11-year-old wowing ’em in Chicago
No one was more surprised than Melody Laight that her 11-year-old daughter, Ariel, was picked to perform in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular show in Chicago.”I got a call, right before we were leaving for vacation. When the woman told me they’d love for Ariel to play the part of Clara, I screamed,” said Laight of Uniontown. “When we first decided to have Ariel audition for the show, we weren’t even thinking of her getting picked for the show. We just thought it would be a good experience for her. We’re just really excited that she was selected,’ added Laight.
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular shows are the same performed by the legendary Rockettes at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The shows, which also feature Rockettes, are performed in Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Nashville and Phoenix.
Ariel started dancing when she was 2 at the Houck Studio, which is owned and operated by Melody Laight and her two sisters, Dorothy Constable and Michele Wilcosky. Over the years, she’s won numerous honors and awards – but a spot in such a prestigious show at such a young age seemed like a real longshot.
“She was going up against some professional dancers,’ said Laight. “All the dancers at the audition were really good, and there were so many of them. I didn’t think she had a chance.’
Laight attributed her daughter’s success to her attitude.
“We could hear the other girls talking about their years of training and experience. Ariel just went in with the attitude of, ‘I want to have fun,'” said Constable.
After spotting an ad for the audition, they traveled to New York last April to try out for one of seven spots open for the show.
About 100 children showed up, said Constable, and they were taken into a huge dance room and were taught a pointe combinations. They were given five minutes to prepare, then performed the combinations in groups of three. The names of the 70 children that made it through the first cut were called and were asked to stay.
The second audition consisted of a song and character dancing. The song had to be learned in five minutes.
Laight was lucky because one of her aunts had previously purchased the CD from the show.
“I didn’t know the song by heart, but it was very familiar to me,” noted Ariel. She made the cut, along with 10 other children.
Another pointe combination followed. This time, the children had to dance and hold a Nutcracker doll. Three children were eliminated, leaving seven.
However, they still weren’t sure she had been selected.
“They told us that they were having tryouts all around the country, including Los Angeles, so we were worried because we thought there had to be thousands of other kids trying out for these parts,’ said Laight.
But just in case Ariel did make it, they measured her for costumes.
“They measured everything you can think to measure and more,” said Constable. “Her costumes will be ready when she gets there, and should fit perfectly.”
Since the show called “Christmas Around America’ is performed in many cities, Ariel was asked to choose her preferred cities. She immediately knew which was at the top of her list.
“Chicago was my first choice because the American Girl Place is there,” said Ariel. “New York City was not one of the choices because it’s my first year.”
Ariel will perform in 12 shows per week, alternating shows with another girl who plays the same part. They will act as understudies for each other. For each show, the understudy is required to be in costume, waiting in the theater, in case she is needed.
She’ll have to be in Chicago by Nov. 11 and her last show will be Dec. 29. For her efforts, she will make a base salary of $920 a week. She can make extra money by doing various promotions for the shows and can also earn some overtime pay if her practices run longer than expected.
Radio City will provide a free condominium for Ariel and her mother and free transportation to the Rosemont Theater for the shows every day.
It won’t all be a vacation, though.
Ariel will still be held accountable for her school work. She will be provided with a tutor who will work with Ariel’s teacher at the Hatfield Elementary School in the Laurel Highlands School District.
Ariel’s friends and family, including her father, Brian, and brother, Bradlee, are already planning trips to watch her performances.
“We’re thinking of chartering a bus,” said Constable. “We’ll take everyone we can.”
But while Ariel is excited about being in the show, she has to take care of the important things first.
Ariel said that when she arrives in Chicago with her mother, their first stop will be the American Girl Place.