School Owner Drawn Back To Ballet

Karen Kraft walks though a shaft of light from a skylight as she instructs ballet dancers on Thursday at Ballet Arts Academy in Spokane. (SR photo: Tyler Tjomsland)

Beautiful piano music echoed down the halls of Ballet Arts Academy in downtown Spokane on a recent afternoon. An advanced class taught by Karen Kraft executed graceful pliés and pirouettes. Sweat glistened from 17-year-old Mimi Palmer’s brow. “I’ve been dancing 11 years at this studio,” she said. She described her love of ballet: “You can feel yourself let go and forget about the outside world.” Indeed, the glaring sun and bustling traffic seemed far removed from the old brick building as Kraft worked with the dancers. “Don’t worry if you’re falling,” she said. “These are the days you’re learning the best”/ Cindy Hval , SR. More here. (Tyler Tjomsland SR photo inset: D ancers take turns practicing dancing during an advanced ballet class taught by Karen Kraft)

Question: Do you enjoy ballet?