Significant Achievement by Central School 5th Grader
by Jennifer Ferguson
November 25, 2009
Erica Coleman is the youngest student in
Mrs. Owens 5th grade class. She turned 10 in October and
is happy she finally reached a double-digit age. Her favorite color is
blue and, unsurprisingly, she loves pizza. However, this seemingly
normal elementary school student is one of only 59 other young
people in the St. Louis area to be chosen to perform with Cast A in
the Joffrey Ballet holiday performance, Nutcracker at the
Fox.
“I was really nervous during the audition,”
Erica said. “But there was no audience, just a group of judges, so
I don’t know why I took it so serious.”
Erica was chosen to be a soldier in the
performance and will perform three of the six shows. It’s her first
time dancing at the Fox Theater in St. Louis, but according to her,
she is excited for opening night.
“I love the costumes, makeup and being on
stage,” said Erica. “I get to dress up and have everybody watch
while I do what I love most.”
Erica has taken dance classes since she was
three years old. She does ballet, jazz, tap, modern, lyrical and
hopes to start hip-hop classes in the future. So far, jazz dancing
is her favorite, but she said that her background in ballet really
prepared her for performing in the Nutcracker.
“The hardest part about dancing as a soldier
is getting the counts right,” explained Erica. “There is a lot of
marching and saluting and if I’m not paying attention all the way,
I could miss the queue,” she continued.
Erica became interested in theater and stage
a few years ago when she participated in The Wizard of Oz
and A Christmas
Carol at the Looking Glass
Theater in Lebanon. Since then, her interest has piqued and she
hopes to continue performing in ballets and plays all the way
through college.
“I’m really excited to be doing the
Nutcracker and it’s
pretty big news to be doing it at the Fox,” said Erica, “but I
really want to be chosen to perform at the MUNY at some point,
too.”
A few years ago, Erica tried out for
Annie and The
Music Man at the MUNY, but
was not selected. She hopes that her newly gained experience as a
soldier in the Nutcracker will put her above the rest when she tries
out again.
“If I can perform at the Fox, I know I can perform at the MUNY,” Erica said.
Beyond loving to dance and bulking up her
resume with the Nutcracker performance, Erica has learned some
valuable lessons along the way.
“I learned that it is definitely difficult
to do a perfect performance 100 percent of the time,” she
explained. “But trying hard and staying happy is what really
matters.”
