LIMA — When the Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” is performed Monday night at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center, some 60 of the dancers will be from local dance groups in the area.
Three of the dancers are sisters.
Paige Bowers, a senior at Shawnee High School, Lorrin Bowers, a freshman at Shawnee High School, and Addie Bowers, a seventh grader at Shawnee Middle School have been involved in dance for quite a while.
They practice at Lyn’s Academy of Dance in Elida.
“I’ve had the Bowers girls since they were in my preschool classes and they are all excellent dancers. They take their classes and their study of dance very seriously and they’ve really progressed and they’re probably the most advanced dancers that we have here at the studio,” said Lyn Mulcahy, owner of and instructor at Lyn’s Academy of Dance.
Paige is 17 and is in her 15th year of dance. She said she’s excited about performing with the Moscow Ballet.
“It’s really fun. The whole experience is really cool, working with professional dancers is cool to see and be a part of,” she said.
She said she hopes to pursue dance after high school.
“I would like to minor in dance” in college, she said.
She said she finds competitive dancing quite challenging.
“It’s like a sport. It requires more time and energy than people really realize,” she said.
The experience of performing with her sisters with the Moscow Ballet at the Civic Center should be something she’ll never forget.
“Sometime practices can drag on but ultimately I’m glad we’re doing it. It will be a good memory,” she said.
The middle Bowers sister, Lorrin, has been dancing for 12 years.
“I like that I can be with my friends at dance. It’s very fun so I can express myself when I’m dancing,” she said.
As far as dancing with her sisters, “It’s pretty fun sometimes, but we can fight and it gets kind of tense, I guess,” Lorrin said with a laugh.
So who is the better dancer?
“I think we’re all pretty good,” Lorrin said.
The trio’s mother, Shannon Bowers, said she was excited for her children.
“It’s really enjoyable because I get to watch [all of] them not just one of them. It [the Moscow Ballet] features the professionals so they have a small role but it’s nice to see all three of the girls,” Bowers said.
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