Self-FulfillingProphecy
The Chorister • Fall 2021 | 8
“America’s future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.” — Jane Addams
I
have been around the performing arts, LITERALLY, all my life. With an opera singer mother and a tap/ballet dancer/choreographer/stage director father, I can honestly say I made my stage debut before I could walk. I’ve met wonderful people and had many “aunts and uncles” (a show bizzy way of referring to adults who are close to your parents but who do not want to be called mister, miss, ms or Mrs. because they considered themselves “cool”) who had influence on me. Many of those Aunts and Uncles were charming people who tended to be humble, but not too humble. They knew they were good; they knew they were talented but they didn’t hit you over the head with it. In the music world of my youth, my Mom and her friends could sing anything and play any role; it was magic. Dad and his friends knew everybody, saw everybody, and had ideas which were incredibly clever. I have to say, I was often intimidated because they seemed so confident, free, and relaxed. One of the chief things I learned from them was to keep on. If you believed you could do it, you could do it. Maybe it would take perseverance and lots of practice, but you would eventually be able to do whatever you set your mind to. It was important to tell yourself you could do it. There was a time when I was about 15, I believed I could not do fouetté turns. Aunt Helen believed I could and worked with me. My own ballet teacher noticed the improvement over the summer and was
