Stella Nova Publication’s First Book Release - The Life Story of Etta Jamison: The First Professional Dance Instructor to Bring Belly Dancing to the Tri-Cities.
In 1952, eighteen year-old Etta Jamison wants to go to New York City and become a chorus line girl-a Rockette. She loves dancing and being on stage, but her mother refuses to let her go. She is so frightened by the thought of her daughter in New York that she tells the young girl stories of women being sold into slavery in the big city. Her mother even goes so far as to threaten to commit suicide. It’s enough to change the young girl’s mind. Besides, her dance instructor has other plans for the talented Etta. She tells her, point blank, that she isn’t going to be a Rockette. Instead, she is going to become the best dance instructor in Tri-Cities, Washington.
Etta Jamison fulfills her instructor’s wishes and lives out a very colorful career learning and teaching dance from cultures all over the world. Throughout her life, Etta teaches herself every new dance to come along from disco to hip hop. When belly dancing comes to America, Etta seeks a showgirl from Portland, Oregon to teach her the steps. A couple of months later, she finds herself teaching her own class at that Richland Community Center - and it is an instant hit!
In spite of her remarkable success, life for Etta is never easy. She is born during the Great Depression in Kennewick, Washington, and her family suffers many hardships. Her own life is shadowed by dark times during her first marriage, but through it all she manages to maintain her dignity and vibrant spirit.
This book explores the life of Etta Jamison as a professional dance instructor in the Tri-Cities and as a remarkable woman of her time.