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JANUARY 2013
A S P E C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F P A M P L I N M E D I A G R O U P / C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R S
S H O P A N D D I N E C L O S E R T O H O M E !
Dancing
through life
Evergreen Dance Academy offers
classes for all ages and abilities
2
Godfathers is your
one-stop-shop for
pizza and fun.
WHAT
YOU’LL
DISCOVER
INSIDE!
3
Discover all that
Shelly Clark and
New Season’s
wellness department
has to offer.
Discover
Fisher’s Landing
Marketplace
in Vancouver
By
JORDY BYRD
“I love being an instructor
because of the immense rewards
it gives. Seeing those little eyes
light up when a student knows
that something has clicked or
they have finally perfected a step
is priceless.”
— Owner Kim Graham
K
im Graham was inspired at an early
age. The dance instructor and owner of
Evergreen Dance Academy, was enrolled
in ballet at the age of six.
“I’ll never forget my first teacher, Mrs. Hesse, an
old German lady who taught with a stick, and yes she
used it!” Graham said. “I had no idea it would become a
lifelong career at that point. I just knew I loved ballet.”
Grahamwas born in San Francisco. During her early
years of training, she performed roles with the Contra
Costa Ballet and the Orinda Ballet. After moving to
the Northwest as a teen, she trained with Pacific NW
Ballet School and Dance Lab of Seattle.
She attended the University of Washington, where
she received a degree in aerospace engineering and
performed in both classical ballet roles and modern
dance. She spent two years working as a structural
engineer in Long Beach, CA before realizing her life
was headed in the wrong direction.
“I can remember when I was three months into the
(engineering) job and I called my mother up crying,
telling her I had made the biggest mistake in my life,”
she said. “I realized then that all I had ever wanted was
to dance or be somehow involved with dance.”
So Graham followed her heart, which would lead
her under the bright lights of many stages and
eventually to Vancouver with her family in 1997.
Graham taught for Columbia Dance Ensemble for
four years before opening Evergreen Dance Academy
in 2000 at Cascade Fitness where she taught for eight
years. On Jan. 2 the studio hosted the grand opening
of its two larger dance studios at Fisher’s Landing.
Dancing through life
Graham met her husband, Mike, while working as
an engineer in California. Eventually, she went on to
dance with The Long Beach Ballet and as a soloist in
Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral productions of
The Glory of Christmas and The Glory of Easter, which
were televised nationwide. After her retirement from
performing in 1993, Graham and her husband moved
to Hood River, OR and had two children. While her
children were young, she taught, for the first time ever,
at a local dance studio. Her lifelong love of dance fueled
her desire to teach.
“I am an introvert by nature, so performing to me
was a way of communicating non-verbally with large
groups of people. I could be someone else on stage; a
fairy, a princess, a witch, whatever. It thrilled me,”
she said. “I love being an instructor because of the
immense rewards it gives. Seeing those little eyes light
up when a student knows that something has clicked
or they have finally perfected a step is priceless.”
Today, Evergreen Dance Academy offers children’s
dance classes and adult dance fitness classes for ages
two to adult for dancers of all abilities, body types and
experiences. Dance classes vary from ballet — the
most popular children’s class — to tap, jazz, modern
hip hop and more.
“I call myself the Nordstrom of dance studios,
Graham said. “Customer service is my number one
priority. I have a personal relationship, and know all of
my 250 students and their parents by name. They feel
like a family to me.”
About half of the students are between ages two
and six, and the other half of students are ages seven
and older. The goal, Graham said, is to instill a love of
dance and fitness in each and every student.
“A love for dance comes from the joy of moving your
body to music, and the benefit to that is a healthy
body,” she said.
A smaller group of adults participate in dance
fitness classes such as ballet barre — the most
popular class for adults — pilates, jazz and zumba.
Graham said the new “aerobics” is dance in
whatever format. She said the trend came about
in the late 90’s with the rising popularity of pilates
and has since become more popular with zumba.
“Dance is the ultimate workout because it is a mind
and body workout,” she said.
“You can’t just check your brain at the door in a
dance class. You have to be engaged both mentally and
physically and the more mind-body connection, the
better awareness we create in our bodies and can push
ourselves to a greater fitness level.”
Evergreen Dance Academy is located at 2100
Southeast 164th Ave., suite 102, Vancouver. For
more information, call 360-450-0244 or visit
evergreendanceacademy.com.
Children participate in ballet class at Evergreen
Dance Academy’s new location at Fisher’s Landing.
Evergreen Dance Academy owner Kim Graham invites people to check out her new location at Fisher’s Landing.