Sometimes it takes a while for something of value to show itself.
Last Saturday night at Edmonds Center for the Arts, the Barclay Shelton Dance Centre staged two-and-a-half hours of 55 separate production numbers. From can can to hip hop, tots, teens and adults showcased the results of what the Centre has been doing for eight decades. I gotta say, now and then, time dragged or seemed to.
Fact is, George and Florence Barclay opened the doors of the Centre as the Barclay School of Dance in 1929 when stockbrokers were jumping out of windows, Americans were standing in bread lines and Roosevelt had to warn against fear itself.
Imagine the chance the Barclays took. Imagine the pipe dream that inspired it.
Add to that the welcome they performed for soldiers returning from World War II and the Korean War. Factor in the excitement their enthusiasm for dance generated for civic events as they became known.
Imagine the pride in country, community and self.
I don’t say all of that came to mind while taking in the expressive choreography, the gorgeous costumes, the ballet, the tap, the soft shoe, the flapper, jitterbug, square and line dance, twist, rock and rap. At the time, on stage, the evolution of dance in America was passing in revue.
However, I have since come to appreciate the use the Barclays made of the talent they had, the legacy it created and the handoff of that legacy.
Leanne Shelton re-named the Barclay School of Dance to Barclay Shelton Dance Centre when she took over in 1978.
Now, somehow, those 55 dance numbers keep popping up. I regret not paying closer attention.
On the other hand, the Barclay Shelton will celebrate its 81st next year, and I know I can count on another chance to really see. Things of value are like that. They endure.
Reactions? Comments? E-mail Dale Burrows at entopinion@heraldnet.com or grayghost7@comcast.net.
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