Did I ever tell you about the time that my childhood dream came true when I least expected it????
Well, allow me to inform you and tell you an amazing story!! 😃
First of all, I started a Facebook Group called “ACL Warrior Tribe,” where I post about my journey through my knee injuries and this current ACL recovery amongst other related, non-related, and inspirational topics…..BUT it isn’t just for people who have had ACL injuries! It is for anyone that wants to be among driven and like-minded beings that live in their greatness, no matter what obstacles come their way. Please come join us if that sounds like you!!
Secondly, I bring this up because I recently posted a question in this FB group that simply asked “When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did it come true?” I love getting to know my Warrior community further! And it was so great to learn about the aspirations of some friends and family that I never knew!
When it came to me, my first answer to these questions were “I wanted to be a dancer and YES, my dream of becoming a professional dancer came true!!!”
But that isn’t exactly accurate…
See, I really fell in love with dance and performance when I was in my early teens….not when I was a child.
And when I think back to one of the first dreams I ever had as a child, it was to live in Ponyville with my favorite ponies, and therefore my favorite toys of all-time: ‘My Little Ponies.’
Perhaps some of you are familiar with the “vintage models” of these toys – – since I know there is a new version of ‘My Little Ponies’ that are out there now and look VERY different to the originals!! And I actually tried to search for my old ‘My Little Ponies’ because, yes, I do still have them somewhere, hidden in a box or buried in the basement some place!! Alas, because of my knee and not being able to kneel or pick up heavy things yet, my search ended rather quickly. But I did do a quick online search and these remind me of the ponies that I used to have!! 👇🏽
And I believe that I used to have close to 50 of them – – baby ponies, the classic ponies, the flutter ponies, you name it! Therefore, it was my childhood dream to live in Ponyville someday and be with all of my pony friends!!
Silly, right??? Well, just hold that thought….😉
So, my Ponyville dream faded away and some of my new dreams included being an Olympic gymnast, being a Veterinarian, and then, later on in high school, being a teacher of French, Math, or Chemistry….
Instead, for those that know my story, I did not follow any of these potential pathways because I developed a new dream that far overshadowed them all! My dream of becoming a professional dancer!! 💃🏻
So, I went to hardcore work on that ambition, training constantly and consistently, putting in the hundreds of hours of work, going to a university and majoring in dance, and building my technique and skills as a dancer to my maximum degree. I then graduated with honors, Summa Cum Laude, with my Bachelors in Dance!!
And then came the audition scenes – – which I can tell you about another time!! – – but one of the auditions that I would like to tell you about was when I traveled to Pittsburgh, PA (a road trip with my bro!!!) to audition for VEE Corporation, the company that used to do ‘Sesame Street Live.” (Sadly, this company no longer exists, though FYI: Sesame Street Live is now owned and run by Feld Entertainment so it is still in operation during non-COVID times.)
So, I had fellow dancer friends that worked for this company, performed in ‘Sesame Street Live’ shows, and had the time of their lives!! And though I really wanted to dance as me, and not as a big, full-body costumed character, I thought, “why not???” and I headed to this audition with my brother. It was April 2006.
And I made it and landed a contract!!! My first ever dance contract – – you know, where I would actually get paid to DANCE!!!!! I was over the moon and, of course, I quit all three of the part-time jobs that I had in order to prep for my upcoming dream job!! 👋🏼
HOWEVER, what happened next was CRAZY!!! One week before I was supposed to leave for my contract, in June 2006, I got a call from VEE Corporation, telling me that I no longer had the job. Apparently, one of the Sesame Street Live Tours got cancelled and so all of the veteran performers that were on the cancelled cast were sent to the show that I was supposed to be on. And since I was a newbie, I got booted!!
My heart was completely shattered!!! Plus, I quit all of my jobs so to say I was crushed was a pure understatement!! Still, what I was told that same day was that VEE was trying to form a partnership with Hasbro and create a new show. And once that show was set up and ready, then I would be getting a call to be on this brand-new show. Well, I, of course, said, “sounds great, thank you” but I didn’t really believe this kind VEE woman. My heart was broken since my dream job was lost before it even began!!
