Small Creative Studios with Great Big Ideas

Olympia Arts Walk is a great way to get out and see what’s going on in our vibrant city. This article highlights three places that exemplify what makes Olympia a great place to be an artist or art lover.

Ballet Northwest Updates Classic Nutcracker for the Age of Coronavirus

By Molly Gilmore Update Nov. 24: “The Nutcracker” dates, times and locations have changed since the original release of this story. Updated information is below the article. Despite COVID-19, Ballet Northwest’s “Nutcracker,” a South Sound holiday tradition for 35 years, is on for the holidays, but the company’s 2020 edition of the Tchaikovsky classic — …

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"Go-Stay," painting by Susan Christian

Susan Christian at Stable Studios

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Stable Studios is tucked away in an easy-to-overlook building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and Cherry Street in downtown Olympia. The artist it’ll feature for Arts Walk this fall is anything but little-known. She’s Susan Christian, former owner of Salon Refu and a painter who’s been showing her work …

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A Tale of Two Nutcrackers

Both the Studio West Dance Theatre production, opening Nov. 24, and the Ballet Northwest version, opening Dec. 8, are beloved traditions. Studio West first performed the ballet in 2009, and the venerable Ballet Northwest premiered its version in 1983. “There’s always a buzz around The Nutcracker,” said Stephanie Wood-Ennett, the co-director of Studio West. “So many people feel that their holiday is not complete without it.”

Color and Light: Value Contrasting Through Photography with Laney Hawley

By Alec Clayton Anyone who has stopped in at Hawley’s Gelato for an affogato to sip on while watching people come and go across the street at the Washington Center has likely noticed artistic photographs on the walls. Perhaps a group of high-contrast black and white photos of a ballerina in a white tutu that …

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Ballet’s Romantic Comedy: Coppélia

By KAREN LUNDE Coppelia arrives at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts April 18 through 20, bringing a tale of mayhem, mischief and mistaken identities. Studio West Dance Theatre’s production follows the antics of Swanhilda and her friends as they try to discover the identity of Coppélia, a mysterious woman who’s enthralled Swanhilda’s fiancé, Franz. “Coppélia is the …

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A Nuttier Nutcracker

By Molly Gilmore For the 10th anniversary of its The Nutcracker, Studio West Dance Theatre has added new treats and trimmings to its production of Tchaikovsky’s ballet about a young girl who receives a nutcracker for Christmas and dreams herself into a magical world of fairies and sweets. The production, opening Dec. 9, aims to …

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Stephen Petronio Post-Modern Dance Master at the Washington Center

by Yvonne Joyce for OLY ARTS Stephen Petronio is a name — and dance company — well known to audiences in New York City, but less well known on the West Coast, except among dance aficionados. The post-modern New York-based choreographer and his company will make their Olympia debut next week. Described by dance critics variously …

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Procession of the Species

Past Print Issues

No. 28, Autumn 2023 Your Guide to Autumn & Fall Arts WalkOLY ARTS Issue No. 28, Autumn 2023 Read it online or download it here. (PDF format) No. 27, July/August 2023 Your Guide to Summer & Capital LakefairOLY ARTS Issue No. 27, July/August 2023 Read online or download the PDF file: https://olyarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/OlyArts-27-Summer-Lakefair-2023.pdf No. 26, April / …

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