Ten Grandchildren

Jean Anne Laico

The dancer, the beauty, and the soon-to-be Marketing guru!

Jean Anne (20) is a budding young beauty. She's also one terrific ballerina! Jean Anne is the first daughter and second child of my sister Kathy and brother-in-law Tony (Anthony) Laico.

Jean Anne just performed in the Nutcracker (2007) with the Repertory Dance Theatre, a professional dance troupe based in Allentown, PA, which is near DeSales College, where she is currently enrolled as a student.

Jean Anne initially entered DeSales as a dance major. She recently made the decision to switch her major to Marketing and Communications, a decision she seems to be at peace with, is quite confident in, and shows no sign of looking back. This is good. It demonstrates that Jean Anne has gained the maturity to make her own decisions and thus her own way in life. It's a big accomplishment for young shoulders.

This isn't to say that Jean Anne has given up dance--she most definitely has not. She intends to pursue it on her own, while getting a degree that's more lucrative than a performing arts career. I certainly understand her logic, being that I've been a dancer for over 30 years and have pursued dance most faithfully and passionately, but also have always had a writing career to keep me in the money.

I was so very pleased when Jean Anne came to one of my recent performances at Bergen Community College. I hadn't performed in quite a long while, so I was very nervous, and I'll have to admit, I was extra nervous knowing Jean Anne was coming.

She saw my solo "Blind Spot." I think she liked it! I'm so glad she had the opportunity to see me dance before I stop performing altogether. It meant a great deal to me that she was there. She even asked a question for the choreographers during the Q&A section, held right after the show.

Jean Anne looks amazingly like my grandmother, Helen Peters Scully, when she was young. And my grandmother was quite the beauty. (Helen Scully is Jean Ann's maternal great grandmother). Plus, I know my grandmother has a very special spirit because I often feel it.

Jean Anne is a special spirit too!