When VCA Center for Dance Director Christine Juarez stepped into the Blue Heron in 1996, she found a fledgling program of 50 students supported by several dedicated families. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Juarez, then age 31, worked passionately over the next two decades to build the Center for Dance, making it Vashon Center for the Arts’ strongest programs, with over 200 families involved.
Yet, when asked what she hopes will remain after her June departure, Juarez answered with her sparkling smile that “the love and nurturing continue.”
Juarez is talking about life lessons, the unspoken bonus of her pre-professional program. While teaching an exacting international standard of training, she always stressed the need for kindness.
“Our dance world is rife with natural competition,” she said. “There’s a lot of good that comes from competition, but I wanted to teach that you can be kind, can be friends with your biggest competitor. It doesn’t have to be mean or underhanded.”
Juarez holds an M.S. in Modern Dance and Physical Sciences and a B.S. in Ballet and Music. She’s served as dance faculty at Indiana University, Washington University and Cornish College of the Arts.
Based on her early exposure in New York City to ballet greats like Baryshnikov, Juarez wanted her students to understand that “dancers all over the world are doing the same thing. I wanted them to connect with the broad, the global, understanding of dance training.”
Though only about 1 percent of her students make the leap into professional companies, Juarez said they all learn to “take ownership where they excel,” be it technique, peer-to-peer inspiration or performance. Still, according to one of her students, Juarez also taught the intangible, a certain magic, instilling the love of dance.
“I didn’t burn out. I’m still dancing, now for a company. We laughed a lot, she always gave us an uplifting feeling. Performances were like Christmas twice a year — they had that level of excitement and mystery — as if we were doing something grand,” the former student said.
Along with teaching and Artists in the Schools residencies, Juarez choreographed and directed two annual performances — the beloved holiday show, “The Nutcracker,” and a classical ballet for the spring performance, selecting the particular ballet based on the current students’ abilities. She chose the classics to educate her students about the Romantic era in dance.
“I wanted them to know where this art form came from, and classical ballets communicate to dancers why they are doing different training,” Juarez explained. “They get so excited about using their training to tell the story.”
Attuned to her students, Juarez recognized that not everyone’s passion or movement signature was for classical ballet. She began to include original works choreographed by her senior students in the spring show. Four years ago, she added a third performance to the program, “Original Works,” and opened it up for all island youth to participate.
“I want kids to find their own creative voice. Once they start working, it is very exciting. They learn how to present their own work, be critiqued, practice and collaborate with costume and lighting — that’s a college experience,” she said.
Over time, she expanded the program to include tap and hip hop, adding four teachers, including Vadne Domeika, who will take over as dance director.
“I feel good about the growth,” she said. “It’s on a good trajectory. It needs a good steward, and Vadne will take it.”
Juarez recently opened West Seattle Performing Arts, a pre-professional school located in her community. She is deeply grateful for support over the two decades from her husband, Armando, the dance parents and the VCA staff, and she gives a final shout-out to the culture at VCA.
“The gift VCA handed me as an artist was freedom,” she said. “They gave me carte blanche to develop the program, room to breathe, grow and find what was right for the students.”
