“Having known Idalee over many decades, I can assure you that her talents, imagination, enthusiasm, and expertise are very rare in the small world of dance. She is devoted, professional, musical, and kind. Although we are in a very unsettled time, it is important to maintain a relationship with the arts and with one another. Idalee is a marvelous, enthusiastic teaching-artist. We need her!”
MARK MORRIS
Choreographer/Artistic Director, Mark Morris Dance Group
“When our family moved to Walla Walla more than 25 years ago, our 3-year-old daughter needed an educational activity and wanted to dance.
She studied under Idalee Hutson-Fish at The Dance Center Walla Walla for 15 years. During that time, we witnessed Idalee’s love for her students, the patience, time and care she invested in their learning. She held them to her high standards while focusing on detail, discipline and avoiding injury. Practicing the discipline of dance with Idalee taught the students skills they used during their lives as they evolved into higher levels of education and their parenting and work situations.
Idalee’s students loved and respected her as well as the many opportunities she provided for them. She expanded her learning and teaching in Italy, and for years accompanied her most advanced students to Dance Grand Prix competition in Italy. Her team was awarded top honors in a field of more than five hundred dancers representing five continents and over thirteen countries.
I highly recommend studying dance with Idalee Hutson-Fish whose longstanding reputation is well-deserved.”
DOCTOR HELEN KILZER
“Our daughter Katie, started dancing at the Dance Center with Idalee Hutson-Fish when she was 4 years old. After watching Katie dance around the house when certain music was on we knew we needed to enroll her into some classes. We also knew Katie was timid to dance in front of others and had a very sensitive heart. From the very first dance class with Ida, it was obvious that she felt so comfortable to dance freely with confidence and trust in the nurturing environment that the Dance Center gave her. It truly opened up a whole new world for her as well as for us. In the Dance Center with Ida, we had found a type of “second home” for Katie, somewhere she felt safe, secure, accepted, loved, encouraged, and most of all where the love of dance became something rooted deep in her heart. She would look forward to dance classes with excitement and passion for the next 15 years! Dance gave our daughter confidence, discipline and true joy, and frankly we have always been grateful to Ida for this blessing. The performance opportunities that Katie was given with The Dance Center and The Summer Dance Lab, that Ida advocates for, will live in our hearts forever. With Ida we were given the opportunity to experience dance in Italy, as her wealth of knowledge in ballet in this country comes to life for groups of highly motivated dancers. The love of ballet that Ida instills in the hearts of her dancers also gives them the desire and opportunity to use ballet long after their school age years, as Katie has went on to teach some ballet classes in her adult life. The energy and determination that Ida puts in every student at the Dance Center is unparalleled, not to mention the dedication that is ingrained and gifted back to the world of dance by each of these students. She truly brings out the best in her students and inspires them by her beautiful, magical dance programs for them to take part in. We can truly say: Katie’s whole family will always be grateful for the passion and professionalism that Idalee puts into her Dance Center and the vision for each student to be the very best they can be, not only as a dancer but as a person. The Dance Center is a long-standing gem of Walla Walla and we were blessed to be a part of it.”
RENEE AND SCOTT KRIVOSHEIN
“Miss Ida is amazing! It was such a great first experience for my four year old! Now 5, her baby sister 4, will also be joining Miss Ida come Fall. The self confidence and discipline she’s instilling in these young girls is so special. She’s the perfect mix of fun, kindness and poised discipline.”
TRICIA ROSE
LASTING IMPACT
TESTIMONIALS
