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Local youngsters to dance in Nutcracker at River Run Theatre

December 12, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

LillyAnne (Lilly) Taylor and Leah Johnston are headed to dance in the Nutcracker at River Run Theatre in Guelph, December 23. This is the second year for both of them performing in Nutcracker at the River Run.

“Last year, I was Chipmunk,” nine-year-old Lilly told the Citizen in a telephone interview, along with her mother, Teena Taylor. “This year, I’m a frog and a chipmunk.” 

Having begun when she was 2 1/2 years old, Lilly now takes dance five day a week. 

“I do long ballet, acro [a mix of ballet and acrobatics], jazz, Lyrical jazz. That is like jazz and ballet mixed together.”

Lyrical is interpretive and freer expression for the dancer.

Said Ms. Tylor of her daughter, “She was always dancing, so, we just decided to put her in when she was two years old. She goes to Citrus [Dance Inc.] and she just loves it – we can’t get her to do anything else.” 

Asked what she loves so much about dance, Lilly replied, “It makes me happy and I like dancing with all my friends.”

As far as performing is concerned, Lilly’s mother said “She is only doing the River Run and a competitive dance in the spring.”

The Nutcracker is being performed by a professional dance company [Ballet Jorgen Canada] and when she is ‘’on stage, I love it,” admitting, “it makes me a little bit nervous but it’s also very exciting. 

“I hope I keep on dancing. I’m in grade four. I’m dancing at Christmas in school and I do the talent show at school. I go to Laurelwoods [Elementary School in Amaranth]. 

“I don’t do other things; I just do dance,” Lilly told us, “five days a week.”

“It’s her life,” commented her Ms. Taylor. “I love to see the smile on her face. Normally, she’s very shy but, when she dances, she lights up. And she’s aways ready to go to dance after school. There’s never have any complaints about that.”

We talked a bit about Lilly’s friends, who are pretty well all connected to dancing, “Leah is one of them that likes it as much as I do. I talk about it at school. Last year, I sent them a video of Nutcracker.”

Taking a break from class at school recess, is sometimes a time when, “I’m practicing my dances. Or I go out and we build a snow fort.” 

“Rehearsals for Nutcracker are every Sunday between one hour and one and a half,” Ms. Taylor explained. “Lilly is only dancing in this particular group. We just watched Nutcracker at Mayfield Secondary School. One of her little friends was in it. We went to watch them dance.”

Lilly’s enthusiasm is not born of a family in the arts. 

“And not me either,” Ms. Taylor remarked, with a touch of awe, “She makes it look easy when she does it but I know how much work she puts into it.” 

She added, “It’s a new community for her father and me because we have two 21 year old sons and a 24 year daughter-”

“She’s a farmer and a daycare teacher,” Lilly interjected. 

“Our sons were into hockey,” continued Ms. Taylor. “We are new to the dance community. They treat us like our other family.”

Lilly remarked, “The best thing on stage is the excitement and how happy it makes the audience.”

Leah Johnston, 11 and in grade six, was pleased to tell us, “This is my second year doing the Nutcracker at River Run. 

“I started when I was seven years old. My two friends were dancing and their mom told my mom about Citrus. So, I went to find out about it and I really liked it, so, my mom let me start.

“I love dancing; I dance all the time and I do dance lessons five times a week. It fits in with school. My teacher knows I’m not a ‘homeworky’ kid. I work with my teacher so I can balance it out. I work hard at school to get it done.”

If she wants to continue with dance through her upper grades at school and high school, she says, “I feel like I will be able to balance it out.”

In Nutcracker, “I was a frog last year and this year I’m a dragonfly. I do know what that looks like because of [doing it] last year. There were lots of kids that auditioned for Nutcracker but I got a part. I guess I did a good job last year.”

Of her friendships, she told us, “I have loads of friends out of dance. Sometimes they ask me about it; sometimes, they’re interested in it but I don’t want to talk about it all the time.” 

At her school, St. Andrew Elementary, “I dance at school; there’s a dance team I might join and there’s a talent show and I always do that. I do every style of dance. This is what I want to do, be a dance teacher, maybe more than a performer. I like teaching; I help with students at Citrus.”

Having said that, Leah went on to comment about being on stage. “I love being on stage. It’s my way of expressing to people how I feel. I’m nervous but, once I get on stage, then I forget about being nervous. I like doing both.”

Once again, this is a family where nobody is in the arts.

However her mom, Sheri Johnston, was enthusiastic, “We adore it. We think it’s great watching her grow and doing this. She’s the youngest of three girls. Citrus has recitals during the year.

“Rehearsal time for Nutcracker, Leah’s part is only half an hour on Sundays. She’s dancing on December 23. Both pairs of grandparents are all involved going to see her. The the whole family will go to Nutcracker.”

“It’s been kind of a journey,” she responded to a question about what is surprising in all this, “She’s grown. We kept encouraging her. Being in Nutcracker was a nice surprise.” 

Wanting to know about her other interests, Leah commented, “I don’t know. I would go to more of a performer because I love performing but I am interested in being a normal teacher at a school.

“There’s something wonderful about being on stage. I get to work with all my friends on stage. It depends on how I’ve been working for it. It’s [the performance] like that final stage of what I’ve been working on. 

“It’s those smiles – I get a good feeling when they laugh and applaud – that means they’re enjoying what we’re performing.”

Canada’s Ballet Jorgen the Nutcracker is playing at the River Run Theatre, 35 Woolwich Street, Guelph, December 22 and 23. Leah and Lilly are performing on December 23.

For tickets and information, call the Box Office at 1-877-520-2408; online: www.riverrun.ca

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