Point Reyes Light - September 20, 2001

Dance Palace slates 30th birthday party

By Ellen M. Shehadeh

The Dance Palace will boogie on its thirtieth birthday Sunday, Sept. 30, with a huge party, parade, potluck, display of vintage photos, games for the kids, and – what else – dancing.

The venerable community center with its myriad of activities and performances for all tastes, had an impromptu beginning when, to quote executive director Carol Friedman of Point Reyes Station, "seven young hippies," including herself and now-Inverness librarian Nancy Hemmingway, blew into town in 1971 and established their personal and artistic home.

Their original venue, what is now Caballine in downtown Point Reyes Station, was once the home of the Palace Market and before that of the Point Reyes Emporium.

‘Seven idealistic dreamers’

Said Hemmingway, "We were seven idealistic dreamers who found we were capable of doing wonderful, crazy things and getting people in cahoots with us. We couldn’t think of a span of 30 years."

Wendy Friefeld, an original member of the board of directors and a long-time volunteer and event organizer, told The Light, "It was all about what we were doing then."

The willingness of the community to become involved with the Dance Palace has been a major sustaining force, Friedman noted. Looking back over 30 years, she recalls the countless people who have volunteered both labor and funds to make the Dance Palace one of the most active community facilities in the Bay Area.

During the past 30 years, the Dance Palace has gone through transformations, and – like any thriving organism – has grown and adapted. Often it was someone from the community with a bright idea that triggered a new activity.

Responding to community suggestions

"People came to us with their suggestions," Friedman said, "and new activities were born." Only last month Inverness resident Jessica Walker expressed concern that locals who work weekends were unable to attend many of the Dance Palace activities. She suggested mid-week movies, which were instituted this month, along with couches, beach chairs and popcorn for ambiance.

Two years ago board members decided to solicit ideas from less-vocal parts of the community. When several Latinos expressed an interest in a Mexican Folkloric Dance class for children, Friedman searched for a teacher and lined up funding from Carlos Santana’s Milagro Foundation. The class began this June and has been highly successful.

A variety of senior activities had their genesis 22 years ago when a weekly senior luncheon came to the Dance Place. This activity sparked an interest in other programs for seniors. Monthly blood pressure checks, and SAFE (a support group for seniors to examine their feelings about the aging process) have become Dance Palace traditions.

Programs for youth

The Dance Palace has always offered programs for children. Here again, community needs and interests generated the activities. In 1980, with many families containing kids, a summer camp was instituted. This, along with the Summer Stock Players, originally organized by Gene Ptak of Inverness, is one of the longest-running youth programs.

Friedman cannot recall exactly which year she officially became the executive director – sometime around 1977 is her best guess. It was about the time that the Dance Palace became incorporated as a fully tax-exempt, nonprofit, community organization.

More clear, is that Friedman has been a guiding force throughout Dance Palace history, dealing with the occasional crises, shepherding it artistically, sustaining its mission to serve all parts of the community.

Like a good mother, she has also allowed the community center to stretch its wings and seek its natural path.

This month Hemmingway referred to something writer Eric Hoffer said, which describes for her Friedman’s tenure as director: "Creativity is nice, but maintenance is the essential act of civilization."

Even as the Dance Palace became well established as a center of West Marin activities, there has always been a joy in making it happen. Friefeld told The Light Dance Palace board meetings have always been fun. "What the heck, let’s try it," has been the unofficial motto, she said.

Continuity

Friedman also noted another Dance Palace tradition, continuity. Because the community center has been around so long, those who originally participated in it as children have come back as adults.

Summer camper Sky Nelson recently returned as a board member, and Esther Underwood, who attended the Performance for Schools program as a young student, is now a teacher at West Marin School and brings her own class to Dance Palace activities.

The original seven people who rented the original Dance Palace and camped in its balcony, wore layers of clothes and used Coleman stoves as their only source of warmth, all the time dreaming of a community center where both classes and events could take place.

Eventually they convinced their landlords, Gregory Val Goeschen and Alice Carrell, to install heat. In spite of the chill that first year, they were able to show movies, have dances, and even hold the first Holiday Crafts Fair. On the Dance Palace’s 20th anniversary Hemmingway reminisced about those first years – the odd jobs, the communal car named Honky, Emery the three-legged dog, and the "spontaneous line dances that would occur" with people dancing out the door, down the street and back in through the other door.

Building inspectors close building

After about a year of living communally in the old Dance Palace’s balcony, the group moved upstairs into a vacant apartment. However, early in 1972, county building inspectors closed down the building for numerous code violations.

But extensive negotiations and the assistance three local residents, who each donated a months rent, allowed the Dance Palace to experience the first of many rebirths – this time with new wiring and other improvements.

But money continued to be a problem, and later that year, at the suggestion of then-Supervisor Bud Barr, the group applied for a grant. Times were simpler then, and the Board of Supervisors was able to authorize $5,000 the very day of the application. The group needed to come up with a name on the spot, and the Dance Palace seemed a logical choice.

But with the funds came certain requirement, such as staying open 40 hours a week. People hustled to get lots of classes and activities going. Those years were rich with theater productions, including ambitious productions like Three Penny Opera, and a West Coast premiere of Tooth of Crime by then-unknown playwright Sam Shepherd.

Nudity & language offend merchants

Posters for the show warned of nudity and rough language but used a bit of rough language to convey the message. The Point Reyes Downtown Businessmen’s Association later tore the signs down, and a special meeting was called to discuss the situation.

In 1975 the Friends of the Dance Palace was established to supplement occasional grants with annual dues of $12 per year. In 1977, the Dance Palace became a state-sanctioned nonprofit, and the formerly loose-and-fancy-free group was now an official Board of Directors, with Nancy Hemmingway, Lynn Murray, Wendy Friefeld, Carol Friedman, and Michael Jayson as members.

By 1987, the board felt the Dance Palace had outgrown its original space and announced plans to move. They had hoped to buy the Point Reyes Emporium Building where they were located, but the price was too high.

When the Sacred Heart Church on B Street became available, enormous community support raised $750,000 over several years to refurbish the church and add another 43-foot by 80-foot building with a connecting atrium.

Public builds new Dance Palace

As usual, the community was involved with the process every step of the way, from approving the final design to generous donations of funds and labor.

The larger space allowed for more classes and meetings, a 60 percent increase in use. In 1995 during the Inverness Ridge fire, the Dance Palace served as a central meeting place, an emergency medical clinic, and a place to provide information and assistance to victims of the fire.

These days, the Dance Palace is open seven days a week and presents about 120 cultural and recreational events every year. It sponsors 35 classes per week and serves more than 2,400 people per month. Many volunteers continue to supplement the few paid staff: executive director Friedman, administrative assistant John Kaufman, and technical coordinator Jerry Lunsford.

Most importantly, the Dance Palace continues its original mission of reaching out to all segments of the community, and the birthday bash will be a celebration of all this. The Sept. 30 celebration schedule will include:

• At 1 p.m., a short celebration at the old Dance Palace and a noisy parade to new Dance Palace.

• From 1 to 5 p.m., family games and storytelling.

• From 5 to 7 p.m., a potluck dinner.

• From 7 to 8 p.m., honorifics with quilt raffle and dancing.

• Running continuously, there will be an Art Rogers slide show during dance, videos, and old photos on display. The public has been encouraged to bring their own photos from the Dance Palace’s past.

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