Timothy Lynch: "Threads: A Journey of Boys Who Dance"

[Helene]

Timothy Lynch was an elegant dancer with Pacific Northwest Ballet, and he now teaches on the PNB School Faculty.

Here is the press release for his lecture/demo this Sunday, 20 October at 5pm at Seattle's Broadway Performance Hall:

Timothy Lynch presents

THREADS

A JOURNEY OF BOYS THAT DANCE

A Master’s thesis lecture/performance bringing boys that dance to the forefront

SEATTLE, WA – Timothy Lynch will present and perform Threads: A Journey of Boys that Dance, on Sunday, October 20 at Broadway Performance Hall. This event is a lecture based on his more than 10 years of experience teaching ballet to boys at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Lynch will showcase his choreography featuring an all-male cast.

For the past year and half Lynch has been attending the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in pursuit of his Master’s degree in dance. He began his research with boys last year, documenting and investigating his 100+ boys at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. Tim threads his own personal journey from young trainee to professional dancer to dance educator. He uses this experience to spotlight his interest in his students’ physical and technical development, their camaraderie and having a male educator as a role model.

“My hope is that dance becomes mainstream, and that all boys who want to dance would pursue it as they would any other sport and be supported by their families, teachers, and peers, not just in Seattle, but throughout the nation,” Lynch said.

In addition to this performance, on October 13 the Dance Educators Association of Washington honored Lynch as Dance Educator of the Year at its conference in Vancouver, WA.

“I am passionate about teaching, and to be recognized by peers is such an honor,” Lynch said. “Seeing my students achieve great things fuels me to keep learning and continue to root for them.”

Lynch will also present Threads at the National Dance Educators Organization’s Conference Oct. 23-27, 2013, in Miami, Fla.

[sandik]

I went to this, and thought that Lynch did a very good job with a difficult balancing act -- this is essentially his master's thesis, and so the text (of which there is quite a lot) needed to meet an academic standard that isn't always about a theatrical presentation. He incorporated video from several works he's made for young dancers in a variety of styles (which were also performed live at the end of the program) and interview footage of students and parents discussing their experiences. They didn't really talk about anything we haven't already covered here, but many of their observations would be new ideas for a general audience.

He opened the show with a truly sweet anecdote about his grandfather, who apparently did all the mending for the family (as well as much of the cooking) and taught Lynch to sew. Lynch sewed elastics onto a shoe as he told this story -- it was a great moment.

[SandyMcKean]

I got to know Tim thru my involvement with the Seattle Dance Project of which he is a founding director (along with Julie Tobiason). A nicer and more dedicated guy you will not meet. Once I attended class where Tim was teaching the boys from the PNB school. I can't tell you how impressed I was with not only the choreography and exercises he created for these students, but also the caring, encouraging, yet firm style he used to inspire these boys to dance well.

Tim is a terrific asset to the Seattle dance scene.