The dance and choreography of Anika Martynowych (a recent high school graduate and West Seattle resident) will get their professional debut in Seattle Theater Group's 12th Annual 'DANCE This' at the Paramount Theater July 10. Through her participation in Seattle Theatre Group's Young Choreographers Lab this past fall, she was selected from 18 other young choreographers to debut her piece in this year's show.

Anika has been dancing since she was seven years old, beginning with the Kaleidoscope Dance Company in North Seattle. "It was natural for me. My mom had been dancing with me and she wasn't in any dance companies but she's always loved to dance and it was something I just loved as much as she did," Anika said. Martynowych choreographed her own piece, selected teen dancers and worked her dance to a professional performance quality for the show.

Martynowych made the transition from dancing to designing dance because all her training and experience led up to it. "I've grown up in dance being able to give my own opinion and that really helped me to create a piece" she said. "What motivated me for this was that I really love dance that is inspired by music. That's probably the biggest inspiration for me. For example Kirsten Cooper in Seattle is really amazing at using the music and really hearing the music. She's someone I really look up to."

She admires people in dance companies who like her have, "mapped out their own path so I don't think I try to follow anyone to closely I just try to learn from great choreographers as much as I can."

Her description of the style she prefers is really a blend, "Emotional, contemporary with hip-hop influences." The piece she created for DANCE This "kind of goes back and forth between almost ballet style modern into more crazy hip hop and the music does that transformation as well. I really do think dance is about telling stories, and being able to express something. So I hope to be able to express a wide range of emotions and styles."

She feels "humbled and really gracious and really open to learn" from the people she will share the stage with during sequence of performances. They include: Guest artists Napoleon & Tabitha (choreographers and judges of FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance), Donald Byrd (Artistic Director of Spectrum Dance Theater), NW Tap Connection (recipient of a 2009 Mayor’s Arts Award), Amy O’Neal (choreographer for locust) and Massive Monkees (Seattle-based dance crew featured in MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew).

"A lot of their work has amazing production values and mine is definitely a lot simpler, no props or anything like that," she said.

More about DANCE This:
DANCE This brings together local teen performers from diverse communities for collaboration and to share their culture through the art of dance. The performance features young local dancers in collaboration with professional artists performing dances from across cultures—both traditionally rooted and contemporary in form. Audiences experience the rich cultural traditions and artistic talent of teens in the region.

DANCE This features a dance fusion of cultural traditions with contemporary and urban styles including contemporary, hip hop, b-boy/b-girl breakdancers, tap and the Indian dances Odissi and Bhangra.

To see some examples of previous DANCE This videos check this page.

For tickets to the performance visit Seattle Theater Group at STGpresents.org .