Arbitrary decision pays dividends for alum Juliette Machado

Juliette Machado’s decision to attend WWU in the fall of 2009 was an arbitrary one. Having “no reason not to,” she packed two suitcases, uprooted her life in Hawaii, and moved to Bellingham, WA. Little did she know, this choice would be the most influential, life-changing one to date.

Growing up, dance had been a large part of Juliette’s daily life. However, it was never something she had intended to pursue after high school—or so she thought. Minor led to major, and without any notable foresight, modern dance began to consume her life. “It’s like I found my way back to movement without even realizing it was happening. I didn’t know the love was there until I was in the process of making college-level decisions to continue. Thankfully, I wound up at one of the few universities on the west coast that offers a BFA program.”

During her time at Western, Juliette danced in over 15 productions featuring student, faculty, and professional resident choreography. She presented a paper at Scholar’s Week in 2012, and helped coordinate student film collectives (KVIK, VTV) and dance showcases (New Music New Dance, Cabaret). Juliette has participated in numerous film festivals, mostly of the hard and fast, 48-hour variety. As a part of her senior capstone, she earned an Undergraduate Research Grant to help fund her trip to Montreal. There, Juliette learned what would become her BFA solo—an excerpt from Montreal Danse’s Prismes, originally choreographed by Benoit Lachambre.

Five years, a BFA in Dance, and BA in Communication later, Juliette finds herself still intricately tied to the local arts community. She works for BAAY: Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth as an afterschool program coordinator. BAAY is committed to bringing arts enrichment classes, including theatre, choir, visual arts, and dance, to local schools. They currently host programs in over five schools throughout the Bellingham and Ferndale districts. Juliette also performs with Bellingham Repertory Dance, which will host its annual fall show at the Firehouse PAC this November.

In conjunction with all of this, Juliette developed a passion for video production in college. Primarily an editor and cinematographer, she specializes in promotional videos, dance films, and performance and wedding videography. So far, Juliette has provided freelance media services to local arts groups including Kuntz & Company, Harper&I Dance Center, and Skagit Opera. Learn more about her business (JM Works) at her website, www.machadoworks.com. With future aspirations in Seattle, Juliette plans to keep Bellingham close because she admits that coming here was the best “arbitrary” decision she could have ever made.

Photo credits:
Nate Sawtell (top), Rachel Bayne (center), and Hannah Rivers (bottom)