Time to Shine

Until about a year ago, Lydia Jacobson didn’t really believe she could continue dancing, at least beyond high school.

While she has spent her teen years focused heavily on developing her dance skills, it was hard for her to fully grasp how far she had come, and how much her hard work was about to pay off.

But the DeKalb High School senior’s view of her life’s horizon changed drastically, as she tells it, thanks in no small part to a conversation with her mom and grandmother.

“I’d always talked about being a teacher,” Jacobson said. “But one night, I said what I really want to do is dance.

“And my grandma just said, ‘Well, then dance. No one’s stopping you.’”

This weekend, Jacobson once again will take the stage, this time dancing the lead role of Dorothy in “Wizard of Oz & Swan Lake.”

Presented by the Beth Fowler School of Dance, of Genoa and St. Charles, the production will offer a telling of author L. Frank Baum’s classic tale of Dorothy’s journey from Kansas to the Emerald City and back again, using dance. The production will be staged over four shows, March 13-15 at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb. It will feature a cast entirely made up of dancers from communities in and around DeKalb and Kane counties.

It is not Jacobson’s first prominent role. In “The Nutcracker” last December, for instance, she danced as the Christmas Fairy. And before that, Jacobson danced as The Genie, in the “Aladdin” act of the Fowler school’s “Storybook Ballet,” last March.

But Dorothy marks the first lead role for Jacobson.

Jacobson’s mother, Martha Robinson, said she marvels at what her daughter is achieving, but isn’t surprised.

To begin, Robinson and Jacobson noted the arts – and music, in particular – have remained a constant presence in their household. Both Robinson and her husband, Mark Robinson, play in the Kishwaukee Symphony Orchestra. While both play multiple instruments, in the KSO, Martha plays bassoon, and Mark, the French horn.

Further, constant movement has always been a defining characteristic of Jacobson’s personality.

“Even when I was pregnant with her, she was moving around, to the point where you could see it, when I would rehearse,” Robinson said, with a laugh.

And Jacobson has always had an innate ability to connect with others, sometimes with words, sometimes without.

“Dance is how I really express myself,” Jacobson said. “It lets me tell others, and receive back from them, that we’re not alone. We’re all feeling the same things, together.”

Jacobson has danced at the Fowler school since she was 10 years old.

While still young, Jacobson’s entrance into the Fowler program came relatively late, compared to many of her peers, some of whom have danced in the school since they were 4 years old.

The first few years were difficult, she said, as she had to outwork those of the same age simply to catch up.

And in the years since, the hard work hasn’t stopped, as the challenges and demands on her time and her body have only increased.

Since she was about 13, Jacobson has spent her Saturday mornings washing dishes and waiting tables at Martha’s Kitchen, the Malta restaurant her parents own and operate.

“wIt’s a family business,” Jacobson said, with a laugh. “That means, if you’re in the family, you work there.”

Working in a family business also meant that, in addition to savoring Saturday mornings with platefuls of her mom’s biscuits and gravy – “They’re made from scratch. I’m biased, but they’re the best you’ve ever had” – Jacobson needed to learn to motivate herself and structure her own time, without a stereotypical dance parent hovering overhead or financing every whim.

“We’re just so glad she is getting to enjoy the fruits of all the work she’s put in,” Robinson said. “We always told her you’ll get out whatever you put in.”

Jacobson, however, wished to also thank her family, especially her parents and grandparents, who she said have always supported her dreams, even to the point of sacrifice.

“Even when money was tight, they never once told me, ‘This isn’t right,’ or we need to stop,” said Jacobson. “None of this would be possible without them.”

Beth Fowler, owner of the dance school and its artistic director, said Jacobson’s ability to focus, work hard and connect with people, of all ages and backgrounds, made her “the perfect Dorothy.”

Fowler noted Jacobson’s dedication to classes and rehearsals “for years, as she worked hard to progress from the beginning levels to the pre-professional dance company level” she has now attained.

“She is such a role model, especially to the little Munchkins,” Fowler said, referring to the beginning students Jacobson will at times, help instruct.

“Her passion, hard work and dedication to dance has paid off,” she said.

Jacobson is poised to graduate from DeKalb High School in May.

This fall, she plans to head to Columbia College in Chicago, the recipient of a hefty scholarship in the college’s dance program.

Beyond that, Jacobson said she now hopes to dance professionally. It’s a goal she said she didn’t allow herself to set, up to now.

“I feel like this is my opportunity to really show what I can do, like this is what I’m supposed to do,” she said. “It’s a good spot to be in.”