Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM), Mill Valley resident Annie Leese Thistle’s multi-faceted artistic juggernaut that seeks to equip young artists with well-rounded, whole-person dance and theater arts training and the confidence to take on whatever path they choose, is getting ready for their annual Holiday Spectacular, this time at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco.
The event marks the latest chapter in the nearly 15 years since Annie Thistle launched her Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) in her living room, a journey that took her from the Community Church of Mill Valley in 2009, then in the Alto Plaza shopping center in early 2010, and then to the 2,800-square-foot storefront space above Balboa Cafe at Mill Creek Plaza.
In late 2015, as they juggled multiple venues to accommodate their growth, they moved PAAM to a 6,000-square-foot space at 60 Belvedere Drive in Strawberry, just behind the Strawberry Village shopping center.