From Bucks to Broadway- Making BIG News in our Community Spotlight

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I danced for 25 years of my life.  I spent my high school years dancing under the direction of Terri Garcia-Lee at Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater in Newtown. I loved to perform, but I also loved to teach.  In my senior year of high school I taught several classes of little ones, including Terri’s daughter Paloma. The funny thing is, at that age Paloma didn’t have much interest in the stage.  She loved to come to class to see her girlfriends, and she performed because, well, she had to be there anyways.  Perhaps it’s because between Terri and father Jonathan Lee, also a show business professional, Paloma spent more time in theaters than most people do in their entire lives.  But somewhere along the line, Paloma had a change of heart, a BIG one at that.

Flash forward to 2008, when Paloma graduated from the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts– where Tony winners Mary Louise-Parker and Gary Beach trained. Her mother was so proud, being an alumna herself.  I remember speaking to Terri on the phone, talking about how fiercely Paloma was going after dreams of Broadway. Even at the tender age of 17, she knew what she wanted.  The determination paid off because in a matter of months, Paloma made her Broadway debut in The Phantom of the Opera, filling in for one of the “Ballet Chorus of the Opera Populaire” and understudy for the feature role of Meg Giry. Within one week and three rehearsals, she became a proud member of Actors Equity and was performing on a Broadway stage!

In 2009, Paloma joined the National Tour of The Phantom of the Opera, playing the role Meg Giry. Paloma is now the youngest cast member to date to play the role of Meg Giry, which is saying something since PHANTOM is the longest-running show in Broadway history, with over 8700 performances in 25 years. The three U.S. national tours have grossed over $1.5 billion in combined box office sales. As of The Music Box Company’s final performance in November, the three touring companies will have played 205 engagements in 98 cities for an unprecedented combined total of 36 years and 14,605 performances.

As I said, Paloma received her training right here with professional teachers at Bucks County’s Spirit In Motion Ballet Theater/The Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts, where many of their students have also graced Broadway stages, the NYC Rockettes, Miss NY and even our own EAGLES cheerleaders. A large number of PSPA students have been accepted into many prestigious dance/theater programs such as NYU, Yale Drama School, Harvard, The Neighborhood Play House NYC, SUNY Purchase, The North Carolina School of the Arts, American Ballet Theater, NY City Ballet, The Pennsylvania Ballet, Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey, The Rock School, Fordham University and Julliard.

Spirit In Motion Ballet Theater/The Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts will be performing its moving show Remember the Children in Bucks County on June 12th 2010 at 1pm and 5 pm at Bucks County Community College. Proceeds will go to help charity Come Unity to bring water to AFRICA.  Remember the Children is a tribute to the young souls lost in the Holocaust told through moving works of dance and music. It is based on drawings and poetry created and hidden away by children who lived in the Terezin ghetto near Prague which were compiled in the book I Never Saw Another Butterfly.

The performances will take place on June 12th, 2010 at Bucks County Community College Swamp Road, Newtown, Pa. 18940. Show Times: 1:00pm Matinee and 5:00 Evening Performance.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.simbt.org.  Call 215.598.8513 for more information. Call about Group rates of 15 or more.

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