Nancy Neal teaches at the Sitka Studio of Dance, but her classes have now gone digital (Screenshot from one of Neal’s hip-hop classes)

Between a local hunker down order and a statewide stay-at-home mandate, many Sitkans are spending a lot of time indoors. But sheltering in place doesn’t mean giving up on physical activity, as local fitness and dance classes are going virtual. 

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Sitka Studio of Dance instructor Nancy Neal has hit pause on in-person classes. But like other teachers at the studio, she’s still reaching her hip-hop students, through video lessons. 

Neal teaches four classes a week, mostly hip-hop and some musical theater, to students from 4 to 13 years old. Neal says she’s happy to help them continue dancing, to give them a chance to move around and have some fun now that many other forms of sports and socializing are suspended.

“We just wanna keep going because we want the kids to keep moving and we want to keep them active,” she said.

But reworking her teaching strategy has also brought challenges, as she and other dance instructors have to learn to be their own videographers.

“It’s been a little challenging, to be honest,” she said. “It does require a little bit of extra time and extra work for us.” 

And sometimes she needs to go back and re-record something if there’s a mistake. 

But if the videos are frustrating to produce, you won’t hear it in Neal’s tone once the music starts. 

While Neal says it’s sad not being in the same place with her students, she does get some in-person teaching assistance from her four year-old son, like in a stretching exercise included in one of the video lessons. 

“Here we go, nice and loud,” Neal says in the video. She’s seated on the floor with her son. They begin counting together, “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Good job hands up to the sky again.”

Dancers aren’t the only ones going virtual these days. With the Hames Center also closed, fitness classes are moving online. 

After a brief hiatus, Cindy Edwards is once again teaching her Total Body Conditioning workout class, using the video chat platform Zoom. Twice a week, the same diehards gather for a normal TBC class, with the now familiar twist of everyone appearing in little boxes on a computer screen. 

With the Hames Center closed until further notice, at least one fitness instructor has taken her class online. (Ari Snider/KCAW)

“It started just from mostly I think going a little stir crazy and then missing each other,” Edwards said.

Edwards said I was welcome to record part of a class for this story — so long as I was also sweating. Which didn’t take long. 

Edwards says the class has changed as a result of moving online. She can’t walk around the room and adjust people’s form. And without the normal set of dumb bells, they also have to improvise their own free weights. 

“Another person had these huge rocks,” she said, recalling a recent workout. “And I was like ‘Do you guys know how much those weigh?’ and they’re like ‘Nope, no idea!’ So it’s kind of like a Flintstones workout for those people.”

Edwards says she feels the benefits of her workout classes as much as anyone. At a time when it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, she says working up a sweat and getting those endorphins flowing is more important than ever. 

“Right now, with all the stress that people are living with and all the uncertainty, it’s really important just to focus on something else for a while,” she said.

But if you’re looking for a way to release endorphins, and fitness classes aren’t your thing- Nancy Neal, the hip-hop instructor has an idea- virtual disco. She recently livestreamed a dance party on Facebook and Instagram, encouraging her friends to tune in and get down, from the comfort of their own homes. It was a hit, she says — a bunch of people asked when she’ll do it again.

Fly him to the moon: Sitkan Brant Brantman takes in Monday’s eclipse from the air between Portland and Minneapolis — a trip that was set in motion by listening to the song “Why Does the Sun Shine?” as a child. (KCAW photo/Cindy Edwards)

While millions of Americans went out of their way to travel somewhere to watch Monday’s eclipse for a few minutes, a few people took to the skies to watch it for hours.

Sitkans Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman were on a regularly-scheduled flight from Portland to Minneapolis on Monday. Although their vacation to visit friends was planned fairly recently, the journey itself was almost a lifetime in the making.

Downloadable audio.

Their flight left Portland an hour before totality, just as the eclipse started. And it only got better.

“We actually sat in the front seat on the right side of the plane. We were looking south as we flew east, looking right at the eclipse. And it was so cute because the flight attendants in the front and the back — we kept giving them our glasses, because we were giving them the play-by-play. So we’d give them the glasses and get up and move, and little by little all the people on the plane who would look up looking interested, and we’re like, C’mon! So the plane was just constantly streaming up to that front seat, putting on our glasses and looking out. Because we had such a long viewing of the eclipse. I couldn’t believe it. It was consistent across the 3-and-a-half hours of the flight. We had the eclipse the whole way.”

Edwards (r.) says she was surprised that the airline didn’t hand out glasses, or make more out of the fact that the flight would track the path of the eclipse. The couple let anyone who was interested come up to their seats to take a look — even the pilots! (KCAW photo/Cindy Edwards)

Edwards says that even the pilots came back and checked out the eclipse from their front row seats.

That everyone got such an excellent look at the event was much more than coincidence. Edwards says her husband, Brant Brantman, has had plans in the works for well, a long time.

