Los Gatos Ballet Empowering Students During Pandemic

Los Gatos, CA — After a 25-year professional career as a ballerina, Marcie Ryken — the artistic and executive director of Los Gatos Ballet — had an opportunity to open up a pilates studio in the Los Gatos area in 2001. Opportunity for expansion called soon after, allowing Ryken to pursue her true passion: dance.

“It’s something that I did not expect to be, a business owner,” Ryken said. “That opportunity just kind of fell in my lap. The person I am is to see what’s presenting and just move into it. That’s kind of my motto. Just being present with what is, and then showing up to it. It’s been a wonderful learning opportunity being a business owner and we have four dance studios and one pilates studio where we are now.”

The studio is guided by a mission to empower its students through dance; to teach resiliency and strength all while bringing this art to the community.

“We are an organization that’s here to cultivate character and empower people through dance,” Ryken said. “Dancers are known for their poise, discipline, alignment, but we are really working on alignment on all levels. Through these presenting challenges, we get to show up to that and we get to say ‘what are the possibilities here, what is presenting, and let’s move into that with clarity and open-mindedness.’ These are life tools. Dance is fabulous for everyone because it’s just patterning life tools.”

Since 2008, Los Gatos Ballet has been serving its mission to bring dance to the community by binging dance curriculums directly to local underserved and Title 1 schools.

“It’s a heart-centered mission,” Ryken said. “We wanted to take it out there and into the community.”

When the first pandemic-incited lockdowns began in March of 2020, Ryken and her team of instructors and staff at the school began immediately looking into different methods of adaptation to this strange new environment.

“Through this nonprofit, we’re always asking ‘what is the need, how can we serve,’” Ryken said. “We had to embrace technology. We are still offering outreach programs to schools through Zoom. Since the theaters are dark, we are pivoting yet again. ‘What can we do, what is possible.’”

In looking at the available options and required safety restrictions, the school was able to adapt to a version of its Nutcracker performance. Ryken and her team set to work, preparing an outdoor space that they have access to and re-choreographing the performance to allow for social distancing.

“We ended up filming outside so that [the kids] could have that sense of performance,” Ryken said. “I am so incredibly grateful for my team who is very aligned with our version; that is important — from the team, that’s how we pass and model everything we do, providing that safe space for the kids.”

Despite the inherent limitations that come from a socially distanced performance, distributed on film rather than in person, the filmed, socially-distanced Nutcracker provided Los Gatos Ballet the opportunity to demonstrate some of the inner workings of what exactly goes into producing the filmed, final result.

“It really was super cool because it showed the behind-the-scenes,” Ryken said. “We interviewed the kids, we interviewed the faculty, we showed our process in rehearsal. We showed the kids’ point of view; going from auditions to receiving their casting, what the challenges are, how they work through the challenges and build resilience through these challenges. It was wonderful that we showed up in that creative way through this.”

Now, Los Gatos Ballet is moving into its next, annual stage of performance, which allows the advanced students to choreograph and direct their own shows.

“This stuff that they’re creating is just mind-blowing,” Ryken said. “So much talent, so much care is coming through this process, and just connection. I think that for me as a leader, [something] really important for me is building connection, building conscious community, and that’s what we’re doing through all of our programs.”

As the school began navigating a virtual environment, it became clear to Ryken that the concept of Zoom education created a tough environment for her younger students.

“With the kids, the younger they are, the harder it is to keep that discipline in a virtual format,” Ryken said. “We’ve got to show up and do our part to help the kids, to keep those kids moving because movement is part of what’s going to help them feel better.”

As the school pivoted to Zoom classes, Ryken started bringing her on-staff Life and Performance Coach, Gina Pero, to the classes, combining some level of dance with more specific personal development for the kids.

“What came through was just the need for connection, and that is what propelled me forward to just go ‘we have to do everything we can to show up for these kids because they need us,’” Ryken said. “They need us to provide this platform for connection, to provide this platform for building tools for resilience, ability to handle change, to move and have a purpose. Dance for them is their purpose, it is what brings them joy, so let’s connect them through their minds, bodies and spirits.”

“I think through this situation where everything has to be digital and we get to film our performances,” Ryken added, “we get to share that part with our audience so you get to hear their stories. That’s something that we are grateful for that it’s brought to the forefront. The ability to communicate our purpose, our passion; to be present even if it’s digital and not in-person.”

And though it is through this strained environment that the true therapeutic results of the dance school have been able to shine, connection and community-building have long been centric aspects of who Ryken is.

“My soul’s purpose is connection. It is to provide opportunities for connection,” Ryken said. “It’s connecting with yourself and others, to bring joy to the forefront. Dance does provide the road within. What we’re trying to shift to is the mindset: what is the conversation in your head? Is it moving you towards your goal, your destination, or away? So, it’s that patterning of awareness that we’re doing through dance.”

“[Dance is] there to connect to your own self and to others,” Ryken said. “That’s how dance started; it was that community connection. We’re just bringing back its purpose and cultivating that joy within, that celebration of who you are. We’ve always been that but it’s becoming louder now. We’re sharing it in a bigger way.”

Los Gatos Ballet is currently in a hybrid form, preparing for their Beyond performance which will feature choreography and direction from the school’s advanced students. They are utilizing their outdoor spaces to film and rehearse, and are using their largest studios to safely work with their smaller number of advanced students.

“We don’t know how long that’s going to last, but we will continue to provide a safe environment for the kids and we’re going to do whatever it takes to keep them moving and connecting,” Ryken said. “I think what Covid has taught us is to just look for the possibilities. Be willing to be creative. Because in every moment in life anyways that’s what we’re doing. And I think the biggest thing for us is to continue to reach for your joy. That’s when your immune system’s going to be strong. Live in your joy.”