The thriving arts scene is a priority in this city—in fact, Seattle has been recognized for having more arts-related businesses and organizations per capita than any other metropolitan area in the U.S., according to Americans for the Arts. Choreographer and dancer Zoe Scofield is one of the contributors to this creative city. Read on for a look at the city through her artistic lens.
Velocity Dance Center is an excellent venue that is starting to branch out more into hosting workshops and speakeasy forums in addition to its performance programming. Spectrum Dance Theater, which is Donald Byrd’s dance company, is great. And there’s Pacific Northwest Ballet, which has open classes. Westlake Dance Center—which, contrary to the name, is not on Westlake, but actually in Northgate—is a little more in the hip-hop vein.
If you’re interested in seeing burlesque shows, the Can Can. The burlesque scene here is huge, and there’s a lot of slightly more political burlesque here, with people like Waxie Moon, BenDeLaCreme, and Cherdonna and Lou.
I love being able to go to the farmers markets—every neighborhood has a farmers market—and getting food and then going on a picnic. You could go to all the different farmers markets and then have picnics in each one! To me, that’s a very Seattle neighborhood experience.
We live really close to Volunteer Park, so I go there quite a bit—I love the Dahlia Garden there. I also love Discovery Park, particularly past the lighthouse. I spend lots of time in parks because I love looking. That’s my thing.
I love going to the movies at Landmark Cinemas and the Egyptian because I like the experience of just disappearing into another world. I believe everything that I see. I get completely immersed in something, almost detrimentally so. Seeing how other people make things—even if it has nothing to do with my art—is helpful.
Seattle has so many different personalities. But what I think is the essence of Seattle is being able to see the Cascade and Olympic Mountains at the same time, like from Phinney Ridge. Or places where you can see both Lake Washington and Lake Union. To me, you’re so close to all of this total beauty.
Interview by Jess Van Nostrand, 2012.
Photo taken outside the Frye Art Museum.
Zoe Scofield talks about bringing the Seattle-based dance company zoe | juniper to Nashville, Tennessee.