“The trouble started when Brant was a young child and he had an album all about the galaxy. And all of the songs on the album were about the sun and the moon and the stars, and it started a trend he has been following all his life. He is so enamored by space. He did the work. He figured out that we’re going to go 520 miles per hour east, and he knew what time it was all going to happen. He was watching videos. He was a nerd.”

Although their flight path did not cross the totality, Edwards and Brantman were pretty close — more than 90-percent. Edwards says there was just a sliver, and it never got completely dark. Yet she witnessed something that Earth-bound viewers can only imagine.

“With just a thin hair, it was light out. But as you looked across the landscape you could watch it getting darker and darker. And you could see way off on the southern side of the plane, you could see dark in the distance. It wasn’t a fine line and then pure darkness, but it was definitely dark out there. Okay, they’re probably in totality.”

The sky, she says, was a palette of blues, like an Impressionist painting.

And the question all of us far from the eclipse have for those who went to extraordinary effort to see it: What does it all mean?

KCAW – Did you have a personal spiritual catharsis of any kind watching this?
Edwards – (Laughs) I think it’s one of those moments where you realize how little you are. You know when you were a little kid laying in the field looking up at the stars and you just felt so teeny-weeny? It definitely felt like that.

Music: Why Does the Sun Shine? – Tom Glazer

Warning to parents: This is the actual song that hooked Brant Brantman on space. Keep an eye on your credit card accounts, and be alert for any air travel booked between Dallas and Buffalo in 2024.

With the sun almost 90-percent eclipsed (visible in the upper right part of the sky), Edwards says it was difficult to tell apart land and sky. “It was shades of blue, like an Impressionist painting.” (KCAW photo/Cindy Edwards)

At last night’s meeting (03-22-16), the Sitka Assembly recognized the service of Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman for revitalizing the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center. Deputy Mayor Matthew Hunter presented the proclamation. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)

At last night’s meeting (03-23-16), the Sitka Assembly recognized the service of Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman for revitalizing the Hames Athletic and Wellness Center through a volunteer-run model.

The Hames Center offers 90 classes a week and has over 1500 registered members and day users. The Assembly’s proclamation declared March 22nd as “Cindy Edwards and Brant Brantman Day.” 

Brantman, the facilities manager and Edwards’ spouse, thanked the Assembly and said, “I feel a little silly that our names are on the top. I know you couldn’t fit all the names or all the people that have really made this happen, but I just want to say how proud I am of all those people. Maybe we’re a catalyst for it or maybe we were just lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get it started, but it’s really due to this incredible community that just rallied from day one around the clock for those first weeks so we could open the doors.”

The facility – located on the Sheldon Jackson Campus – was forced to shut down operations in 2010. But five years ago it opened as a non-profit under the direction of Edwards and Brantman. Community members put in 6,000 hours of volunteer work to revitalize the building in four months.

Edwards, who stepped down as director this month, talked about ongoing developments with their gymnastics program, which offers 36 classes a week, partnerships with the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC), and the Hames Wellness Fund.

Describing the fund, Edwards said, “It’s a wellness fund that partners with our non-profit agencies to allow people with limited income to use the Hames Center. And to date, we’ve had 1,875 people that have received services.”

Caitlin Blaisdell, new director of the Hames Center. (Photo courtesy of the Hames Center)

Edwards added that the price of a monthly membership – $63 – is the same as it was when the city was running the show in 2008. With Edwards departure, the new director of the Hames Center is former Assistant Director Caitlin Blaisdell. 

At the direction of City Administrator Mark Gorman, the Assembly also agreed to hold special assembly meetings for upcoming budget discussions, rather than work sessions.

In committee news, the Assembly appointed Lorraine Lil and Barbara Morse to three-year terms on the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Downloadable audio.

Cindy Edwards was part of the selection committee for the BANFF Mountain Film Festival World Tour, which is stopping in Sitka to showcase a selection of mountain and outdoors-based adventure films. Edwards talked about how themes of perseverance and the human spirit drive many of the films, shot all over the world with topics such as rock climbing, BASE jumping, and tight rope walking.

The 2015 Sikta BANFF Mountain Film Festival will be Wednesday, February 25th at the Sitka Performing Arts Center. Tickets are on sale at Old Harbor Books and the Hames Center, $15/adults and $10/students and seniors.

Proceeds benefit the Hames Wellness Fund to support partnerships with Sitkans Against Family Violence, Blatchley Middle School, Pacific High School, and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska.

Downloadable audio.

Ellexis Howey and Cindy Edwards preview today’s Doc Talk [11-12-14] about contraception options for men and women, led by Dr. Kristen Widmer. This is the 10th talk in the series.

This Doc Talk is 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 12, at Hames Center. Healthy snacks will be provided at 6:30 p.m. Free. For more information call 966-8575.

Downloadable audio.

