Artist in Service at Velocity Dance Center
2016 marked the 20th anniversary of Velocity Dance Center. As co-founder, I have was a part of its journey from the beginning. Velocity was established in 1996 in one room on the 2nd floor of the Oddfellows Hall, where it grew from a single room studio to three studios, a convertible studio theater, a staff of five and a Board of 12. I left in 2006 and since then, Velocity has continued to thrive, becoming the sophisticated arts organization it is today.
When Velocity approached its 20th year, they constructed a post called “Artist in Service,” where I operated as a mentor in and out of the studio. The word “GENERATION” offered the framework for this post. How generations of artists support and thwart one another, growing through encouragement as well as resistance. And how aptly the root of the word – “generate” – applies to artists. We make and make and make again. Over and over we build ideas and performances that shape the objectives and aesthetics of each era.
Over the course of the year, I offered creative insight as well as pragmatic tools such as scheduling, taxes, finances, advocacy, and entrepreneurial strategies. In addition, we focused on actively imparting the history and accomplishments of Seattle’s dance scene. Passing on the living history for artists to establish their place in a larger context, in an effort to strengthen community ties with the knowledge we all push forward together.
