 Abra Allan's life is in constant motion. She is the owner-director of Motion Pacific Dance Studio and is preparing for her third season as director of National Dance Week Santa Cruz. Abra is also a founding member of the aerial dance company, The Gravity Girls. She's a Mom to her 7 1/2 year-old-daughter, Aya, and helps care for Aya's step-siblings, 13 year-old Dahniella and 12 year-old Carson. Even as we spoke in her modest dance studio office, Abra rolled and swayed on the exercise ball she uses for a chair.
Abra's (pronounced with a long A; it's the feminine version of Abraham) leadership abilities have been developing for a long time. She began dancing competitively at age 5 and by age 11 had showed her own choreography at National Competitions. She continued competitive dance up until high school, where she captained her cheerleading squad for three years. Her entrepreneurial gifts were nurtured through her own voluntary efforts in the art world and as a freelance stage and house manager, event planner, producer, promoter, fundraiser, and, at times, web and graphic designer.
She received her BA from UCSC in Community Studies in 2003, the same year her daughter was born. Soon after, Abra became administrator for aerial dance company, Mir & A Company in 2006, started teaching aerial dance, and formed The Gravity Girls in 2007 and sister company the The Gravity Arts, where she teaches and is director of the children's program. After she met her life partner, Chip, Executive  Director of the Santa Cruz Downtown Association, they collaborated on the 2008 National Dance Week. (Chip, she explained, has played a huge and "pivotal" role in her career path as an arts administrator and in her personal development.) In 2009 she produced National Dance Week, as well as a season of contemporary dance shows, presented by her organization, Santa Cruz Dance.com. Concluding 2009, Abra was the guiding force behind the first Santa Cruz Ethnic Dance Festival, and took over ownership of Motion Pacific Studio and Company.
How does she balance all these community activities with her family life? Abra attributes her ability to maintain a fluid and well-balanced life to her family: her daughter Aya, partner Chip and his son Carson, Aya's father Skot and his partner and her daughter. Her strong friendship and respect for Skot (her "was-band" she says laughingly) means the whole lot of them share holidays and vacations, and "share very deeply in parenting our kids." They carpool all over town in her and Chip's shared car, dropping off and picking up the kids and parents, and sharing in the after-school care.
This extended and cooperative family make it possible for Abra to serve the dance community. It helps, too, that Aya is used to accompanying her mom to the family-friendly dance events and studios. Motion Pacific, says Abra, is all about kids and the community. This was an important factor in her decision to take over the studio: "Can I still continue to be the Mom I want to be and run this business?" She quickly discovered that, yes, it indeed was possible because of the nature of the business and because of the nature of her very supportive family.
We finished our interview as Abra greeted and attended to the pack of girls arriving for their ballet class, including Dahniella. Abra told me that "Abra" is Hebrew for "mother to the multitudes." "I always wondered what that might mean," she pondered. "Now I am somewhat of a mother to all these children." And that seems right to Abra's natural ability to nurture both children and the art of dance.
by Renee Rothman |
Blogs
|
RSS
In her blog, 
The lemon trees are full and spring flowers are blooming in our gardens and the wild. It's time to get outdoors and into our 
articles that would interest parents).
One of the talks I went to at the conference last weekend was about how intense adults who spend a lot of time in their heads can struggle with bouts of existential depression throughout their lifetimes.
Does your family run? Do your children run? Santa Cruz races often have kid runs. Here's the first one this spring --with time to train!
