Photo credit: Scott Martinez Photography
A
nd in spite of all that, she turned
out 75 top dancers!” The CPYB website
lists more than 80 alumni who have gone
on to such prestigious companies as
New York City Ballet, American Ballet
Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Pacific
Northwest Ballet, among others: https://
www.cpyb.org/about/profile. Weary
became one of the foremost dance
instructors in the nation and her vision
still drives the school: “Changing lives
through dance.”
Five years ago, Mimi adopted the
CPYB’s syllabus for BAA because it
spoke to her own dreams of teaching
valuable life skills as well as developing
technical strength and artistic
development in young dancers. None of
her own teachers had used a syllabus,
and she considers her pupils especially
fortunate to have one. She said it is, “So
simple — almost like what the karate
people do.
42 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
They have the same sequence of steps
they do every day, so they are constantly
adding to it. There is such a logical way
of putting all those steps together.” She
sees the results in students who are
advancing much more rapidly now.
Swelling with pride, she considers some
of her older students who began with
her as small children. “I have waited all
these years to see their beauty — they
are gems,” she said. She pulls out a BAA
promotional ad with a red-haired girl
in a white dress. “Focused, Committed,
Confident, Kind, Disciplined, Inspired,
Healthy, Compassionate,” it read. Mimi
believes the quality is observable. She
noted a recent competition the girls had
entered. “People saw,” she said. “They
can dance classical, contemporary,
flamenco, classical Spanish.” As pleased
as she is with their skill of execution, she
seems equally pleased with the quality
of character they have developed.
Aire, performance February 23, 2019 by Quiero Flamenco at the Bing Crosby Theater, Spokane,
directed by Monica Mota. Monica teaches ballet, flamenco, and classical Spanish dance at BAA.
“They were so kind to all the other
kids,” she said. “They were telling them,
‘Good job!’”
So what are her dreams at this juncture?
“To have a very well-established and
well-attended school, where it would be
the place to come for many children —
many, not just a few — to find thorough
training, moral values, humbleness [sic].
That’s my dream school. I know I am
there now, because that’s what parents
want when they come here.”