UN) The Dallas Post Dallas, PA Wednesday, April 15, 1998 Practice is paying off for Danae Husb By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER "Post Staff DALLAS - Unlike most teenagers, Danae Husband does not know what it’s like to sleep in late on weekends. But, you won't find her complaining, because she’s up doing what she loves. ‘At the ripe age of 4 Danae discovered ballet. She'can’t quite explain why, but ballet instantly took precedence over all' other forms of dance and sports. While many little girls were experimenting with a few different dance styles, such as tap and jazz, Danae knew she really wanted to learn ballet and ballet alone. "“I'loved it instantly. I chose ballet over any sport every year. A lot of girls dropped out, but I just stayed with it,” said the 18- year-old Dallas High School senior. “I liked that ballet was more classical and had more culture to it.” ‘After 14 years of diligent practice, Danae performed in Swan Lake at the Darte Center for the Performing Arts at Wilkes University. She danced in the Charduz, a Hungarian dance, as a lead swan. “I loved it. I always wanted to do Swan Lake,” she said. Although performing in Swan Lake was a first for her, she’s no stranger to The Nutcracker. Every fall, Ballet Northeast in ~ Wilkes-Barre, where Danae has ge ‘a & a studied for the last eight years, puts on the holiday classic. “The Nutcracker is the most exciting. The anticipation of finding out which part you're going to get each year is excit- ing,” said, Danae. As dancers progress through Danae Husband, center, and friends as they prepared to dance in Swan Lake. different levels at Ballet North- east, they get bigger and better roles. Danae has been in the first company, which is the top group, for three years. “As you get older, you get more lead roles,” she explained. “I've done almost every part in The Nut- cracker.” When Danae is on stage she Writer (continued from page 1) ®0r her novels. In Only You, she writes about a man who comes back to his hometown and eats aipork barbeque at “Ralph’s Place,” which is based on the former Dixon's restaurant. Also, she had one character buy a {Twin Kiss on ahot summer day. She was really writing about Mark II Family Restau- rant. + “I use the Back Mountain in my books because I feel like I know the area,” she said. Sometimes she has close friends like Barbara Cragle do research for her. Despite the fact that she was interested in writing, she didn’t think about it seriously until all four of her children were out of high school. “I loved English and excelled in creative writing. I've always loved making up stories. But, I never knew how to’ go about being an author,” she explained. + Qne day while in the car with hér daughter, Wendy, Laity said to her, “When I die, no one will even know I lived.” This was an important moment for Laity, who signed up for writing workshops and classes shortly after she said those words. “From there she joined a critique group and became a member of Romance Writers of ' Passport ] Photos with this ad sd Kpallas Photo Shop 675-8800 COOK'S ® PHARMACY e Computerized Prescription Service e Russell Stover Candies e Greeting ( Cards e PA Lottery Tickets e Newspapers » Magazines 159 N. MemorialHwy., Shavertown, PA i g : | *1 OFF |» 8 4 RB )) Tve always loved making up stories. But, I never knew how to go about being anauthor.” Sally Laity ‘Contemporary Christian’ writer America. “The critique group helped the most. None of use knew what we were doing,” she said. They must have figured it out pretty fast because four of the five group members sold their books within one year. Today she relies on three other writers to critique her stories before she feels they are finished. “It's amazing, just having another person’s input really helps,” she said. She became interested in the romance genre when she saw that it could be done with an active element of faith, where the characters’ relationship with God is an important part of their lives. In her novels there is no tawdry language or explicit love scenes. Instead, she explores romance between characters who have God in their lives. “The characters are never perfect. They overcome weak- ness and grow and improve,” shé®aid. “I always'have a happy ending. In some of the mainstream romances you don’t always get that.” Laity finds stories every- where. “There are stories all around you, in the newspaper, in people you know. I try to think of a theme (dealing with a person’s struggle),” she said. She has dealt with her own struggle in finding her voice. “Writing has brought me out of the shell I was in. I tended to keep everything inside. Now I can express my true feelings,” said Laity, who described herself as painfully shy before she started writing. She is proud of her accom- plishments and looks forward to the release of her next new love story, I Do, which is due out in May. “I don't feel as if I wasted the talent I was given. I wanted to use it for the Lord and I think He's helping me do that.” Can't Find Things To Do? pril Classes Now Registering! KIDS K\uB$ AT MAJOR PERFORMING TRUCKSVILLE ARTS B9A-A7SS We Have Special Dance and Vocal Classes just for 3 &4 yr. olds too! wants the audience to see an elegant and graceful dancer. A large part of ballet involves creating the illusion that the dancer is ethereal, merely and, 18-year-old ba “I loved it instantly. I chose ballet over any sport every year.” Danae Husband Teenage ballet dancer floating across the stage, touching down only when necessary. ; Creating that illusion takes many hours of hard, and sometimes painful practice. Before