www.valleyrecord.com Snoqualmie Valley Record • September 12, 2012 • 9

In Brief

IGNITE Dance & Yoga grows skills, health and

friendships in first two years

After 10 years of traveling the world working as a professional danc-er for Holland America Cruise

Line, and stints in California and Las Vegas, Katie Black decided she was ready for more. She pursued yoga training, getting certified though the world-recognized Yoga Alliance. Katie was ready for a new start. All she needed to do was find her roots.

It turned out that Black’s roots were wait-ing to grow right here in North Bend. Not long after opening the doors of her first business, IGNITE Dance & Yoga, two years

ago this month, Katie knew she had made the right choice.

Bold stepsOn any given day, IGNITE’s four class-

rooms are filled with students, young and old alike, learning new skills for life, staying fit and building friendships. It’s those friend-ships, those relationships, that led Katie to start this business in September of 2010. Connections between dancers, instructors, friends and neighbors are what have made IGNITE a success, and as it enters its third year, the studio continues to grow, Katie’s bold vision leading the way.

From those first days in 2010, when Katie and her family members ran the busi-ness and taught the classes, IGNITE has grown to nearly 30 instructors, together teach-ing more than 160 classes for adults and children every week

IGNITE offers dance and yoga classes for all ages, from young children to seniors. Beginning with the youngest students, there is the Spark! preschool enrichment program, and classes for youth including creative movement, ballet and tap, tumbling, boys’ break-danc-

ing, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, musical theatre, acro (tumbling), and contemporary. Youth dance gives young people focus, strength and flexibility. Katie relates the story of

one boy, Max, whose amaz-ing acro and yoga class skills helped him make big plays on the baseball diamond, and had his buddies start signing up.

Adults can take part in sev-eral varieties of yoga, includ-ing, hot, warm, gentle, prena-tal, Vinyasa and introductory classes, as well as monthly yoga workshops. Yoga has positively impacted all ages at IGNITE. Students have benefited from not only the

physical demands of yoga, but also the emo-tional and mental challenges, helping with patience and stress reduction.

Community strong

Staff Photo

Dancers, from tykes to teens to adults, gather at IGNITE Dance & Yoga’s studio in North Bend. The studio has grown dramatically since opening its doors in 2010, and today holds hundreds of classes weekly, such as yoga instruction, below.

Life, motion and friendship

A Snoqualmie Valley Record Business Profile | Advertisement September 2012

See IGNITe, 10

“I realized how important

relationships are to me—seeing kids grow as

dancers.”Katie Black,

IGNITE Dance & Yoga owner

Valley Profile

www.valleyrecord.com10 • September 12, 2012 • Snoqualmie Valley Record

Zumba, a fast-moving, dance-cen-tric workout, along with ballet, tap and Broadway-style dance classes are offered. Adults and teens explore act-ing concepts in an improv class.

In its first two years, the studio greatly expanded, from two dance rooms to three rooms to, this fall, four. The latest addition is the private, quiet, yoga “oasis,” a space for 25 people to practice. The new addition, which has its own landscaping, park-ing and entrance, gives IGNITE new visibility on the city’s main street, and Katie is understandably proud of it.

Katie believes IGNITE has a differ-ent feel from most studios, and that her students can sense this.

“It’s a community spirit,” she says. “My mission is to have a place where people can be themselves in a non-pretentious environment. Where people can really thrive and work to their fullest potential and feel like they have a family that supports them.”

It’s not about who’s the best dancer. Small stuff isn’t sweated.

“There’s no anxiety when you come in to take a class,” Katie says. “It’s down-to-earth, real people with incredible instruction.”

Big changeVisits to her family in Snoqualmie

led Katie to try teaching classes on the Eastside. When her students’ parents began to request that she stay, the seeds of IGNITE were planted.

“I had traveled nationally, taught master classes, but you don’t see those kids improve every week,” she said. “I realized how important those rela-tionships were to me—seeing the kids grow as dancers, being stable in their lives, being someone they could rely on.”

