By Lindsay Peyton

West Seattle resident Christine Juarez is preparing for the next step in her career.

After 23 years in the area and teaching dance classes all around town, she will open her own studio next fall.
Juarez recently purchased Kathy’s Studio of Dance, which has been a fixture in the area for 39 years.

And she plans to shake things up in the new space. She is changing the name to West Seattle Performing Arts – and will offer classes in ballet, tap, jazz, modern dance, as well as acting, music, yoga and art.

In addition, Juarez plans to offer seminars for students who want to become professional dancers and help them build skills and portfolios necessary to move forward.

She will also offer recreational classes for all ages –and serving all types of students regardless of ability or body type.

Juarez grew up in Philadelphia and earned a bachelor’s degree in ballet and music at Indiana University, before obtaining her master’s in modern dance and physical science from Washington University in St. Louis.
She became a serious dancer at a young age – taking a train to Philadelphia to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet with John White and Margarita de Saa White of the National Ballet of Cuba.

“I went to ballet six days a week by the time I was 10,” she said.

John White was also a pedagogy teacher. “I got a very meticulous explanation for everything, breaking down all the steps,” Juarez said.

This experience would later push her towards becoming a teacher herself – even though she started dancing professionally in St. Louis while attending the university.

“I really enjoyed teaching,” Juarez said. “Each age group has a specific mode of communication and way of learning.”

She started working as professor of dance at Washington University – then met her soon-to-be husband Armando Juarez.

The couple moved to Seattle in 1993 – and Juarez got a job teaching at Cornish College of the Arts, where she continues to instruct dancers.

Juarez also led classes on Mercer Island, in Kirkland and even at Kathy’s Studio of Dance, which was closer to her home in West Seattle.

In 1996, Juarez took a post teaching at the Vashon Center for the Arts – and helped expand its dance program.
“When I walked in, there were 50 students – and now there are more than 500,” she said. “The community has been wonderful – and I’m sure the same thing can happen in West Seattle.”

She already has started developing a local following for her adult ballet classes at West Seattle Health Club, where she has taught for the past four years.

Juarez has been meeting regularly since August with Kathryn Lahey, the retiring owner of Kathy’s Studio of Dance to discuss the change.
“I want to honor her more than 30 years of work in West Seattle,” Juarez said. “She has been incredibly generous in helping create the transition between our businesses.”

Juarez said the timing is ideal – with more residential development in West Seattle and tons of children in the area. “The recipe for starting a business and having it supported seems really good,” she said.

Juarez will take over the space in July – and begin remodeling the building. She plans to start offering classes in August.

Students from Cornish design classes are helping create the business logo, as well as the design of the exterior of the space.

Juarez is currently building the website and hopes to start registering students online this summer.

She will host regular meet-and-greets until then. The next one is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 at the West Seattle Eagles, 4426 California Ave SW.

“I’d love to talk to anyone who wants to find out more about me and the program,” she said. “I want to get everyone’s input. Every person I talk to solidifies my pathway and helps determine what I’ll offer.”
Juarez envisions eventually opening satellite studios around the neighborhood. Her passion for dance, theatre and the visual arts drives her to ensure that students of all ages gain access to a high level of instruction in each field.

“Our faculty is going to be stellar,” she said. “I’m hand-picking everyone. You’ll be guaranteed to have an experienced teacher.”

And all of the staff will share Juarez’s teaching style. “I reel them in and make them want to build technique,” she said. “We make it fun, and we make it rewarding.”
She also believes in making sure all students succeed. “I feel a teacher should be judged by the weakest student,” she said. “If the weakest student is in the back floundering, you’re not a successful teacher.”

Maria Fontana said that Juarez is one of the best teachers that she has ever met – and as an experienced middle school teacher herself that comes as high praise.

Fontana enrolled her 15-year old son Tommy in Juarez’s class when he was 6. “She was so encouraging that by the middle of the year, he was already asking for more classes,” Fontana said. “He came out of every class beaming. He was just so excited about dance.”

Her 10-year old daughter Susie also had Juarez as a teacher for the past five years.

Fontana then signed up to take Juarez’s adult ballet class at Cornish this spring.

“Christine’s classes are a joy,” Fontana said. “She’s so good at making sure everyone feels like they belong there. She just believes you can do it – and she believes it so much, it makes you believe in yourself.”

Follow West Seattle Performing Arts on Facebook for updates on Juarez’s new school. The website -- www.westseattleperformingarts.org -- will be up soon.