In Focus | Laura Elliott

In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.

What is your name?
Laura Elliott

Where are you from and how long have you lived in Kelowna?
I grew up in Penticton, BC and moved to Kelowna with my family in 1997. Up to the 'big city'.

Who is your favourite person to spend time with and why?
My two pet pigs, Hamish and Chelsey, are my favourite 'people' in the whole world. I’m allergic to dogs and cats and always wanted a fur baby. When I discovered that mini pigs are hypoallergenic, I was over the moon. Changed my life. They’re cuddly and a little too smart for their own good so I’m never bored chasing after those two. We like sun tanning on the lawn together, eating chips and watching romantic comedies on Netflix. They’re the most wonderful pets (if you don’t value your furniture or sleeping past 6am).

If you could go anywhere in the world right at this moment where would you go and why?
Tough to chose! Probably New York. We’re a big musical theatre family and I grew up watching old movie musicals with my dad. I was fortunate enough to see a lot of fantastic shows in Vancouver growing up, but I’d love to see a Broadway show in New York and definitely an Alvin Ailey show as well.

What is your favourite local store in Kelowna and why?
Blonde, hands-down. They carry very limited amounts of each item so you if you get the dress first, there aren’t 30 other girls in town with the same one. I go there every year to pick out the perfect dress to host my studio’s year-end show because their clothes are that perfect mix between dressed up and dressed down.

What is your favourite activity?
I’ve recently gotten into fly fishing. It’s the only 'quiet' thing I do in my life that gives me a break from being constantly busy. To just sit in the boat with nothing to do but appreciate this beautiful valley we live in reminds me that there is more to life than work and how fortunate I am to live in such an incredible place.

If you had to choose: pizza, tacos, or burgers?
Pizza, I could eat it three meals a day. All the food groups on one slice. I have Okanagan Pizza on speed-dial.

What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
I don’t embarrass easily because I think the unexpected in life is what gives us deeper glimpses of who people really are. When we laugh together we bond and when you’re embarrassed you can laugh at yourself. It’s my job to be organized, polished and appear like I have it 'all together', but that’s just a small part of who I am. The larger part of me is the woman who gets lost in shopping malls a lot, can’t spell check an email to save her life and has this one tooth that likes to collect large pieces of lettuce at every meal (I’m a pretty alluring dinner date!). You can’t have a good time if you’re afraid of being embarrassed and I intend to have a good time with good people who also only have it 'all together' part of the time.

What is the most inspiring thing that has happened to you?
For my grandmother’s 75th birthday I was at a loss as to what to get her for a present. Like most grandmas, she values quality time above gifts so we started on a project together to go through her boxes of old photos and actually get them into albums. It ended up being a year-long project and I wrote stories about her life she told me that were connected to the photos. I learned so much about who she is and about our family. I was so inspired to proud to come from a family of women who are strong, courageous and a little bit weird and I try and live up to that reputation every day. I hope when I’m her age I have her legacy of love and hard work. I better, or she’ll thump me!

Tell us your favourite childhood memory.
Exploring with my dad. In between movie musical marathons, we’d go on these wild adventures around the Okanagan. No dilapidated barn or suspicious rock was left unexplored and it taught me that 'not all who wander are lost.' When you don’t know where you’re going, the most amazing adventures arrive.

Where do you volunteer or give back to in the community?
At the moment I don’t have any volunteer positions, but I feel blessed to go to work every day and serve in a role that benefits the community. I’m most passionate about our Tuition Assistance program at the studio. Creator’s Arts Centre is Kelowna’s only charitable dance studio and our Tuition Assistance Program creates opportunities for dancers from low-income families to take classes for reduced tuition or for free (depending on need). When I first started dancing, this program enabled me to take classes and I wouldn’t be where I am today without that opportunity. I love facilitating that for other dancers like myself to achieve their dreams.

If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
We’re getting a lot better but we still live in a world where people with mental health challenges are often looked down on, judged and isolated. At the heart of it, we feel safe to think of it as 'us' and 'them' because we’re all too scared to admit we are all 'them'. None of us are untouched by mental health issues at some point and we need to stop living in fear of what people will think of our struggles and start living in honesty. It’s the only way to take the stigma away and we will all be better for it.

What is your favourite activity in Kelowna?
I love the 'Happy Hour Painting with Bob Ross' at Kelowna Wine and Art. It's $15 for a canvas, paint and supplies and the participants gather around a classic Bob Ross video and paint along. Who doesn’t love Bob Ross? I’m a terrible painter, but Bob makes me feel like a rock star.

Where would you sneak away to in Kelowna to spend some time alone?
I’ve not yet had the pleasure of spending a weekend at Sparkling Hills but it’s definitely on my 'must do' list. Perhaps if someone donated a weekend to the studio…*cough* registered charity *cough* tax receipt…

Where would you like to see positive change in Kelowna and why?
I’d like to see increased support for the arts events and shows in the community. We have an amazing professional ballet company, several terrific theatre companies and constant arts shows and these should be selling out. They’re that good. We’ll spend $200 on dinner without blinking an eye, but can’t cough up $30 for a professional dance performance by Ballet Kelowna? Really? Come over to my house for leftover pizza and wine and then we’ll hit the next Ballet Kelowna show together.

