Arlene Martin and Sue Ann Huang first met in dance rehearsal at the eXit SPACE School of Dance in Green Lake, Seattle for the annual adult showcase, takePAUSE in 2013.  They were in a number of pieces together and quickly began a friendship.  In rehearsal for the 2014 takePAUSE, Arlene and Sue Ann embarked on an entirely new experience for the two of them - a quirky duet (choreographed by Amy J Lambert) with very specific, technical movement partially overlaid with the script to British comedians, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's "Hello" sketch.  

 

Sharing in this experience truly began the journey of becoming "dance besties."  Individually, both Arlene and Sue Ann have experienced the dance community in Seattle and have often wondered why there did not seem to be many dancers of color present in the spaces they have been a part of.  In October 2016, after a dance class, the two happened to start talking about the need for the Seattle dance community to have more opportunities for dancers of color to be welcomed and intentionally included in more Seattle dance.  From there, the Tint Dance Festival was born.