On a bright Friday morning, Lara McIntosh steps and sways across a dance floor at the ARC School of Ballet in the old Crown Hill Elementary building.

More than two dozen colorfully attired students of all shapes and ages mimic her movements. Some of them have been with McIntosh and her Wassa Dance class for more than a decade.

McIntosh, who has been teaching dance since the early 90s, has used her passion for dance to create a community around the long-running Wassa class, an incredible accomplishment for an independent dance class, she said.

"I was born interested in dancing," she said. "It's an endless field of thing to explore. There's so much possibility."

While studying modern dance as an adult, McIntosh became interested in African dancing. A seed for that interest was planted long before, she said.

Memories of watching a filmstrip featuring the National Ballet of Senegal at Carnegie Hall as a grade-schooler came back to McIntosh in her adult life and cemented her interest in African music and dance, she said.

Her Wassa Dance class, which moved to the ARC School 4.5 years ago, is named after the moniker McIntosh was given by her host while in Mali, Africa. It was her host's favorite aunt's name and means "one who acts for joy and fulfillment."

McIntosh said the name felt like a gift and served to highlight the African theme of her class, which she has been teaching variations of since 1995.

In the Wassa class, McIntosh strips African dance down to its essential movements - movements that can be picked up by anyone, she said.

Jacqui Evanchik, one of McIntosh's students, said the class is a good way to balance the body and is the only kind of dance class she can imagine going to.

"I've tried all kinds of exercises over the years," said Inez Gray, another student. "And, this feels the best for my body."

McIntosh said one of the draws for her class is the music. She makes mixes throughout the week of African and African-inspired music, and her Sunday morning classes feature live drumming and percussion.

The music creates an excitement and flow in the class, she said.

According to the students, it's the community of the class that really sets it apart.

Helen Landalf, a student of 11 years, said there is a sense of community in the Wassa class that she hasn't found anywhere else. There is no competition or judgment, she said.

Gray said, between the great music and the group of students that have become friends, the classes feel like church.

"This is a family affair," said Huldah Martin, who has known McIntosh for 15 years and regularly commutes from Tumwater for the class. "It's a community that's open to healing."

Martin, attending the July 3 class with her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, said the class often includes cancer survivors.

"You go through stuff in life," McIntosh said about the cancer survivors and patients in her class. "(The class) is something they have that can be beneficial to their well-being."

McIntosh said her class is able to build that community feeling because it attracts people with similar qualities. And, through that feeling of community and the support of her students, she has been able to keep it going for so long.

"It's so unusual for people to get to do what they love in any way, shape or form," she said. "I've been lucky to teach dance."

McIntosh teaches six classes a week at the old Crown Hill Elementary building, located at 9250 14th Ave. N.W. Drop-ins and students of all ages (her oldest is 73 and her youngest is 4) are welcome, she said.