Friday, November 30, 2018 3Brooklin Town Crier Local Dancers Aiming For The Sky All they needed was a singing Santa Claus. How hard can that be to find? Evidently, pretty darn hard. Without having found one, Phil Nero and his wife Kalie, Brooklinites who are professional dancers and choreographers, had to cancel a proposed Christmas show, a "jukebox" musical at the Brooklin United Church. Written, directed and performed by the two of them along with a cast of other performers, "Home for Christmas" featured timeless Christmas songs of the past. Its aim, as Phil pointed out, "was to bring you back to a simpler time and remind us that beyond the gifts and festivities, family is at the heart of Christmas." No Santa Yet, after stomping the theatrical bushes for a warbling Santa and coming up empty, Nero had to cancel the show a month before it opened. Such is one of the vagaries of show business in an area that doesn't really have much going for it in that vein. They promise to try again next year though. The couple, who moved to Brooklin four years ago, met, ironically, when she auditioned for him for a production of Beauty and the Beast at the Toronto studio Metro Movement which she now runs. Once they got married, Phil describes how they were looking for investment properties to renovate then sell. One house they owned in To- ronto was originally a crack house which they gutted and rebuilt. They were looking for their next great investment and happened upon one in Brooklin. So, on a lovely May day, they strolled up Baldwin from their lawyer's office and saw what was to become their new digs. Meanwhile, Kalie's parents wanted to be near their grandchild so they sold their Vancouver Island home and helped Phil and Kalie build a new one on Charles St. ("Home for Christmas," by the way, was to be under the name of Charles St. Productions.) Jersey Boys choreography Phil, 43, recently returned from Calgary where he did the choreography for The Jersey Boys. He's performed all over the continent in shows like "West Side Story," "Mamma Mia," "The Lion King," "Chicago," and many more. His resume includes choreography and directing credits in a host of shows. The physical demands of dancing have pushed him towards a career in choreography, following the lead of his idols like Gene Kelly and Bob Fosse (" a guiding light"). "I guess my type A personality was part of the reason of the attraction to choreography," he says. "I was at a stage in my career when I wanted to see more and harder dancing. I wanted to push the envelope. "A good choreographer is a storyteller. You have to have the story arc in mind. How do the scene and dance contribute to the story." School beginnings And how did it all begin? In school, of course. While attending grade 6 at Mother Teresa in Markham, he had a role in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and followed that with being involved in all school productions. "I sort of knew I could dance," he says, "but only in a pedestrian sense." Then a dance teacher invited him to her studio because she had no boy dancers. "All girls and no boys!? Sign me up."His career has had him perform in just about every major musical imaginable. Now, wishing for a more stable lifestyle, he and Kalie are looking at the next big thing - and it's not another house reno. Owns Toronto studio Kalie has also performed in dozens of productions along with film and TV roles. Co-owner of the dance studio Metro Movement she's also taught and adjudicated dance throughout Canada. Phil is trying generate interest in creating a professional theatre company in Durham. To that end, he's been scouting the region for locales and hopes to connect with just the right people who have the means to establish not just a company but also build a theatre. It might have been an easier sell with a singing Santa show. Still, at least Phil and Kalie Nero have established roots in Brooklin and are looking to put the area on the theatrical map.