Dropping Pebbles in Ponds: Shelly Washington Shares the Power of Mentorship and Art

Earlier this week, Trae Holiday sat down with Shelley Washington, a stager for the Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB), on The Day With Trae to discuss her long-standing career at the acclaimed dance company and commitment to mentoring the next generation of artists. 

Holiday compared Washington's legacy and influence at PNB to the act of dropping a pebble in water. "I'm always thinking about my impact as a pebble. What ripples am I creating? How do those ripples sustain?” the host said, emphasizing Washington’s drive to inspire young dancers with her own expertise.  

Washington, who has a storied career dancing with legends like Martha Graham and joining Twyla Tharp's dance company in 1975 brought this philosophy to life. As a stager, she is responsible for recreating tradition with modern freedom. “[I] recreate the original works as close as I can, but also allowing for change,” she said. 

On top of teaching dance steps, Washington explained that she passes down the history behind every movement. "I can transfer all of this information that I learned directly from Twyla down to what she was wearing on the day she created the second section of this ballet,” Washington said, referring to PNB’s upcoming production In The  Upper Room.

Washington shared the joy of watching young dancers grow and interpret the choreographer she learned up to 50 years ago. 

"I love to give them everything I've got and I love to watch them grow and change," she said. "I get to see them when they're babies... and I get to watch them evolve through the whole process to be the great dancers that they are on stage."

Washington also spoke passionately about the power of art, especially in challenging times. "When I'm in the studio, it's where I should be. It's where they should be and everything is great,” she said. “It's outside the studio…the world is messed up. But in that... room, what we are doing…is powerful." 

Starting this weekend, Washington’s stage work on the classic performance In The Upper Room, a non-stop, 39-minute piece of dance choreographed by Twyla Tharp to music by Philip Glass, opens to the public on Friday, November 7, and will close Sunday, November 16. Get your tickets at ​​pnb.org/season/in-the-upper-room. 

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