Dr. David Vastola, a pediatrician at SEARHC, and Cindy Edwards talk about pediatric injury, from “near misses” to serious incidents, and what parents can do to protect their children. Dr. Vastola invites all Sitkans to his Doc Talk 7 PM Wed Oct 8 at the Hames Center.

Downloadable audio.

Dr. Irbert Vega of SEARHC demystifies sexually transmitted infections and treatment options. Alongside Cindy Edwards, he invites all Sitkans to a Doc Talk tonight at the Hames Center at 7pm.

During a break in the legislature, Juneau residents take the air in Cope Park.

Researchers looked at smoking rates, access to exercise, and education levels, among other factors.

The results of the study were a shot in the arm to Juneau which, frankly, seems a little more sedentary and bureaucratic than Sitka. However, local health professionals are now more motivated than ever to improve our fitness.

KCAW’s Robert Woolsey spoke with Cindy Edwards, director of the Hames Center, to learn what can be done to put Sitka on top.

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Today is the anniversary what many consider to be one of the greatest April Fool’s pranks ever: The Eruption of the Mt. Edgecumbe Volcano. Sitka legend Porky Bickar masterminded that event, which took place on a sunny morning exactly 40 years ago.

Sitka High senior Thor Becker with the product (l.) and the prototype bit made in this 3D printer. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)

Three kids at Sitka High School are building a tool — really just a customized piece of metal — to do an unsung, but important, job in the community. And as KCAW’s Robert Woolsey reports, their collaboration points toward a future where we’ll make stuff differently.

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This is a story about hardware. But, on the outside chance you’re not into hardware, there is also some impressive footwork.

KCAW – So, where are we at?
Mark Partido – We’re at an inch and 15-thousanths. I just need to cut 15-thousanths, and we’ll flip it over and do the other side.

Junior Mark Partido at

I wasn’t expecting to meet Mark. Someday, someone will do a story just about him and the birth defect, arthrogryposis, that has severely limited his use of his lower arms and hands.
All I can think of is possibly the dumbest question ever asked.

Having limited use of his hands, Partido operates the lathe with his toes. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)

Mark is shaping a small cylinder of metal into what will eventually become a drill bit — but it’s not for drilling holes. The bit will power a winch to raise and lower the baskets at Sitka’s community gym. The original part has been lost for years.

“My name’s Robert Miller. I’m a senior.”

Robert Miller goes by RJ. He made the part Mark is machining, by casting molten aluminum in this kiln in a corner of the shop.

“We’re just trying a bunch of methods, making a bunch of different types of them out of different materials. I did aluminum casting yesterday. Today I think we’re going to do brass. We’ve done steel, but none of them are finished yet.”

Mark and RJ are experimenting with different metals, but that is as far as the guesswork goes. They also don’t have blueprints. Instead, the pair are meticulously copying a red plastic prototype made across the hall on a $13,000 machine called a 3D printer.

If the metal shop is the brawn — the hands and feet (!) — of this project, the brain is Sitka’s state-of-art Design and Fabrication Lab.

Senior Thor Becker shows me how it works.

“It’s got to be three-dimensional because what it does is take a nozzle that melted plastic comes out of and prints layer-by-layer. It starts slowly building up, and it has support material that on the bigger one dissolves away, and on the smaller one just rips away.”

The red plastic bit was made in the 3D printer; the metal copy was made in the shop. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)

Raising the baskets is important if you want to do anything else in a gym besides play basketball — like volleyball, for example. But for Sitka’s non-profit Hames Center, the $800 replacement part was just too expensive.

Thor offered to help.

“I took a small bit of just regular ceramics clay down there and wedged it into the hole to get an impression of what was in there, what devices needed to be turned.”

He then measured his clay mold, drew the part on the computer, and then clicked on the print button. Thor and RJ and Mark have been fine-tuning it ever since.

Only one thing left to do.

“Hopefully by the end of the day the metal shop should have the drill bit lathed out and looking nice, and then probably tomorrow I can drive down there and see if it will work.”

Becker connects the bit to a large drill and inserts it into the winch. The basket goes up to the ceiling in less than a minute. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)

“My name is Cindy Edwards. I’m the director of the Hames Center, and I’m watching this incredible kid — he’s a master, and he’s done this magical thing — as I watch the basket lifting to the ceiling as he runs that drill. This is amazing! Wow!”

This used to take four people, working in 15 minute shifts, about an hour.

KCAW – But it’s a gym. It’s not supposed to be easy. Edwards – But this job has been so tedious, that people fall and melt down crying if they have to put the hoop up. And he’s just hitting a button!”

Thor poses for a picture with Edwards, but he’s not ready to officially present her with the bit. He’s going to back to the Fab Lab and print another prototype that he thinks will work even better.

Hames Center director Cindy Edwards, Becker, and facilities manager Brant Brantman. (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)