Dancing With the Stairs

This photo of the stairway at 18th Avenue S and S Walker Street, in Beacon Hill, is neither crime scene nor pedestrian crackup. It's a performance by dance troupe The New Animals, part of the NEPO 5K Don't Run! art parade a few weeks ago. We hadn't heard about it before, but we'll be sure to check it out next September.

Artistic director and choreographer Markeith Wiley commented about stairs as a dance stage: "We were drawn to this location because movement and direction are already implied in a staircase. They're here to take you up or down - we got to spend six hours exploring what else, and how else." 

Thanks to City Arts magazine's October 2013 issue for the tip.

Scenes of Neighborhood Art

In Seattle, stairs are the perfect vehicle for exploration: they carry you into neighborhood nooks and crannies where you'll spot all kinds of cool artistic expressions. Other routes and modes of transportation either don't access these gems, or they carry you by too quickly to notice them. Here are some favorite examples of neighborhood art we've noticed the slow way, on stairway and on foot.

"Think Blink," an award-winning photo by Lori Douglas (Alki From Above, Chapter 18)