'Spare Dell'Arte' 

Editor:

I submit this letter as a testimonial in response to "Dell'Arte Lays off Staff, Calls for Donations" (NCJ Daily, Oct. 12).

I am distressed that Dell'Arte may not reach its 50th anniversary. That place is a core of wonder, laughter and joy that has provided the artist in everyone a home here in Humboldt County. In the last year I began taking classes at Dell'Arte. The Winter Intensive, led by alumni Estela Garcia, radically changed my trajectory as an artist. Then the summer clown workshop, led by Michelle Matlock from Cirque du Soleil, cracked my heart open in a way that it will never close again. The professional development available at Dell'Arte has been earth shattering to my civic development. Where else can you get an exceptional education at a fair price with a decent schedule for a working person?

Ensemble based arts, being a listener in community and an expressive contributor are parts of all the people who flock to Dell'Arte. These qualities would be a part of Humboldt that the arts would grieve forever if the hub at Dell'Arte was lost. It's not just the building, but the people that it attracts, the audience, teachers and students it holds are the friends you cherish or wish you did. If you have money to spare, spare Dell'Arte.

Haley Davis, Eureka