There are at least as many reasons to love MLKBallet’s MOVE! A Tacoma Contemporary Dance Series as there are zeroes in the newly approved stimulus package (now, with Arts!). But in the interest of simplification and numerological coincidence, we’ll round up to 10, especially since this weekend, MOVE! brings its own brand of contemporary movement dynamism for the 10th time.



So why do we love MOVE!?



First, we love all things home grown and local. MLKBallet was born in Tacoma, the brainchild of three friends from Pacific Lutheran University. Amy Kostelecky-Roe, Alexa Folsom-Hill and Kate Monthy devised the organization that brings high-caliber, tuition-free dance instruction to individuals usually not served by the sometimes-exclusive, sometimes-costly institution of classical ballet. Currently, the organization serves 75 Tacoma area students, on average.



Second, we love some good history melding with architecture. Originally set to occupy the First Swedish Baptist Church at 12th and J Streets, the organization changed homes a few times, sharing space with the D.A.S.H. Center, then occupying a hall on MLK Street before forming an alliance with The Urban Grace Church. Now the school is housed on the top floor of Urban Grace Church, where the bare-bones crew of workers — all volunteers — don’t have to worry about building management.



Third, we love hyper-localism. MOVE! Ten will showcase a piece choreographed by Kate Monthy, danced by “The Company,” comprised of members of the MLK Ballet adult class, several of whom attend the Tacoma School of the Arts, and will be returning to their Monday through Friday home, the SOTA Theatre.



Fourth, we love visually exciting things, and nothing says “visually exciting” like costuming (for The Company) by Tacoma’s own Lisa Fruichantie.

Fifth, we love to expand that home-grown feeling. MLKBallet has been inviting local ballet companies to collaboratively hit the stage and showcase works and works-in-progress. This installment brings Metropolitan Ballet of Tacoma, presenting a full-length piece during MOVE! Ten.


Sixth, we love that we live in a region ripe with professional talent. MLKBallet appreciates this fact too, bringing dancers like Paige Barnes down from Seattle and even paying them for their time.



Seventh, we love exposure to great music. Forget the Tchaikovsky-overdose you may have experienced with other evenings of dance, MOVE! will bring sounds that move you in your seat. One particular highlight: The Portland Cello Project’s version of aural dynamism.



Eighth, we love to learn and live. Through MOVE! we expand our own boundaries and experience an art form we may not have had previous knowledge of. Simultaneously, the students of MLKBallet are doing the same. And even if some of the on-stage antics strike us as different, or uncomfortable, we gain access through that discomfort, and feel intelligent and uber-arts-cool in the process.



Ninth, we love a good entertainment bargain. Ticket prices for MOVE! are only $14, with all seats in the SOTA Theatre being good, if a little intimate-with-neighbors and cozy.



And tenth, we love to support, with our wallets as well as words, local things, and to find out about a business model President Obama himself would be proud of.



All MOVE! show ticket proceeds go directly toward supporting MLKBallet and keeping this whole ball-of-good-stuff rolling. Pay a fair price for an evening’s entertainment, be entertained, and help keep an organization afloat that can keep providing programs and entertainment. Or, do more — sponsor a dancer, or make a donation directly to the organization. MLKBallet has a Facebook site and a MySpace, as does The Company, or contact them by phone for more information on getting a dancer involved by calling 253.906.2190.



[SOTA Theater, MOVE! Ten, Friday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., and Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m., $14 at brownpaper tickets.com or door, 1118 Commerce St., Tacoma, 253.906.2190]