What do you think makes Kelowna great?
How passionate people are about their town. Kelowna residents love Kelowna and I love it too.

What are 3 things on your bucket list?
Hiking the Great Wall of China is #1 for sure. Then I’d like to go back to school and finish my dance therapy degree. Somewhere in there I’d like to open an animal rescue for potbellied pigs. So many are abandoned because they get too big for their homes and I want to give a home and belly rubs to all of them.

Tell us something that not everyone may know about you.
Most people know me as the Artistic Director of Creator’s Arts Centre (CAC), but I also have a second job I’ve worked at for 17 years. Right out of high school, I went to OK College and got my certification as a Human Service Worker and began working for the Bethesda group homes. These homes serve adults living with a variety of special needs and those clients are like my family. I work mostly on the holidays when the studio is closed and I would never want to get so busy I didn’t have time to keep connected there. I’ve spent my whole adult life so far with the people in Bethesda and we’ve grown together, learned together and had a ton of fun. It’s my long-term goal at the studio to develop a dance program for adults and children with diverse physical and mental abilities to blend my two passions together.

How do people connect with you, personally, through social media? (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest)
I have my personal Facebook page and I also use an Instagram account to view the world through my pigs’ perspective.

What is the name of your business/organization?
Creator’s Arts Centre

Why did you get into/start this business?
When I was 17, I met the woman that changed my life. Her name is Naomi Bothe and she is the founding Artistic Director of my studio. She believed in me as a dancer and a person and has mentored me for over 18 years. I’ve always loved dance but did not have the opportunity to take classes for more than a few sporadic years as a child. Naomi told me it’s never too late to go after what you want and I trained hard under her and many other inspiring teachers. I started my path at CAC as a student and then trained as a teacher, became a board member, worked as an event coordinator and grant writer and then moved into my current position with her support all along the way. CAC is my home and I’ll always be grateful she believed in me.

What is the goal of your business?
Creator's Arts Centre is a registered charity and we strive to provide professional dance training that inspires creativity and expression in today's youth. Our students learn important life skills through their dance training and our close-knit community, including self-worth, respect for others, creative thinking, integrity and living a healthy and active life. We believe that kids should be kids and strive to provide an environment where their age and bodies are respected with age-appropriate costuming, music and choreography.

What has been your biggest struggle either in work or life?
There being only one of me! I love getting involved in everything and anything. Sometimes I think I get better at saying no and then someone has a terrific idea and I just have to get involved. I wish I had three bodies so I could really get all the things that I want to do done.

If you could start all over again would you do things the same or would things be different?
I’d do it the same. Sure there are mistakes I made along the way, but they taught me more than my successes. I love my job, my pet pigs and where I am in life and all my experiences so far brought me here.

What do you always find yourself saying?
'Remember, this is your dream.' Sometimes I think we envision what our lives will be like when we get every thing we’ve ever wanted and it’s a rosy picture of no stress and our days filled only with what we most enjoy and that’s simply just not the case. So when I feel bogged down by endless emails, tough decisions or the cleaners didn’t show up at the studio and I’m cleaning the toilets, I remind myself that this is my dream and every part of it is part of living in that dream. I feel so fortunate to get up every day and go to a job that I’m good at, passionate about and paid to do. If cleaning toilets is a part of that, bring on the rubber gloves!

If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?
I really don’t know, surprise me! I love meeting new people.

Why do you think it is important to shop locally?
Because I’m a local business/charity too. If I want people to support me, I need to support them. There is very little we need in the Okanagan that we can’t get locally, it’s all on our doorstep. When I buy my veggies at the Farmer’s Market that enables that family to afford to put their kids in dance. Everyone wins.

What has been your proudest accomplishment?
Attending the Simon Fraser University Contemporary Dance Program. At 26, I was one of the oldest first year students to ever be accepted and won the spot over dancers still in the prime of their dance abilities. It was a dream of mine to study dance at a university and I loved every minute I was there.

Give someone you think that deserves it a shout out and explain why!
Liz Ranney. This woman is an incredible artist and just did a brand new logo for us. She does all our design work and has elevated our brand significantly with her art. She’s also an accomplished contemporary painter, muralist, illustrator, instructor and probably one of the nicest, most down to earth people you will ever meet.

My choice for the KelownaNow In Focus spotlight is:
Don Hildebrandt, CEO of Hildebrandt Homes. I believe Don to be one of the biggest un-sung heroes of the Okanagan. His story on how he came to build Hildebrandt Homes and the benefit they bring to the community deserves an award. He’s compassionate, a smart businessman, a generous community supporter and too humble to toot his own horn, so I’m going to do it!

Some general comments I would like to share are:
Just a thank you to KelownaNow for offering me the opportunity to go on and on about my studio and my pet pigs. Sorry for the run-on sentences. I get excited, then I get chatty.

We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna.