A Peek Behind The Curtain: Vashon Center for the Arts

DANCE. Dancers practice a dynamic move for an upcoming show. VCA provides classes for anyone who wants to learn dance, and has provided classes for long term dancers. Photo courtesy of Madeline Morser.

Just a short drive away from our high school lies Vashon Center for the Arts or “VCA”. VCA offers many different classes around arts, such as musical theatre, violin lessons, and dance. Dance classes at VCA typically begin an hour or so after school, but there are some classes for younger students occurring almost directly after school.

Dance is a difficult and time consuming activity designed to push dancers to their limits in form and precision. Granted, the younger kids are engaging in a much less challenging course, but it still takes a certain will power to devote that much time to dance.

“A week of dance typically holds around nine to ten hours,” Senior Emma Meade said.

This is typically how long someone who is a seasoned dancer at VCA will spend taking dance classes. However, this time can vary.

“It depends on the time of year, but two classes a week. I think two and a half, three and a half hours,” Freshman Josie Reiling said.

Different times of the year come with different performances, which can take a greater time commitment.

“Not including extra rehearsals, I think I have six to seven hours of dance each week, but then that can vary a couple hours when I have rehearsals on the weekend,” Freshman Beau Johns said.

Age doesn’t entirely dictate how many hours a person can spend at dance classes, seeing as both Johns and Reiling are freshmen and spend varying amounts of time at dance.

VCA has done many shows over the course of the years, with wildly different themes and personalities.

“I really enjoy the Nutcracker. I like getting to be in the Nutcracker every year, every season,” Reiling said.

Obviously shows aren’t as fun when you don't have many pieces in the performance, which is why some dancers' favorite shows are the ones they’ve been in the most.

VCA attempts to provide a positive environment for dancers and staff.

“I love VCA, it's just where I’ve always danced. I think it's just like a wonderful community there, and it's a big family there and we’re always supportive of each other in an environment I'm really happy to be a part of,” Johns said.

While some people find a sense of community at VCA, Gerrit Van Roekel offers a different point of view on the atmosphere at VCA which he attended briefly and VDA (Vashon Dance Academy) where he has danced for quite some time .Van Roekel recently participated in The Nutcracker, at VCA last year.

“There’s a big atmosphere difference at the VCA. I think everyone’s a lot more professional, which isn’t necessarily a good thing…. it was very punctual and controlled, which I think dampened the potential of what the performance could have been,” Van Roekel said.

“I think that the environment is very no-nonsense, and there’s quite a bit of favoritism and people pleasing that I don’t necessarily vibe with” Meade said.

This seems to be a shared sentiment among some senior dancers. Perhaps the longer you dance there, the more your opinion can change.

Dance is a big commitment of time and energy, and the end result can be very rewarding. VCA holds a strong sense of community, however the system there may be more rigid and strict that just doesn’t work for everyone. Just like dancers have different time preferences and favorite shows, their opinions on the environment there vary as well. Everyone has their own ways of learning and expressing themselves and VCA provides a space which allows many of their dancers to grow and learn effectively.