Lexingtonian finally gets to dance home during Broadway Live in ‘American in Paris’

If Blair Ely is going to tell you a story, open your eyes.

The Lexington-raised performer is coming home this weekend as part of the cast of “An American in Paris,” which is part of the Broadway Live at the Opera House series.

“What I love, specifically about ‘American in Paris’ … is in our production, dance is such a primary mode of storytelling,” said Ely, who is part of the ensemble in the show inspired by the iconic 1951 movie of the same name. “It’s not like we have the songs and the lines that tell you the story and then there’s dancing in the background, just for fun, or for something to look at. We’re actually telling the story through the choreography, and I think that is so special, because it’s kind of rare that you get to do that.”

While most performers who come home on a Broadway Live tour can rattle off a list of their high school and local theater credits, Ely’s primary artistic endeavor growing up in Lexington was dance with several local dance groups including Barbara Ann’s School of Dance, Bluegrass Youth Ballet, and Kentucky Ballet Theatre.

Coming home to the Lexington Opera House

“What is so fun for me is that we used to do our shows at the Opera House, where we’re going to be doing American in Paris,” Ely says. “I remember doing ‘Rapunzel’ there, and I did some ‘Nutcrackers’ there, when I was younger. So, it will be so cool to be in the same dressing room, in the same theater that I was in, but now as an adult.”

Ely has a particularly special memory of celebrating a birthday in one of the Opera House dressing rooms during a ‘Nutcracker’ run. After graduating from Lexington Christian Academy in 2012, where she also sang in the choir, Ely went to the University of Alabama to study dance and psychology. It was there she was introduced to musical theater through a perfect show: “A Chorus Line.”

Ely played Kristine, the hopeful whose signature song is “Sing,” in which she proves she can’t.

“I actually do really love singing, but it’s like such a relatable thing as a dancer in musical theater that you do the dance part of the audition, and then they do cuts, and they say, ‘OK, can you sing?’ and then all the nerves come because you’re like, ‘Oh, this isn’t what I do first, this isn’t like what I’m most competent in,’ and you just get all of this nervous energy.

“And that’s how her song is. And she’s just all over the place, like crazy, talking about how she can’t sing, and you just get to be funny and free, and very human in that way. I love that character; so much fun.”

COVID delays ‘American in Paris’

Looking ahead, Ely would love to have another shot at “A Chorus Line,” and another dance-heavy classic, “42nd Street,” is also on her wish list. But “American in Paris” is a perfect homecoming, Ely says, even if it is two years overdue.

The tour started early in 2020 and was set to stop at the Opera House the last weekend in March.

“We got cut off on March 15, one week before we were supposed to go to Lexington in 2020, so we never made it to Lexington and my family never got to see the show or anything,” Ely says of the tour’s suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ely did get to come home. Like many young adults, she got unexpected time back home with family. She also taught some dance while she was back and pursued another artistic endeavor, drawing.

But as of January, the show is back on, giving Ely a chance to perform for her family, friends, and former teachers.

“They were able to bring the show back out this year, which is something I’m so grateful for, because a lot of shows that got cut off or canceled, that was the end, and they never got to go back out,” Ely says. “So, it’s really, really special. I feel like all of us feel such a special bond and extra gratitude for being back out, because we know that it could get taken away without any notice or without any expectation. So, it’s more special the second time around.”

‘An American in Paris’

What: National tour of the Broadway musical presented by Broadway Live at the Opera House.

Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. March 11, 1 and 7:30 p.m. March 12, 1 and 6:30 p.m. March 13

Where: Lexington Opera House, 401 West Short St.

Tickets: $60-$175. Available at the Lexington Center Ticket Office, by calling 859-233-3535 or visiting lexingtonoperahouse.com.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 6:00 AM.