Seattle’s youngest performers are also some of our city’s most dedicated. From weeknight rehearsals to lugging instruments on vacation, these kids go the extra mile for the performing arts they love. Meet a few of Seattle’s brightest young stars and the arts educators who are bringing theater, music and dance to kids citywide.
Getting in on the act
Kids in Melody Xie’s classes learn the body language of dance.
Fall for FOLK DANCE
Seattle kids learn all about Chinese culture and history through the joy of dance by M E G B U T T E R W O R T H / photos by J O S H U A H U S T O N
Our bodies tell stories through dance. Combined with traditional dress and music, dance can be a visual, physical and emotionally evocative way to share culture and history and remind someone of their roots.
This is the driving force behind the Melody Institute Chinese Language and Dance School. Founder Melody Xie has taught traditional Chinese and folk dance to youth in the Seattle area for more than 25 years. “I find it’s a very good tool to make kids interested in culture, to learn about themselves, learn skills and learn the body language of dance,” she says. Melody arrived in the U.S. in 1992, with her then-3-year-old daughter in tow. They joined her husband, who had made the move earlier to pursue a graduate degree in anthropology from the University of Washington. The move CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE >
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