious attention to technique, authenticity, and tradition. However, their focus is on the dancer themself, both physically and emotionally. 
• Close attention is paid to avoiding injury. 
• Conversations about student comfort level are constant in an art form where personal space and touch may be awkward. 
• While challenged to dance well, no student is asked to feel uncomfortable.
•  If a dancer doesn’t want to wear a typical costume, they figure out a costume that works for that dancer.

Dance Conservatory Seattle students Jackie Le and Gwyneth Ramsey in Northwest Nutcracker. Photo by Marcia Davis.

From wounding to welcoming

Children can be, and often are, wounded by experiences of instructor judgment or exclusion in ballet. 

Imagine what it means to enter a dance class and learn you are part of a team. Imagine engaging in a physical art form where, instead of being tormented and teased, your fellow students support and encourage you. Imagine colleagues, young and old, who teach you respectfully to be on time, responsible, respectful, and empathetic. Imagine not competing with other dancers in a studio where your instructors aren’t comparing you to each other with those confidence-crushing “You’re too ____”s.

One student, Chisana Suzuki, gave me insight into the DCS experience. She came to the company as a high school freshman. Now in college at Pacific Lutheran University studying kinesthetic physical therapy and public health, Suzuki continues to attend dance class—despite a packed student schedule. When I asked her about herself, she said she studied ballet elsewhere in years past. As a Japanese-American, Suzuki says she received subtle but discouraging messages: she wasn’t a good fit for the professional dance world, her legs and arms were too short, and her race would be too big a hurdle. 

Dance Conservatory co-founder Chrissy Montoya correcting student Chisanna Suzuki. Photo by Marcia Davis

Phooey

All I can say is utter nonsense. I watched her dance.

I asked Suzuki why she started dance training at DSC after her earlier painful experience.

“The teacher was attentive to me,” Suzuki said. “He pushed me but was never judgmental. He saw my potential.” 

After a quiet pause and thought, she added: “ I knew that I belonged, that I was welcome, and I was going to have fun. I  belonged to a community.  These were going to be my friends.” Suzuki added that she  also appreciates DSC’s focus on work ethic, being present in herself, and communication. 

Chisana Suzuki’s mother, Aki Suzuki, is the opposite of “stage moms”— those parents who drive their kid to distraction out of their own need to see the child lauded. She says she’s been driving ninety minutes one for these years not for the glory of seeing her daughter under the stage lights but for two specific reasons. She wants her daughter to have opportunities, and she wants her daughter to be encouraged in an art that sparks her. 

“It was a pleasure to see my daughter gain confidence in things besides dance,” Aki Suzuki said.  She has learned to be a better team player and has become comfortable with a dance partner.”

Another plus for this mom: “I value the mother-daughter time in the car to and from class.”

Dance Conservatory Seattle student Dahlia Kristjasson in the Northwest Nutcracker. Photo by Marcia Davis

Don’t miss Dance Conservatory Seattle shows

In addition to classes, Dance Conservatory Seattle offers two performances a year: a Spring Showcase and the Northwest Nutcracker, a version of the popular holiday show that comes with a twist. 

When the holidays approach this year, and you are looking for an event to remember, consider a Northwest Nutcracker. The classical music and dance remain the same, but DSC replaces old tropes. This Nutcracker banishes cultural appropriation as well as race and gender stereotypes.

Expect to see stars, unicorns, gnomes, chanterelle mushrooms, and even the Northwest’s beloved Sasquatch. 

Students at Dance Conservatory Seattle dance the dance of slugs in Northwest Nutcracker. Photo by Marcia Davis.

Dancing with Dance Conservatory Seattle

The conservatory offers classes in four-week sessions starting at age 3 with tot and parent creative movement. Class offerings expand to pre-ballet (ages 5-7), ballet, jazz, and modern dance at increasing levels depending on the dancer’s age.  Learn more on the company’s website: danceconservatoryseattle.com.

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