The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

ammy Eby has never Shad visions of sugar plums dance through her head, but she has danced with the Sugar Plum Fairy as a member of Ballet Jorgen‘s annual production of the Nutcracker. Nutcracker ballet dancer straps on slippers for homeâ€"town fans The Waterloo teenager, who considers Christmas het favourite time of the year and is the first one out of bed Dec. 25 to open her presents, said it‘s all about tradition. Whether it‘s the fiveâ€"foot tall singing snowman in the great room of her family‘s Waterloo home, or the ornaâ€" ments that have just returned to the bottom of the Christmas tree that once had to be tied to the wall to protect from the Eby sisters‘ overexhuberant celebraâ€" tions, nothing gets her more excited than sharing the spirit of the season. _ "It‘s always exciting to get up on Christmas morning and this adds to it," said Eby. That‘s why Eby can‘t believe she‘s become a part of so many other families tradition in her threeâ€"year run with the internationally acclaimed ballet company that comes to the Centre in the Square Dec. 28. There‘s always a special feeling she gets when she sees the audience‘s reaction 10 the production that has taken her from the northern reaches of Ontario to the East Coast of Canada. "It‘s nice to see the little kids and their parents after the show." said Eby. "They just look really excited. "It‘s nice that so many people enjoy it." But performing in the seasonal favourite almost didn‘t happen for the Grade 9 student at Resurrection secondary school. Other _ interests like horseback riding. soccer and swimming almost got her to give up dancing at age 11 after training in ballet since she was three years old. "I couldn‘t do anything at school and I couldn‘t do eIARKESURERDURIDE DDESNTUEervOou®)l By Bos VrBANAc Chronicle Staff Waterloo‘s Sammy Eby can‘t wait to perform in Ballet Jorâ€" gen‘s presentation of the Nutcracker in front of local fans at Centre in the Square Dec. 28. anything clse 1 wanted to because it was just too much," said Eby about the tough decision she faced. But when her friend told her that an audition was coming up for the annual Nutcracker _ tour, _ she thought she‘d give dance one more try. She now dances as one of Clara‘s PAR _ UV J NAPA ARTS FOCUS friends â€" with Clara played by Waterloo‘s Maya Ashoka â€" and is on stage for most of the performance in other supporting roles. "1 thought it would be fun dancing with a profesâ€" sional company," said Eby, who is now in her third year with the annual Chnstmas tour. "It wasn‘t even that w08 vRAaMAr mOTG CHRONICLE i long after 1 had made the decision to stop. "When I got the part I thought maybe 1 should keep dancing." The â€" success â€" even inspired her to audition for the prestigious Royal Winâ€" nipeg Ballet. Although she didn‘t get in it was a onceâ€" inâ€"aâ€"lifetime experience. Touring with a dance company like Ballet Jorgen has opened her eyes to the life of a professional dancer. "After seeing what they have to go through, it‘s not something â€" I‘ve â€" really thought of doing, but it is an option," said Eby, who also plays a mouse and a reinâ€" deer in this year‘s producâ€" tion. "You get to meet a lot of people." took her from Thunder Bay to PE.L., where she perâ€" formed on the same stage as a production of Anne of Green Gables she watched when she visited the East Coast with her family. "That was kind of strange being back in that theatre," said Eby. "But I liked it a lot. "That‘s the (best} part â€" the feeling you get just before you go out on stage. With the first show it‘s nerâ€" vousness, but by the last show it‘s just excitement." "Every show is exciting because they‘re all a hittle different, but it‘s nice to know that someone you know is out in the audiâ€" ence," said Fby. And since the seasonal tour always makes a stop in Kitchener, she always gets a chance to dance in front of family and friends. includâ€" ing her dad, Kevin, her mom, Ann, and her litde sisâ€" ter, Shannon. "Every show is exciting because they‘re all a little different..." Last year the production â€"Sammy Eby batlet dancer The Region of Waterloo Arts Fund has awarded $50,950 in grants this year. The grants approved this week were: $2,200 to Waterloo fabric artist Arlene Turkington, to help with works patterned after the seven deadly sins; $2,300 to Kitchener artist Marilyn Batte, to enable her to finish a series of 24 largeâ€"scale orchid portraits; $1,500 to guitarist Bob MacLean to help develop workshops for the 2nd annual Waterloo Regional Guitar Festival; $1,600 to playwright Brian Van Norman to help workâ€" shop his new play Refuge; $3,000 to Kitchener sculpâ€" tor Mary Catherine Newcomb to aid research and development for an experimental visual technique to be unveiled at a show in Sept. 2006; $3,350 to artist Inâ€"Sun Kim of Kitchener for a show called Modular Clay to open at the Rotunda Gallery in Aug. 2006; $5,000 to musician and artist Jascha Narveson to heip create a performance art project blending sound and visual elements called Transference; $3,000 to Next Level Theatre to help produce Secrets a play based on secrets shared with the playwright William Kernohan by citizens of the region; $4,000 to writer and filmmaker Paul Eichorn to assist in creatâ€" ing a documentary about the family of artist Carl Beam tentatively called the Beam Family; $4,000 to Youth Education for Success, a youth theatre develâ€" opment project in Kitchener in caollaboration with MT Space; $3,000 to the groove rock group Snack to help with production of a compact disc; $6,000 to the Waterloo Region Arts Council in support of the docuâ€" mentation project Capturing Art in Action; $2,500 to assist the pilot project miniâ€"season of Encore! Musiâ€" cal Stage, a new company presenting classical musiâ€" cal theatre in the region; $3,000 to the Fresh Ayt Fesâ€" tival to assist with youth visual arts and music proâ€" gramming: $4,000 to the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery of Waterloo to support a new publications project; $2,500 to Shadow Puppet Theatre, a new venture from Elmira that plans to present Macbeth using handmade shadow puppets. Twice a year (spring and fall} applicants are asked to submit a brief letter of intent. Then a shortlist of applicants are asked to submit detailed proposals. Applicants are encouraged to create new works, bring art to the public and benefit Waterloo Region . All disciplines are welcome and applications are encouraged from both individuals and arts organizaâ€" tions in the region including: Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, Wilmot, Woolwich, Wellesley and North Dumfries. The applications are judged by a 14â€"memâ€" ber board. The arts fund is a nonâ€"profit corporation created in 2002 to provide arm‘s length funding for the perâ€" forming, visual and literary arts in the Region of Waterloo. Since 2002 the arts fund has made grants of more than $350,.000. For more information call David Scott, chair, at 653â€"4813. For a brochure and application information calt Lee Ann Wetzel, manager of council and administraâ€" tive services for the Regional Municipality of Water loo, at 5754410 or wleeann@region.waterlaoo.on.ca or visit www artsfund.ca. Regional awards fund chooses grant recipients Early Childhood Music 440 Phillip St.. Waterloo §75â€"2953 www.promusic.ca PRO MUSIC SCHOOL imagine your child in a small group leaming to play the keyboard, stnging intora metophone on our special stage playing un a tull set of drums being introduced weekIy t exers kind od musical instriment hearing them plaved. handling and trving thent Ages 3 to A 10 weeks $99