Hannah Lormore

My name is Hannah Lormore (she/her), and I am a YLab student at One Stone’s Lab51. My Why Statement is “to use my creative potential in order to forge connections with others and create change.” My favorite way to connect with people and do good is through theater and performance. Theater allows people to escape for a couple hours and find joy in what they’re watching. As a performer, it allows me to share the experiences and emotions of a character. In the current state of the world, I see and hear about so many people struggling to stay connected to the people and things that they love, so it’s important to me that I do good by spreading joy and happiness to people, and helping them feel connected to something. I have been a part of Idaho Regional Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker for nine years. This year, we weren’t sure what The Nutcracker would look like due to COVID-19 restrictions. Our studio built a blackbox theater this summer in order to have our own space for performances. We wore masks while dancing and restaged the performance to allow for social distancing. As it became clear that we weren’t going to be able to have an audience, we decided to livestream our shows. This allowed family members who couldn’t normally come to watch our performance. We were able to have audiences from all around the US, and also from several locations around the world, including places like Spain, Germany, and Norway. Through our performances, we were able to spread joy and holiday cheer to those who were able to watch. It was unbelievable that we were able to overcome all the obstacles that we did. It involved many hours, at least five different pivots, and blood, sweat, and many many tears, but it was so rewarding to be able to share our performances with as many people as we did. I’m so grateful for all the work put in by our teachers, volunteers, tech crew, and the amazing group of girls I get to dance with everyday.