The show must go on. And on it went despite a widespread power outages on Sunday, March 13, the date of the final performance of Vashon Allied Arts Center for Dance “Original Works.”
Showbiz or not, what happened that afternoon was truly a Vashon moment.
“The power went out around noon, when I was just getting there,” said Director of Dance Christine Juarez. “I thought no one would show up, but everyone came. The high school was mostly dark; there are only emergency lights on a two-hour battery, but we decided to move forward as if the show would go on.”
Concessions opened early, and an announcement was made that the curtain would be held for 45 minutes. Juarez told the audience they could receive a refund or donate the cost of their ticket, but the majority simply stayed in the theater.
Meanwhile, as the windstorm howled outside, a brainstorm gathered inside with Dave Wilke, Vashon School District director of facilities and father of dancer Amelia Wilke; Stan Voynick, volunteer technical director for the show; and Juarez.
“The school district had ordered about 35 LED lanterns after an outage last year,” Wilke said, “and they came into Ace Hardware on Friday (two days earlier). They were sitting in crates at Ace, so we got those. The district has a small generator, so we used it to power Stan’s sound boards and speakers.”
As parents stepped in to unpack and ring the stage with the lanterns, senior dancers talked to the audience about their choreographic process and their individual pieces.
“It was a spontaneous Q & A, which didn’t happen with the other shows,” Juarez said. “It gave the audience more perspective. It was a bonding experience all together.”
Wilke agreed, saying everyone jumped in to make it happen as quickly as possible.
“It was a cool coming together of different components,’ he said.
The curtain went up at 3:45 p.m., and Juarez said it turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to see the dances without full lighting.
“The pieces centered on body shapes and lines and dynamics, all silhouetted against a big white backdrop,” Juarez said.
Was it a Vashon moment?
“Absolutely,” Juarez added with an infectious laugh. “It was a special experience. It ended up great.”