I found a couple new part-time jobs that summer and I was trying to figure out my next few auditions, when I received a call from that kind VEE woman in early August 2006. She asked me if I wanted to be a part of this new show, a collaboration with VEE and Hasbro, called ‘My Little Pony Live: The Worlds Biggest Tea Party.’ She told me that I would be a Lady Bug in the show and that I was also invited to be an Understudy for four other characters in the show if I wanted. In my head, I thought, “a LADY BUG????” This has got to be a joke, right???” But I graciously accepted this offer, hung up the phone, and said, “yeah, right, I will believe it when I see the contract.”
And sure enough, I was sent a contract the following week and I was signed up to be a professional Lady Bug in the brand-new show about ‘MY LITTLE PONIES!!!!” My childhood dream about living in Ponyville was actually about to come true!!!! 😲🐞
And then I started my first professional gig, I danced as a Lady Bug and in my Understudy roles for 10 months, and my life has never been the same!!!
PHOTO TIME!!!!!!!! 📷 Check out some of my experiences with ‘My Little Pony Live!’
Here is a close-up of some of the ponies during the rehearsal process:
How cute are they??!!! And their eyes blinked and their mouths moved so they really did look so real onstage!! 😍
I was one of three Lady Bugs! And two of my Understudy roles were to take over for the other two Lady Bugs if something happened or if it was time for the performers to get a break and watch the show from the audience. This allowed the dancers to rest and appreciate the show AND it allowed me, as Understudy, to practice my roles and make sure I was on top of my game. This is a shot from one of our performances:
Another Understudy role that I got to fulfill was Spike the dragon! He was the narrator of the show and had a lot of really fun scenes in the show! 💜 🐉
And here is a full shot of the stage from the audience, with me as Spike, about half the ponies, and one of the sets in Ponyville:
My last Understudy role was Rarity the Unicorn. And though I was prepared to fulfill this role if needed, I never actually got to make my debut as this pony!!! So, I never got to experience what it felt like to be one of these awesome full-sized ‘My Little Ponies!’
I even got to visit Hasbro and take a tour of their facilities with my cast!!!
Now if this isn’t coming FULL CIRCLE, dreaming of living in Ponyville as a child, being invited 20 years later to tour as a Lady Bug with the ‘My Little Ponies’ and dance in Ponyville, AND getting to visit the creators of the “My Little Ponies,” themselves……then I don’t know what is!!!!
This show!!!!
It began my 9-year run as a professional dancer, it made me love the stage even more, and it introduced me to incredible dancers and beings from all over the country. It encouraged me to continue being an Understudy for VEE, even as I moved on to ‘Sesame Street Live’ because I loved learning the different roles and having such a variety of tracks to perform. Plus, this is the contract that made me realize how much I LOVE to travel, since we toured all over the United States for my 10-month contract. It was a definite springboard to all the next dance contracts of my career that I was so fortunate to do!
And you know those incredible dancers and beings that I had the greatest pleasure of meeting and many of them with whom I got to share the stage??? Well, two such fabulous people got me this gift for the birthday that I had on tour. It is a Birthday Lady Bug that I shall keep with me, always. Mainly because it is a special gift from them AND because of the very special name that they gave it in my honor:
🤣🤣🤣🤣 I was so blissfully happy to be living my dream and traveling around the country, so I was often asked “do you fart rainbows??” or “do you 💩 glitter???” 😂 Hence, the name of my lovely little Lady Bug!! Amazing, right?!?! Such incredible memories!! 🐞
Needless to say, dreams really do come true!!!! Even when you are least expecting their arrival…..😁 So, staying open-minded and flexible in this constantly changing and unpredictable world can prove to be the best things we can ever do!! Because it allows the impossible to actually become POSSIBLE!!
And now I can look fondly at the start of my dance career, recognizing the coincidental happenings of landing myself in Ponyville – – my inner child is still thrilled by this!! – – and remembering dancing as a professional Lady Bug. Nobody expects that on your resume, let me tell you!! 😁😆🥰