EUGENE — Housed behind the sand-colored exterior of the Midtown Arts Center are some of the area’s most prominent creative organizations, from Chamber Music Amici and Eugene Ballet to Lane Arts Council and Orchestra Next, to name a few. Included in the revered lineup of Midtown residents who make up Eugene’s thriving art scene is #instaballet.
The organization’s mission is simple, but its impact is anything but.
Bridging community involvement and the creation of dance, #instaballet invites audience members to voice ideas for routines that professional dancers learn and perform.
Antonio Anacan and Suzanne Haag, co-founders and Eugene Ballet Company dancers sparked the idea in the summer of 2013. The name reflects the instantaneous nature of how artwork was being shared on social media at the time.
With their contracts up, Anacan and Haag were eager to stay in town and find a way to showcase their craft. The duo expressed interest in creating an event during Lane Arts Council’s First Friday ArtWalk, a self-guided tour through downtown Eugene’s illustrious galleries and art venues. The rest is history.
“People were super jazzed. Everyone felt really great. There was a crazy buzz in the air that all of us were feeling,” Anacan said. “It wasn’t just a performance high of the performers, but also the audience members. It was the community’s piece.”
In the following years, #instaballet continued gaining momentum, welcoming Miranda Atkinson, current executive director, in 2015.
“There was a little bit of a shift, not in what was happening, but I think everyone’s understanding of why it was so important and meaningful,” Atkinson said. “Communities connecting together over a shared creative experience in a way that helped an audience or someone who’s participating in viewing art, not just have access to it, but also be a part of the creative process. And that’s actually very, very unique, especially in dance.”
As the organization expanded, #instaballet sought a way to support the education sector. In 2016, the team partnered with Bridgeway House, the first of many events.
Founded in 2002, Bridgeway House is a nonprofit that supports children with autism, providing therapy, treatment options, and engaging courses. Since its inception, the organization has created a community for hundreds of families through academic enrichment, summer camps, and social events.
Since its first visit, #instaballet has returned to Bridgeway House twice a year. During one event in particular, Anacan recalled the impact of seeing a student come out of his shell for the very first time during a routine.
“All of a sudden, he just came out and put his hand on the shoulder of one of the dancers, and the whole room shifted and just opened up,” Anacan said. “Then he just kind of went back, and I looked towards the teachers, and the teachers were telling me, ‘He never comes out.'”
Anacan was excited, taking in the room full of emotional Bridgeway House staff and the student’s confidence.
Since then, #instaballet has tripled its yearly programming, uniting with Jasper Mountain Center, a behavioral health facility providing care for children who have experienced extreme trauma and abuse, Circle of Friends School, an organization committed to assisting children with complex disabilities, and Relief Nursery, which works to prevent cycles of child abuse and neglect.
Additionally, #instaballet serves as an artist-in-residence through Lane Arts Councils and has brought its programming to public schools in the area.
“One of the things that’s cool about us as an organization is that we really don’t do any programs alone in isolation. Almost everything we do is a collaboration, whether with another nonprofit, a school, or a local business,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson shared that one of #instaballet’s top priorities is engaging with nonprofits in the area, ensuring that the organization fills gaps and continues to provide transformational services.
At its core, #instaballet strives to create a culture that allows everyone, from the seasoned professional to the eager novice, to envelop themselves in the world of creative movement.
