Today we welcome Moving Minds Dance as a new WSB sponsor! As with all new local sponsors, they get the opportunity to tell you about who they are and what they offer to the community:

Moving Minds Dance is a recreational dance program shaped by the teaching philosophy “we can learn all things through dance” and a mission to create a world that encourages creative thought and joyful curiosity. The company, directed by Ciara McCormack Greenwalt, began offering classes in Queen Anne in 2014 and made its way to West Seattle and Youngstown Cultural Arts Center just a year and a half ago. Ciara first came to Youngstown as an instructor for Flourish Dance Project, and she fell in love with its vibrant and welcoming community. When Flourish ended in March 2017, she knew she had to step in and continue its legacy nurturing joy, artistry and community through dance.

This year, Moving Minds is excited to be presenting new curriculum-integrated dance classes. Just like at other dance studios and after-school programs, young dancers will learn different dance techniques and prepare combinations for performances. But these classes stand apart by applying real-world topics to technical training, encouraging students to become more curious and truly think creatively about their world. Each season, all classes will focus on one guiding theme to discover through dance. This year’s themes will include social-emotional skills and inclusive communities in the fall, physics and anatomy in the winter, and storytelling and literacy in the spring. With classes offered for students as young as 18 months (Dance Together) up to 9 years (Formative Level), families can be assured that each topic will be presented at a developmentally appropriate level for each child.

One overarching goal at Moving Minds Dance is to develop dancers who are humans first, with a deep capacity for joy, wonder, strength, intelligence, poise, and kindness. This goal is achieved through the program’s unique classes, where every moment is an opportunity to learn both about dance and being human, and through a friendly network of students, parents, and teachers. Families frequently remark on how much their kids enjoy Moving Minds Dance classes, the positive rapport the teachers have with students, and the significance of a warm, personal approach to doing business. The mark of success for Moving Minds is simply seeing students light up – eyes bright, minds open, and bodies moving expressively. Students’ growth into confident, helpful, passionate humans is the heart of this program.

Ciara McCormack Greenwalt, director of Moving Minds Dance, has been training in multiple styles of dance for over 23 years and holds a BFA in dance from Stephens College. She began teaching in 2008, moved to Seattle in 2013, and has since taught all over the metro area, including spending two years as a teacher and administrator at Sweet Pea Cottage Preschool of the Arts. In addition to running Moving Minds Dance, Ciara teaches for the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Community Education Department, Spectrum Dance Theater, and Evergreen City Ballet. She also performs with Intrepidus Dance and serves as Vice President for the Dance Educators Association of Washington.

For more information about class offerings and schedule, visit movingmindsdance.org or contact Ciara directly for more information by emailing movingmindsdance@gmail.com or calling 206-504-1138.

We thank Moving Minds Dance for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news via WSB; find our current sponsor team listed in directory format here, and find info on joining the team by going here.