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Fair A Sugar Plum Fairy dynasty
Sophia Sommers joins her sisters by taking on lead role of ‘The Nutcracker’ at SHA
Malverne resident Sophia Sommers, a senior at Sacred Heart Academy high school in Hempstead, starred as the Sugar Plum Fairy, the lead role in the school’s dance production of ‘The Nutcracker, which ran from Nov. 19 to Nov. 21.
When Sommers found out she earned the lead role in early September, she had realized an almost lifelong dream. “It was literally like a dream when I finally found out I got the role,” Sommers said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I finally have the opportunity to have my experience,’” she added, alluding to the fact that she is the latest member of the Sommers family to perform in the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Sommers’ older sisters, Amanda in 2013 and Lauren in 2018, performed in the same role in the school’s ballet and point production.
“I remember being a little girl watching with my parents and being like, ‘I want to be just like them, they’re my role models,’” Sommers said, recalling memories of her sisters’ performances. Both Amanda and Lauren helped her prepare for her performance this year, she said, as they showed her videos to help prepare her choreography. “They were by my side a lot,” Sommers said of her older sisters, adding that they both attended the shows over Thanksgiving weekend. “I’m very grateful for them,” she added.
But intense commitment was a prerequisite for Sommers before she rounded out the trio of Sommers’ performances this Thanksgiving weekend.
As challenging as this was, Sommers had been preparing for this moment her entire life.
Having started dancing at age 3, she actually played a role in the performances of ‘The Nutcracker’ that starred her sisters (as a “party girl” in 2013, then as an angel in 2018).
“It’s crazy… if you’re determined, it’s crazy how far you can get in life if you stick to something,” Sommers said of her long journey to the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. “My experience with dance is really great because having a lot of shows in the past has allowed me to handle this show very well,” she said, explaining that her experience with dance aided her in ordering the dances and choreography for ‘The Nutcracker.’
“Sophia's leadership characteristics and talents have been her greatest strengths that we are most proud of. Sophia has the ability to take a vision and turn it into real results making all those around her better,” Frank and Diane Sommers, Sophia’s parents, in a statement.
“We are very proud of our three daughters Amanda, Lauren and Sophia… Through hard work and dedication to the art of dance, they have all performed at a very high level which has certainly been a cause for celebration In our family. We've enjoyed watching their happiness over the years as they have achieved their goals and dreams,” the trio’s parents concluded.
The concurrence of the production and the pandemic made performing the lead role even more difficult, Sommers said, since she now had to dance without a partner and without anyone else on stage -- something that her sisters were able to do. Sommers added that dancing while wearing a mask (a precaution in place amid the pandemic) was challenging as well.
“I’m really determined, because a lot of times, especially with Covid, it was very different from when my sisters were in school,” Sommers said, noting that Amanda and Lauren were able to use their own costumes and had cavaliers, or male partners, which she did not.
But Sommers was unphased; she did not let anything keep her from having her unique moment. “I didn’t let those setbacks bring me down,” she said.
“There’s been a lot of obstacles, you may not think you’re good enough at a particular step, or you may think you look bad or that you messed up on a specific dance… but if you just keep practicing it and don’t give up you will get so much better at it and it will look better eventually, you just can’t give up,” Sommers said. “Dancing has taught me to never give up.”