After two years of success, Katie smiles, and tears up, as she thinks about what the community support has meant for her.

“I love it so much,” she says. “Life has changed a lot. It’s so good. So good.”

The balanceThe different faces of IGNITE—

children’s classes, adult dance, yoga and competition teams—all inter-twine. Dance and yoga encompass the whole family, and there is something for everyone.

For her staff, there are high expecta-tions, but teachers rise to them. Katie emphasizes communication: “Making sure that we connect and that we have similar goals. I trust every single per-son that works here. We keep it healthy and happy.”

That welcoming feeling extends outside the exercise room. There is always a friendly face to answer ques-tions at the front desk.

Katie has also improved much of the building, from expansion to landscaping to customizing the top quality sprung dance floors—which are husband Gavin’s Black’s specialty, designed for less impact—and fewer aches—in the dancers’ legs.

Katie isn’t hesitant to try new ideas—as long as they fit into her vision of

helping her customers, students and families have a better experience.

Competition teamsIGNITE gives its youth dancers the

opportunity to earn their spot on trav-eling competition teams, and shows their moves at regional and national events.

Starting with 20 children and teens in the first year, in 2012 there were 90 youths who came to audition, which amazed Katie.

Not everyone makes it, but the opportunity helps every student move toward their potential. Competition team members take advanced classes, bond as a team, and practice extra, simply for their love of dance and commitment to each other. The teams,

like other classes at IGNITE, lead to lifetime friendships.

When classes are fun, families can be deeply involved. Katie points out the annual Dads’ Dance, which is held for every youth recital. Students’ fathers perform a dance all their own, getting in on the fun. In 2011, they were the “Blues Brothers.” This year was the dance of the “Disco Dads.”

“When dance is your passion, and you’re serious about it, it becomes your family,” Katie says. “It’s about more than classes. It’s about relationships.”

• IGNITE is located at 472 East North Bend Way. Learn more about classes or sign up at www.ignitedance-andyoga.com, call (425) 292-9880, or e-mail to info@ignitedanceandyoga.com.

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IGNITE FROM 9 Yoga Oasis opensIGNITE Dance & Yoga holds a special grand opening for its new Yoga Oasis, all day Sunday, Sept. 16.There will be live music, massage demos, lots of giveaways and prizes, and other special events.For the open house, the studio is partner-ing with Pioneer Coffee, QFC, Emerald City Smoothie, Birches Habitat, George’s Bakery, The Valley Theatre, Selah Gifts, and North Bend Bar and Grill. It’s a great opportunity to find out what the studio has to offer for your family.

Courtesy photos

Children can learn movement and exercise skills for life while taking classes, such as acrobatics, above, at IGNITE Dance and Yoga. The youth competition team, at right, showcase their advanced moves in regional and national showcases.

McGowan, Shaw to wed

Lawrence J. and Suzanne D. McGowan of Stevensville, Mont., announce the engage-ment of their daughter Natalie Suzanne McGowan, to Liam David Shaw, son of William G. A. Shaw and Mary Beth Haggerty-Shaw of Issaquah.

The couple will be piped and fiddled into matrimony at a September 15 wedding by Scottish bagpiper Andrew Taylor and Irish violinist Brendon Haggerty. The cel-ebration will take place at the

engaged couple’s residence in Horse Canyon outside of Cle Elum. Officicants will be McGowan’s uncle Jeffrey Harrison and Shaw’s father William.

McGowan graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Montana State University and is an equine nutrition con-sultant with CHS Nutrition. Shaw graduated from Central Washington University with a geography degree and is a terri-tory manager at New Zealand- based Gallagher Animal Management Solutions, Inc. The Shaws plan to live in Cle Elum with their growing menagerie of cattle, horses, chickens, dogs and cats.

The couple would like to thank their parents for their love and support and for their respective 29 and 30 years of marriage—great examples to set for a long and happy union.