Hannah

“Dancing has been a part of my life since I was little. That is the story of my life – I was a dancer before I could walk. I sung before I could talk, you know? And singing is just every day. 

I loved dancing as a little girl, but there wasn’t a lot of options for dance lessons when I was young. It was a small town so there wasn’t a lot going on. Finally, a ballet tutor came to town when I was about 11. 

My dad wanted to be an actor but acting wouldn’t put food on the table. So he went into forestry. In Canada, forestry is big, particularly on the west coast where I grew up. But they had church productions and so he was often on the stage with our church and so I came along to perform too. I was two years old, and I was up on stage singing ‘away in a manger’.

Music is the heart and soul of what I do. I always wanted to teach and it was actually a goal that I wrote down back in 2010; no, it was prior to that. It was 2008, I wrote a 10-year plan, including having kids and having a degree in music. I was homeschooled, so we were influential in our own learning path. 

So, I’m going to be 30 next year. I’ve got two kids, so I’ve kind of ticked that box. And I guess from now, I want to continue expanding my music teaching business. I want to make a mark on the world, to inspire confidence and to help people to express themselves in a way that is unique to them.

Music draws people together and it gives us hope, in the face of uncertainty. I named my school Sparrow Academy because to me, sparrows symbolize something that is common but still beautiful. Something that is small, one small voice, but it can have a bigger impact. There was a song written about it too; ‘God watches over the sparrows, and so too, he watches over us‘. 

For me, faith has been a big part of my life as well. It brings a lot of strength for the community. And we need hope, you know. One of the biggest things that keeps hope alive is that sense of community and music can be a big part of that. Bringing people together.”

-Hannah