VPAC dreams big
Published 10:29 am Thursday, February 6, 2014
Dancing on Broadway this summer with Disney Theatricals was a once-in-a-life-time experience for performers with the Vicksburg Performing Arts Company — so to bring a little of the Big Apple magic back home, the group decided to celebrate their fifth anniversary with a Disney inspired show.
“Dream Big” will open 7 p.m. Saturday night, and a Sunday matinee will be offered at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Parkside Playhouse.
“We were all so Disney inspired that the girls actually came to me about wanting to expand on this idea,” said Chesley Lambiotte, the artistic director and founder of the company.
“Walt Disney was such a visionary in making his dreams become a reality. I felt inspired to create the show around his vision and produce a modern day version of his truths,” Lambiotte said.
Senior company member Addison Mathis is dancing to “Wake Me Up” by Swedish DJ Avicii which Lambiotte said was an applicable modern-day
song for Mathis to dance to, since she is Sleeping Beauty in the production
Anne Elizabeth Buys is Cinderella and will dance to David Cook’s song “Time of My Life.”
“It works because Cinderella had the time of her life at the Ball,” Lambiotte said.
In the process of choreographing the annual performance, Lambiotte said she wanted her senior company members to be involved in the process of the show.
“They had to do a character study of the princess they were to portray and had to help choose their music and costume. And each dancer’s choreography was completely specific to their own personality and their character’s.”
Lambiotte said VPAC had tripled in numbers since it began five years ago and in the process has won awards at several competitions.
The group, whose members range in age from 7 to 17, have also perfected the art of the flash mob, she said, danced in a Skechers promotional commercial, performed live on TV during the Miss Mississippi Pageant and danced at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City. They have also performed during FallFest, RiverFest, Holly Days, The Outlets at Vicksburg Christmas Tree Lighting, Miss Mississippi Trunk Show, the Miss Vicksburg Pageant, Vicksburg’s Dancing with the Stars and Affairs of the Heart.
About Terri Cowart Frazier
Terri Frazier was born in Cleveland. Shortly afterward, the family moved to Vicksburg. She is a part-time reporter at The Vicksburg Post and is the editor of the Vicksburg Living Magazine, which has been awarded First Place by the Mississippi Press Association. She has also been the recipient of a First Place award in the MPA’s Better Newspaper Contest’s editorial division for the “Best Feature Story.”
Terri graduated from Warren Central High School and Mississippi State University where she received a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.
Prior to coming to work at The Post a little more than 10 years ago, she did some freelancing at the Jackson Free Press. But for most of her life, she enjoyed being a full-time stay at home mom.
Terri is a member of the Crawford Street United Methodist Church. She is a lifetime member of the Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary and is a past member of the Sampler Antique Club and Town and Country Garden Club. She is married to Dr. Walter Frazier.
“From staying informed with local governmental issues to hearing the stories of its people, a hometown newspaper is vital to a community. I have felt privileged to be part of a dedicated team at The Post throughout my tenure and hope that with theirs and with local support, I will be able to continue to grow and hone in on my skills as I help share the stories in Vicksburg. When asked what I like most about my job, my answer is always ‘the people.’
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