(Image: eXit SPACE)
(Image: eXit SPACE)
While many Seattle arts organizations were hit hard during the pandemic, eXit SPACE School of Dance took a leap of faith, investing in a theater space on Capitol Hill — now the lively and flourishing NOD Theater.
Celebrating its 20th year next season, eXit SPACE began in a 900-square-foot space and now spans three studios including 12th Ave’s NOD Theater and offers over 80 classes a week.
“This space was so meaningful to our community for decades, and it was important to us to keep it open and accessible to the arts in Seattle.” said faculty member Karen Baskett.
NOD Theater was formerly home to Velocity Dance which opted to leave Capitol Hill prior to the pandemic looking for a more affordable base for its works. In a desire to preserve this space that provided an affordable place to perform and a pillar of their community, eXit artistic director and owner Marlo Martin took a chance and signed the lease.
The theater has a long history in the dance community of Seattle and has been a home to a number of arts organizations.
(Image: eXit SPACE)
It’s in honoring this legacy that the theater gets its name: a NOD to all the artists who came before them.
eXit SPACE hit the ground running, fully renovating the theater in the midst of the pandemic. NOD Theater is now equipped with everything from audience risers that seat 100+ to an entirely new grid of lighting and sound.
These advanced systems are essential as NOD Theater has a chock full schedule. It now hosts a vast range of events: in-house productions, performances of local organizations that rent the space, the BOOST program where artists showcase their work, and more.
(Image: 12th Ave Arts)
The upgrades make this stretch of 12th Ave an artistic center for the Hill. Across the street, the 12th Ave Arts mixed-use affordable apartments, office space, restaurants, and theater space development also keeps a busy calendar of performances and events. The building hosts two performance spaces totaling nearly 6,000 square feet: one with room for 149 seats, the other Studio Stage with an 80-person audience capacity.
In other areas of Capitol Hill, it has been more difficult to sustain spaces for the arts. The latest effort comes off North Broadway where students and supporters hope to “Save Kerry Hall” as the 103-year-old studio and performance building has hit the market and developers are eyeing the property for adaptive reuse and housing.
Back on 12th, NOD Theater also functions as a space for classes. Woman-owned and operated, eXit SPACE offers classes and programs to dancers of all ages and experience levels, from brand-new beginners to pre-professionals and artists in residence.
Martin says she is committed to creating an accessible space for people to prioritize joy in dance. She believes wholeheartedly that “dance does not have a hierarchy and everyone can move.”
eXit SPACE also hopes to actively reshape dance culture, prioritizing inclusivity and acceptance above all else, and creating an enriching and fun environment where any dancer can express themself.
“It’s so much more motivating to be creative in a space that’s inclusive,” said Baskett.
The studio puts its passion for accessibility into practice, offering payment places, work-study opportunities, and scholarships. “We won’t turn people away if they can’t finance [a class]; we will do our very best to support people in their exploration of dance,” said Martin.
eXit SPACE funded $19,000 worth of classes in scholarships last year, and recently put in place a BIPOC scholarship which offers a significant discount on classes.
Baskett says the community eXit SPACE has created and cultivates is truly something special. “It’s the thing that makes me never want to leave Seattle,” she said.
As eXit SPACE takes its turn shaping the dance scene on Capitol Hill, they are intentionally making “a clear effort to show up for others in the community,” with outreach, learning more about the dance styles practiced locally, and putting on others’ work at NOD.
“We want to be here. It matters that we’re on this block, in this community,” said Martin.
You can learn more, sign up for classes, and see a schedule of performances at exitspacedance.com. TakePAUSE, their biannual adult dance performance, is this weekend, May 17-19, 8 PM at NOD Theater at 1621 12th Ave.
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