![]() ![]() “It’s like something really magical and special is happening here,” says founder Kate Wallich. In Dance Church’s case, an “I think I can” attitude has pulled along dozens of dancers who have depended on the organization for regular income and has attracted thousands of new fans. “Sharing that energy that comes off your body and is spinning around the room.”Ĭlearly, the formula has struck a chord: Since its founding more than a decade ago, Dance Church has attracted a following that organizers hope to build on as it expands across the country.Īmong the deluge of news about post-pandemic financial travails that have beset most arts organizations, forcing permanent layoffs or reduced programming, Dance Church’s pandemic story is a bit like the children’s tale about the little engine that used the power of positive thinking to drag itself up the steepest of mountains. ![]() “Dance Church is about immersing yourself with other people,” Mitri says, during an interview a couple of weeks before this class convened. Passersby on the sidewalk below might have wondered whether this was a high-energy exercise class or an ecstatic spiritual ritual.įor many regular attendees, Dance Church classes are about more than movement they’re mini-communities, a place to set aside their worries and dance together with a big group. Tariq Mitri - all but invisible at the center of this crowd - led participants through a nonstop hour of vigorous dancing. Devotees come to sway and shimmy, waving their arms and pumping their fists to the teacher’s energetic instructions. The capacity crowd filled the second-story venue for one of four weekly Seattle classes hosted by the dance/movement program Dance Church, held here and around the city. ![]()
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