A Day in the Life of a Prima Ballerina

Growing up, some of my favourite films were about dancing; Save the Last Dance, Centre Stage, Dirty Dancing Havana Nights, Honey and even You Got Served. What can I say, the early 2000s were full of dance-themed films targeting teenage girls and I was a frequent movie-goer.

Now that I’m (somewhat) grown up I’ve decided I should start enjoying cultural performances, such as the ballet, more often. Problem is it’s sometimes hard to find anyone who wants to tag along. Until I find myself a dedicated ballet-watching partner I’ll have to keep using my klout as a writer to interview the dancers themselves.

Heather Ogden in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Here is a recent Q&A I did with principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada, Heather Ogden. What’s your favourite dance movie or live performance?

Yummy Yummy in my Tummy

Who doesn’t love a nice bowl of hot soup on a cold winter’s day?

Brian McKilligan knew how much people love a hearty soup to pick them up when they are down or feeling ill, so he decided to make a business out of it.

He started Yummy Tummy Soup Co. last year as a service that sends home made care packages to anyone you are thinking of across Canada.

See the full story on TalentEgg.ca

Funny Business

Okay so I’m really not good at making jokes in real life or in writing, but I know someone who is.

Here name is Claire Stollery, and she’s a recent Drama grad turned stand-up comedian. Claire has only been cracking jokes for a few months and she’s already performed in front of audiences in New York City, Toronto and Los Angeles.

Check out my Q&A story with the funny girl on TalentEgg.ca

Bake Box

What’s better than interviewing interesting young entrepreneurs? Interviewing interesting young entrepreneurs who make yummy treats and let you sample them!

On one of my many writing adventures this summer I interviewed 19-year-old Eric Battiston. Eric is the owner of Bake Box, a custom cake design studio in Vaughan he started a year ago.  I interviewed him for a feature in Whatever Magazine as he put together a two-tiered orange and blue fondant floral cake. And then he sent me home with raspberry buttercream frosting cupcakes (best interviewee ever? I think so!). I hope many more food-related stories are in my future.

You can check out the latest issue of Whatever Magazine and the story here.

I’ve Been Busy…

 

Writing makes me smile.

 

It may seem like I’ve fallen into the deep, dark depths of suburbia since I returned home from J-School, but I assure you I am alive, well and managing to make it into 416 regions quite regularly.

I’m still searching for my dream writing job, but until then I must say I’ve been happily keeping up my writing by contributing to a number of publications. It’s a great break from the humdrum of my summer job in finance (yes I’m working with numbers not words, it’s totally foreign territory), and it’s helped me to keep my writing skills fresh since graduation.

Here are just a few of the pieces I’ve worked on this summer. The rest should be available next month.

Profile on the star of CBC’s Heartland series, Amber Marshall- Your Pets Magazine

Interview with London playwright, Michael Wilmot- The Beat Magazine (June 2010)

Interview with Liz Currado, owner of LPC Productions in London, Ontario- The Beat Magazine (August 2010)

A Look into my (possible) future

Freelancing through University did a great job at supporting my shoe habit, but now I think it could be so much more. Since graduating I’ve seriously began to consider going into business full-time as a freelance writer. As I figure out the pros and cons of this possible career I’ve been lucky enough to come in contact with many great professional writers willing to share their knowledge and advice with aspiring freelancers.

I “met” Heidi Turner through Twitter a little while ago and I’ve enjoyed reading her thoughts on freelancing on her blog. I know there are many other aspiring writers in need of some guidance, and Heidi was willing to share some of her experiences to get potential freelancers off on the right start.

Check out my interview with Heidi Turner on TalentEgg.ca

Q & A with Amanda Morra

I recently had a chat with Amanda Morra, a singer-dancer from Toronto on her way to becoming the next Canadian sensation. Amanda has been singing and dancing since she could walk and talk, and she is currently recoding her second studio album due out later this year.

Check out my interview with her on TalentEgg.ca .

Taking Care of Business

It’s always great when things just fall into place after all your hard work.

In journalism school (man that seems like ages ago) I took a business reporting class where we had to produce a feature on anything business related. I chose to profile a student-run business in London called Rhyme With Orange Creative. It’s run by four UWO-Fanshawe students who offer graphic design services and marketing solutions to companies.

As I began to think about writing for publication rather than just for school assignments, I decided to pitch the story to the London Free Press business section. After many emails and telephone calls back and forth with the editor, the story finally appeared in today’s edition of the “Business Monday” section- on the front page too! I haven’t actually been able to see the print version as I no longer live in London, but luckily my friend Jess was kind enough to cut it out for me and will be mailing it over.

Check out the article here in the London Free Press.

Penn Kemp: UWO’s Writer in Residence

This month I interviewed London poet and UWO alumi Penn Kemp for the Western in 5 podcast. Kemp is the James A. and Marjorie Spenceley/Canada Council Writer-in-Residence for 2009-10 in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. She has travelled the world and collaborated with various writers, artists, dancers and musicians. I talked to Kemp about what she hopes to accomplish as the writer in residence for this year.

You can subscribe to the weekly podcast on iTunes U for free.

Listen to Western in Five for the week of November 2, 2009.