Naomi Glass
How did you become involved with DanceChance?
“I first became involved with DanceChance as a teacher in 2015…My dance career was at Houston Ballet, after which I taught for a number of years, and then after that I relocated up to Seattle, and started teaching at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. I was specifically interested in DanceChance because I wanted to be able to pass along this art form in a really positive way. DanceChance offers so many opportunities to share ballet with kids who might not otherwise have come across this art form…I think it's a really special program. I taught for a number of years, and then in 2018, I took this position, managing DanceChance [at Pacific Northwest Ballet].”
According to your website, DanceChance “aims to enrich students’ lives through ballet, cultivate diversity in PNB’s Company and School, and train the next generation of ballet dancers.” How has DanceChance achieved this goal?
“I think first and foremost, [DanceChance] aims to enrich the life of every kid in the program. I think that exposure to dance changes us. And DanceChance, by way of its partnerships, has the opportunity to work with students who might not otherwise have come across [the arts]…We go to every third grade classroom of our 18 partner schools all over Seattle...[and] visit up to 1500 kids every year…We want to share our love for dance through an interactive experience with them. We talk about ballet, listen to their ideas, and invite them to join in a movement experience.”
“Even if we don’t get every [kid] to continue with dance, my hope is that we still gave them the opportunity to gain an appreciation for the arts and helped cultivate the next generation of ballet lovers.”
What would be considered a success for your program? Is it the number of students who continue from one year to the next or having one or two students make it to a professional level? Or is it much simpler? Is it just the introduction of kids to dance, and fostering the appreciation for dance, and the arts in general?
“Success looks different for every student. It may look like Kuu Sakuragi, who stumbled upon this art form through DanceChance, and is now a phenomenal soloist at PNB. But, it could also be the kid who didn’t continue, but discovered something really special in themselves through dance...It could be the kid who experiences this art form and then finds another way to channel their artistic expression, maybe through music or design. It could be the kid who doesn't stay in it, but gains so many life skills—grit, perseverance, creativity, discipline—which transfer to everything they’ll do in life. When the students' lives are enriched that translates to the program being successful.”
What obstacles have you run into in reaching young boys, recruiting them, and keeping them year after year?
“The stigma is still very prevalent. There's automatically the expectation from boys that ‘this isn't for me, I won't like it, this is girly.’ But, we've altered a couple of things in order to confront these stigmas…[One of them included] trying to think of ways for young boys to hear from a male identifying professional dancer and listen to them talk about their experience. Another thing we did was include some more male faculty in DanceChance. That has changed attitudes more than anything…When we go to these schools it’s really their first glimpse of ballet, so I think being in the presence of a male dancer changes the ideas and images in [the boys'] heads of what being a ballet dancer can look like.”
"We bring them to see the company as much as possible. They see all the dancers flying around the room doing all these amazing jumps and turns, and lifting other dancers over their heads. And that's so impressive to them. Getting to experience that is really powerful.”
You mentioned that the stigmatism surrounding male dancers is evident still. Does that affect the number of boys that you recruit or the number of boys that continue on after DanceChance?
“I don't have any clear data on that. But, I do think that our acceptance rate of students who identify as boys increased when we brought a male teacher to their school. I did see that correlation.”
“I do sometimes hear from parents saying, 'My kid is on the fence because they think it's for girls,' or sometimes students will come and say, ‘I don't know what I'm doing here. This is for girls.’ So, we try, over time, to change that perspective.”
Have you worked with other ballet outreach organizations that address similar issues locally, nationally, or internationally?
“No, I have not. I have peers in other organizations, and I have conversations with them...to better understand how they've overcome various issues, or what barriers they might have faced, or what kind of trends they may have noticed...[But], I have not worked with another program like [DanceChance].”
In the future, is that something that you would be interested in?
“I’m open minded to the idea of it, but can't exactly conceptualize how that would work, especially because of the geographical distance.”
Does funding ever pose an issue for this program?
“Because every aspect of the program is fully free of charge for every student, it is expensive…Fortunately, this program is funded by corporate, foundational, and individual sponsorship. That's what makes it possible. There would definitely be a barrier if we didn't have that funding."
"This program has longevity—it's celebrating 30 years this year—and I think that does contribute to the success in funding.”
Do you have any stories in mind of individuals whose lives have been especially impacted by DanceChance (whether that’s dance-related or otherwise)?
“There [were two parents] that really felt like the program was life changing and life saving for [their sons] and that [their sons] wouldn't have otherwise come across [ballet]. [But], the scholarships made it possible.”
Here is a testimonial from a parent of a DanceChance Level III student: “Our son is a soccer freak, and when he was first identified by the DanceChance program, he was reluctant to join because he was afraid that he might be teased for doing something “girly". He soon discovered that not only were his fears unfounded, but that ballet is making him a better player, improving his coordination, flexibility, and strength and helping him pay attention to his body and learn how to take care of it to prevent injury. More importantly, being in DanceChance has opened his mind and broadened his worldview; boys his age get so many messages about what it means to be athletic, masculine, and tough that are just plain wrong. We are so grateful that he was given this opportunity to experience firsthand just how much more rich life can be when you have the courage to move beyond your fears as well as our society’s narrow expectations.”
Here is another testimonial from a parent of a DanceChance alumni: “I truly believe DanceChance saved [my son’s] life in third grade and gave him a chance to see his potential, develop discipline, and gain a sense of accomplishment. I think his experience at PNB will serve to be the most important foundation he will take into adulthood. I am sure that he will draw on these memories and lessons for the rest of his life. I am incredibly grateful for the years of scholarship, without which we would not have been able to afford ballet studies.”
What are the biggest areas of opportunity for your organization?
“PNB has grown a lot in the realm of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility in recent years…[and] there's been a very clear, strong commitment toward work in that arena…[because] it’s extremely important to the value system of PNB.”
Do you have any other comments about my project or the issues I'm trying to address?
“I think you have a unique perspective—having gone through DanceChance. You're [also] very young, you're close to [the issue]. You're not looking back on decades, and I think that's really valuable because you're going to be able to identify new areas to explore and to investigate. You have a really unique perspective. So, I think you're the perfect person to do this.”
