"I was immediately awestruck.

 

Last Wednesday at 8:30pm, after hosting the evening’s Zoom edition of Talks On The Rock, I came out of my office into the atrium.

There I witnessed two very talented ballet dancers moving through the space, a group of equally talented local musicians and a singer at the far end of the atrium, and another woman with a video camera wheeling around the space in a chair filming the whole thing.

I sat down on the floor next to VCA Gallery Director Lynann Politte who was watching too and asked, “Who are these dancers? What’s going on?” She went on to tell me the story. When she finished, she said, “It just happened that way.”

 

It all started in the Gallery during First Friday Meet The Artists back on April 2nd.

 

One of the exhibiting artists, Sydney M Pertl, was in attendance. She brought along her brother, Miles, and his partner Leah Terada, both members of Pacific Northwest Ballet and Seattle Dance Collective. Currently, Leah is teaching an Advanced Ballet Master Class here at VCA, so she and Miles have been spending time on Vashon.

 

While talking with Miles, Lynann asked him if he’d ever thought about doing a small dance piece in a space where his sister’s art was on display, as it is currently in the VCA atrium. He loved the idea.

 

That same evening, Miles asked VCA Dance Program Manager, Crissy Baker, if she knew any local musicians who might provide music for the piece. That’s how VCA Marketing Director Joe Panzetta got involved.

 

In addition to his day job here at VCA, Joe is a talented singer songwriter and guitar player. He offered to put the finishing touches on an original song he had been working on and invited cello player Annie Roberts, clarinet player Dianne Krouse, and singer Rebekah Kuzma to join him.

 

All of this is what I stumbled onto when I came out of my office last Wednesday evening; professional dancers from Seattle accompanied by island musicians in the VCA atrium.

 

Something that wonderful doesn’t “just happen” as Lynann humbly reflected.

 

It didn’t just happen. The arts thrive when artists and community come together in a place that supports, encourages and celebrates artistic expression – when they have a platform from which they can be witnessed."

 

                    -Erika Carleton, Development Director, Vashon Center for the Arts