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Same Programming, New Name! Academy of the Arts is now Illinois Conservatory for the Arts

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IMPACT: Musical Theatre

Winter | January 2-5, 2025

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A Night of Broadway

Friday, February 21, 2025

Back to the Future

Back to the Future How a Letter to her Teenage Self helped one Dancer focus on her Dreams

Alvin Ailey dancer Fana Tesfagiorgis is using her past experiences to not only keep her on track, but to inform new students following in her footsteps.

After being approached by DanceSpirit magazine to write a letter to her former self, she has some words of wisdom to share.

“As artists we are so eager for the next thing, we always steer our dreams to the future, but sometimes its good to look back,” said the Interlochen alum.

Her letter states, in part: “I can’t thank you enough for the light that you are. You don’t know it yet, but everything that you do helps to shape the woman that I am today. Thank you for having and keeping the biggest dreams you could dream. Thank you for believing that you can do it.

The habits that you’re developing now may seem a little over-the-top to some, and sometimes even you think it’s all in vain, but keep trusting in your process. It’s OK that you have to try it one more time, or 10 more times, to get better. This diligence will help shape you. I love that when your casting doesn’t match your wishes, you feel what you feel for a day, and then come back and learn the entire ballet. That eagerness will increase your experience far beyond your given opportunities.”

Fana says it’s good to remember all the doubts and insecurities. When she teaches masterclasses today, that’s what she’s trying to help her students overcome. She recommends young students put together a time capsule when they’re first starting out.

“A time capsule’s a great idea,” she said. “Dancers might want to keep a pair of tights and their old point shoes. I have an acorn from my grandfather’s plot in Mississippi.”

Fana knew she wanted to be a dancer since she was a little girl. She comes from a family of artists, so her mom had no problem with sending her to Interlochen Arts Academy High School when the regular dance studio she attended in Wisconsin faced some challenges.

“The training was very intense,” she recalled. “As a dance major I spent 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day learning academics and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. dancing.  There were also rehearsals for ballets I took part in. I especially loved the masterclasses from guest artists.”

It was one of those guests, Earl Mosely, who introduced her to the Lester Horton technique, a modern dance style based on Native American dances, anatomical studies, and other movement influences.

“It felt like ballet and more,” said Fana. “I thought ‘I have to do this.’ I always had ballet as my first language, but modern dance expanded my mind.”

This was the path that set Fana on the road to becoming an Alvin Ailey dancer.

“I was selected in my senior year to tour with them overseas; it was a beautiful experience,” she said.

Today Fana is a freelance artist, which means she has to work hard to market herself.

“I think how bad do I want this? There’s no curriculum, so I have a different kind of fire,” she said.

In 2019 Fana decided to expand her horizons and move into musical theater.

“I’m super grateful for all my experiences but after Ailey I didn’t feel as fulfilled so I started to train in acting and singing,” she said. “I like challenging myself to something new, so I took a leap of faith.”

Her first success was joining the national tour of My Fair Lady as an ensemble member.

“I loved watching the principals, they were such elegant actors and gave themselves full out,” she said. “As an actor you can use your ideas, which is not so in dance. I achieved my biggest dream when I danced with Alvin Ailey. Now I have new dreams.”

JANUARY 2–5, 2025

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Chaz Wolcott / Dance

Chaz Wolcott is an actor, director and choreographer based in New York City, and is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. He earned his BFA in Dance from Oklahoma City University.

As a performer, Chaz has been seen as Buttons on the First National Tour of Disney’s Newsies. You can also catch Chaz’s performance in Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical, available for digital download on iTunes and Amazon. Chaz also starred in the 30th Anniversary Tour of Cats as the Magical Mr. Mistoffelees. Chaz was featured on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance. Favorite regional credits include: 42nd Street (Andy Lee), Mary Poppins, Gypsy, Legally Blonde and productions at Music Theatre of Wichita, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse, The Gateway, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Fulton Theatre, The Fireside, Casa Mañana, Westchester Broadway Theatre, Gretna Theatre and more.

Emily Kristen Morris / Voice

Emily Kristen Morris is an NYC-based actor, singer, dancer, certified vocal instructor, and popular online content creator (1.7 Million followers on TikTok). Emily has performed across the nation and internationally, and was most recently the Elphaba standby on the Broadway national tour of WICKED. Currently, Emily is starring as Elsa in Paramount Theatre’s production of Frozen. Her past theatre credits include: Bea in the national tour of Something Rotten, White Plains Performing Arts Center (Daisy in Side Show), The Rev (Sophie in Mamma Mia), Cape Playhouse, the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (Nellie in South Pacific in concert), Gateway Playhouse, Weston Playhouse, and New York Musical Theatre Festival. Emily has also performed as a solo vocalist with symphony orchestras, including the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in China, and the Norwalk Symphony. Her voice is also featured on Joey Contreras’ new album “In Pieces.” On social media Emily is popular for her voice-teaching videos, her singing covers, and her vocal-coach-reacts videos. When she’s not performing, Emily runs her highly sought-after voice studio, EKM Vocal Studio, where she teaches lessons, masterclasses and workshops to passionate singers both virtually and in-person in NYC. Emily is certified through the Institute For Vocal Advancement (IVA), and received her BFA in musical theatre from the University of Cincinnati; College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Salisha Thomas / Acting

SALISHA Thomas is a Broadway performer, author, former Miss California, a commercial and voiceover artist, a producer and director, vlogger, blogger, and media personality. She performed in the 1st National Touring and Broadway companies of Beautiful the Carole King Musical, and the Britney Spears Musical: Once Upon a One More Time. She’s the host of Black Hair in the Big Leagues and The Salisha Show podcasts and the red carpet correspondent for The Broadway Podcast Network. @theSalishashow www.thesalishashow.com

Patrick Maravilla / Casting

Born and raised in California, Patrick started as a performer but quickly fell in love with casting. As a Pisces with a Taurus moon, he aims to bring joy and light to the table while cultivating an inclusive and equitable space. Some of his favorite casting credits include Chicago, A Wonderful World, Peter Pan (National Tour), Gatsby, Life of Pi, Destiny of Desire, and Come Fall in Love!

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