Dancer Sonja Hinz, who grew up in Everson, is among the performers at the inaugural Family Fun Day, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at Fairhaven Village Green.
The benefit event is hosted by organizers of the proposed Bellingham Arts Center, a nonprofit group working to create opportunities for artists to work together and provide arts education - including dance, visual arts, music and theater - to the community. For details, see bellinghamartscenter.com. For more on Hinz, see sonjahinz.com.
Question: Have you always loved dance?
Answer: I have always loved to dance, but I didn't really get involved with it until I was 19 and began taking an Orissi (Indian classical dance) class at The Evergreen State College. After studying for a year, I branched out into Middle Eastern dance and became involved in the Middle Eastern program at the former Pacific Danceworks here in Bellingham, working under the tutelage of Shelley Muzzy.
Through Shelley's classes I met a group of women and we formed the Banat Sahar dance troupe, performing various regional styles of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, as well as belly dance. One of the styles we performed, Persian (Iranian) dance, became one of my favorites, and I moved to Seattle and began dancing with an Iranian band in 2001.
Q: Then what?
A: As I became more and more involved with dance, I became determined to get my master's degree in dance ethnology (I got my B.A. in anthropology at Western Washington University). I ended up moving to Hawaii in 2004 and got my M.A. there under Judy Van Zile, an excellent professor and dance ethnologist who introduced me to many international scholars and professors through conferences and workshops in London, Norway and Hawaii.
Throughout all this time, one of my mentors, Robyn Friend, encouraged me to do my fieldwork in Tajikistan, a country that shares a Persian-language heritage with Iran and Afghanistan. I did my fieldwork there in 2006 and spent up to four hours a day in rehearsals and classes, both studying dance myself and interviewing dancers and teachers. I wrote my thesis on the juxtaposition of mysticism and sensuality in Tajik dance. Upon returning, I formed Delshodeh dance ensemble with Heather Rastovac.
Q: What kinds of dance do you teach and perform?
A: The dance ensemble I direct, Delshodeh, performs dances of the Persian-speaking world (Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan). We perform mostly for the Iranian-American community in the Seattle area, occasionally in Vancouver, B.C., and Portland, as well as at the Northwest Folklife Festival and other cultural festivals. The name "Delshode" is Persian and is usually translated as "enamored" ("Del" means "heart" and "shodeh" means "to become"). The ensemble is made up of Bellingham and Seattle-based dancers.
Q: What's the history of Bellingham's La Vida Dance Studio?
A: I started La Vida when I moved back to Bellingham from Hawaii because I couldn't find a studio where I could teach, or at least one where I could afford to teach. I have really small classes due to the very specific (and relatively unknown) style of dance. I have so many friends who teach dance and yoga, I thought I could gather enough people together to all pitch in on the rent and bills and make it affordable for everyone.
I encourage people to teach at La Vida that come from unusual movement backgrounds, so most of the classes are non-Western. The current lineup includes hula, creative dance, Bollywood, modern, several variations of belly dance (classic, tribal, tribal fusion and belly dance/Bollywood fusion), Forrest and hatha yoga, Wing Tsun martial arts, as well as my Persian and Tajik dance class. Most of the students at La Vida are people who are looking for something fun and different.
Q: What's your involvement with the Bellingham Arts Center?
A: I met Gabriel Miles, founder of the Bellingham Arts Center (BAC), and got really excited about her idea to have a place where all the arts come together. Our community has so many artists in it and there are many dance, Pilates and yoga studios, so many visual artists' collectives, a handful of theaters and theater groups, but no place where you can find all the arts under one roof.
I like the idea of networking across disciplines, and it seems like having an arts center would encourage further development and growth of the arts in Bellingham. I am planning on moving my dance studio into the BAC once it has a home, and managing the movement studio there. I already somewhat run La Vida as a nonprofit, although it isn't officially, so it seems the perfect next step.
At the fundraiser for the BAC on Aug. 27, there will be make-and-take art tables, mini workshops, and performances. I will be performing, possibly with some of the dancers from Delshodeh.
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: I have a 2 1/2-year-old, so I don't have much free time; dance is my free time! Besides that, I really enjoy hanging out with my husband and daughter and the rest of my family, camping, gardening, being outside and, this time of year, making jam with all of our wonderful Northwest berries (fresh berries and salmon were the two things I missed the most when I lived in Hawaii).
Q: What are your hopes for the future?
A: My dream is to someday have a little land and a farmhouse in the South Fork Valley. My husband and I also hope to return to Tajikistan with our daughter and live there for a couple years when she is a little older. I hope to see the BAC move into a great downtown space and be an integral part of the thriving arts community here in Bellingham.
