LILY MACMENEMEY
Welcome Lily to our Friday Feature family. Lily is a multi talented movement artist from Toronto Canada. She has spent the past 5 years travelling around the world training and immersing herself in a plethora of dance styles and cultures. Such as popping, hip hop, Krump, Latin ballroom and flamenco just to name a few. The past year she’s been working as the assistant choreographer on a Justin Bieber music video and dancing on a Disney, Netflix production. She’s excited to continue growing and discovering as an artists.
Here is how Lily answered our signature questions:
How would you describe your relationship to dyslexia in a sentence, word, image or even a dance move?
Beautiful steps in a different direction.
How does Dyslexia influence your work and/or personal life?
Dyslexia is omnipresent. It’s there when you have to remember your PIN number, send a text, pick up choreography, when you’re turning left and the whole class is turning to the right. It’s taken a long time for me to associate dyslexia with anything positive. I’ve held a lot of shame around it for many years and only recently have I started to see the gifts it has to offer. Like a lot of people with dyslexia I’m incredibly creative. I view the world in a way very few have the privilege of. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a whole lot of work to do when it comes to my relationship with dyslexia, especially when it comes to the relationship I have with other people. There is a distinct shift in the way people perceive you once they know you’re dyslexic. It’s made me have a pretty good sense of character and taught me to keep my circle close. That being said I noticed the more I started to heal my relationship with it the more open I was to introducing that part of me to other people. I think everything changed when I realised I probably wouldn’t be fighting for my dreams as hard if I wasn’t dyslexic. It’s given me determination, grit, discipline and a mind that works in the strangest but most beautiful way.
Is there an item that best represents, aids or embraces your dyslexia? If so, can you explain it or share an image of it?
At the moment I feel a real connection to my dyslexia and the piano. I know it sounds strange but even on days where my brain can’t read sheet music I can still press keys and make music out of the chaos going on in my head. The morning of my first piano festival when I was a child I couldn’t play my piece in the right order. My teacher and my parents thought it was going to be a complete disaster. But the funny thing about dyslexia is it can surprise you In the most unexpected moments. I walked up on stage sat down at the piano, flicked my wrists in the most dramatic fashion and played that piece perfectly.
What advice would you give to your future self?
I’d like to tell my future self that she doesn’t have to worry. I am doing everything I possibly can right now to make her proud.