Arts & Life This Seattle b-boy helped select Team USA's first Olympic breakdancers Thirty-two b-boys and b-girls will vie for Gold in Paris as break dancing makes its debut as a sport in the Summer Olympics. Meet a Seattle break dancing judge who helped select Team USA’s top breakers. Ruby de Luna Play AudioListen 5 mins
From Vegas to Waitsburg, classroom a new stage for former showgirl If you went to Las Vegas in the 1980s, you might have seen dancers covered in feathers and rhinestones. A former Tropicana showgirl now lives in Waitsburg – and she’s bringing her life’s story and the lessons she’s learned to a Walla Walla classroom. Courtney Flatt Play AudioListen 4 mins
Arts & Life On the count of 3...Go! Rapper Common surprises fans with dance solo at Seattle breaking competition Amid his performance of "Universal Mind Control," which samples the 1982 electro hit "Planet Rock" — widely considered an old-school breakdance anthem — Common surprised fans when he erupted into an impromptu breakdance number of his own. Liz Brazile
Arts & Life Seattle's breakdance scene is center stage again — but don't call it a comeback B-boys and b-girls from around the world — and Seattle’s own backyard — took the stage at WAMU Theater Saturday night for the Red Bull Lords of the Floor breakdance competition, back for the first time since 2002. Liz Brazile
Arts & Life For these young ballerinas, getting 'en pointe' is the ultimate milestone A look behind the curtain at the first in-person pointe shoe fitting for the Pacific Northwest Ballet School since 2019. Diana Opong Play AudioListen 5 mins
Arts & Life After pandemic lapse, Japanese folk dancing returns to Seattle's streets Seattle’s Bon-Odori, the Japanese Folk dancing festival returned for the first time since the pandemic. Organizers say about 3,000 people attended the 91st annual summer festival. Natalie Akane Newcomb Play AudioListen 2 mins
Arts & Life How one kumu keeps her hula lineage When you think of hula, you might picture dances you’ve seen in Disney movies, or on a summer trip to Hawaiʻi. But that’s just scratching the surface of what hula is. There’s so much more. And RadioActive Youth Media’s Terina Papatu is here to show you. Terina Papatu Play AudioListen 4 mins
Health 'Hold That Pose' offers queer and trans youth a place to dance, build community, and find resources Gustavo Sagrero Álvarez Play AudioListen 2 mins
Arts & Life Pacific Northwest Ballet's first Black principal dancer will not be its last Dancer Jonathan Batista made history this fall as the first Black principal dancer in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s fifty-year history. Diana Opong Play AudioListen 5 mins
Arts & Life After two long years, contemporary dance looks for a comeback Dance is an intimate artform. When the pandemic hit, and in person interaction dwindled, choreographers, dancers, and producers went in search of what they could do without a dance floor, a stage, or an audience. Libby Denkmann Bill Radke Alec Cowan Play AudioListen 24 mins
