If your kid loves to put on shows and won’t stop doing cartwheels in the living room, it’s a good sign they may enjoy dance or a program like the Young Canadians. And sometimes, those early programs turn into something bigger.

That’s the case for Calgary’s Vanessa Mitchell, who is spending this winter performing in the first-ever U.S. Broadway tour of Elf: The Musical. The Broadway staging has been produced before, including in London’s West End, but this marks the show’s debut as a full touring Broadway production across American cities.

Mitchell grew up in Calgary’s dance and youth theatre ecosystem.

“ I joined the Young Canadians at the age of eight… I started ballet classes at three years old at McDonnell Wilson Dance Academy and stayed with them all throughout high school,” she say

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