productions, Danae tirelessly works to ensure that she delivers an impeccable performance. “I always hurt before shows,” she admitted. She practices four or five times a week after school and on the weekends. “Before a show we are there every night until we get it right.” Her mother, Sandra, knows when her daughter is in pain, even when the audience has no idea. “When she’s on stage I know when her toes are hurt- ing,” she said. “I see beyond the beauty of each step because I . know what it’s taken her to get there.” Danae has shown her dedica- tion to the delicate dance over and over. Once she broke three toes and had to stay away from dancing for six weeks. Only two years ago she was rushed to the hospital after a bad sprain during The Nutcracker. Her mother said neither accident hindered her desire to continue and improve. “She never thought of giving up,” said Mrs. Husband, proud of her daughter's strong will. It's obvious that a few let dancer setbacks are worth the positive effects ballet has had on Danae’s life. Both Danae and her mother credit ballet for teaching discipline, determina- tion and dedication. “It's given her tremendous focus in life. It's given her the ability to persevere and stay with something no matter how .' difficult it is,” said Mrs. Hus- band. “I love the the way it has’. given her such dimension. go She’s so happy.” ’ Danae agrees. “Although it’s - tough around The Nutcracker, I. feel it’s worth it because I get so much diversity. It's taught me - grace, discipline and self- confidence,” she said. Dancing also helps her escape from a bad day. “If I have a hard day at school, I can go to ballet and forget all my troubles.” Plus, “It’s a good time,” she added. y Danae has eight best friends at Ballet Northeast with whom she has shared the last eight years. “One of the things that kept me in ballet was that I met - great friends at Ballet North- east. Although we go to differ- ent schools, we're bonded by ballet. We all have different lives, but we have ballet, which . we love,” said Danae. She is thankful to her parents, Sandra and Frank; Peter and Kristen Degnan of Ballet Northeast and all of her friends for their support. Danae, an honor student who. was recently awarded the Creative Student Award at Dallas High School, plans to attend Westchester University in the fall. She wants to study" . biology and dance medicine, a specialized area of sports medicine. Scholarship perpetuates Paul Lauer's legacy The memory of Paul H. Lauer was honored recently when a Kingston woman received a schol- arship in his name. The scholar- ship is made possible through the support of thesCultural Heritage Council of NEPA and wasawarded by the Luzerne County Commu- nity College (LCCC) Foundation. Meis Ghassan Ibrahim, an LCCC student, won the award. Although Paul H. Lauer of Shav- ertown passed away in 1992, the benefits of his hard work con- tinue to brighten the community. He served on many service orga- nizations, including the Wilkes- Barre Jaycees, Knights of Colum- bus, The Art Advisory Board of LCCC and the Association for Retarded Citizens. He founded the Luzerne County PAUL H. LAUER Ethnic Events Advisory Council, later named the Cultural Heritage Council of NEPA, which pioneered the original Luzerne County Holi- day Fair and Luzerne County Folk Festival. The festival grew out of | Lauer's work with Howard Fedrick and Frank Harrison on the Bicen- tennial Commission of 1676. The festival continued until 1995. “He was an extraordinary fa- ther as well as an extraordinary _ artist who recognized the rich- ness of diversity in our commu- nity, and strove throughout his life to both encourage and pre- serve it. The Folk Festival seemed + to me to be the culmination of all » of his efforts,” said Marilyn Devlin Olenick of Tunkhannock, his i daughter. Ey BOSS HUGO BOSS suits sportcoats sportswear dress shirts ties socks underwear SI ROUTE 6, DICKSON CITY EXIT 57A OFF I-S1JUST 1/4 MILE ABOVE THE VIEWMONT MALL! OPEN 10-9 DAILY. 12-5 SUNDAY 343-9886 TAILOR SHOP ON PREMISES Cooling System Oil, Lube and Fitter ush & Fill | AVE ON EVERYDAY CAR CARE AT MONRO! i : State Inspection Scheduled Maintenance Front End Alignment ~~ Shocks & Struts Monro Muffler Brake & Service Oil, lube & filter Brakes Transmission flush & fill Tires/ Rotation Mufflers / rT =r Si IRR Tr / : 0 | 50%0¢ Soff | any Monro Muffler brake pads or shoes | S139 includes up to 5 gts. Kendall motor oil, new Kendall oil filter, chassis lube (whiere applicable), and free undercar inspection. Additional I charge for filters on some vehicles. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other coupon or offer. Please call for an appointment. Coupon valid through 5/2/98 WHRW, AUFFLER/BRAKE ence Mufflers, brakes and a whole lot more! 2190 our mufflers carry our Worldwide Lifetime Muffler Guarantee. (In some cases our regular price is already 50% off the manufacturer's list price. In this case we will deduct $5.00 from our regular price.) Cannot be used in conjunction with any other coupon or offer. Coupon valid through 5/2/98 2191 i | | i | | Save 50% off manufacturers list price on any Monro muffler. Most of | | | | MAINE MUFFLER/BRAKE ASK ABOUT OUR PREMIUM BRAKE PACKAGES! | Present this coupon at time of purchase and take $25 off our regular I price on any broke shoe or pad replacement. Minimum $75 purchase required. Coupon cannot be used in conjunction with any other coupon | or offer. Coupon valid through 5/2/98 me ne de Ss tne Peace of Mind 2192 ! Dallas NER OTC, 674-6021 A ] Fd voy » ~ “wr - - -Kylie Shafferkoetter %
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