Thursday, January 10, 2013

This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Sutton Foster

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week's most inspiring pop culture moment.

On the ABC Family series Bunheads, Michelle Simms struggles to make her way in a world that’s a bit foreign to her. The Vegas showgirl turned seaside dance teacher is trying to find her footing so to speak. But the actress who plays her, Sutton Foster, knows that fans can learn a thing or two from her misguided character.

Sutton can’t exactly pinpoint what makes her TV alter ego such an unexpectedly wonderful role model for girls. She conceded, “Michelle is a hot mess… but she’s a lovable mess — someone that you’re rooting for and you want her so desperately to find her way.”

But she believes that viewers can learn from her onscreen persona’s mistakes. She admitted, “In many ways I think that Michelle is an example, and she knows it too, of lost dreams. She had all these great dreams of being a ballerina and for whatever reasons, she never followed through on stuff. She let go of her dreams. So she’s going, ‘Hey, don’t be like me.’ Especially in her relationship with Sasha, saying, ‘Take it from me. Quitting ballet now is a big mistake. Don’t follow in my footsteps.’”

The two-time Tony-winner would have liked to have seen that played out on TV when she was a kid. She revealed, “I wish I had a show like this when I was a kid of like minded people like me. Because I was a dancer growing up and I would have loved to have watched a show about young dancers and people finding their way. And a character like Michelle where you’re like, ‘She’s such a mess but look at her go.’ She’s still trying.”

Sutton continued, “It’s someone you can relate to and root for and hope for. And she makes you feel like you’re not alone in your own mess of a life. So I think that’s what she’s there for. It’s someone to go, ‘She can do it. Maybe I can, too.’ And she’s starting over in her late ‘30s and really trying to find a place where she matters. And I think a lot of people can relate to that, whether you’re a dancer or not.”

Tune in to Bunheads on Monday nights at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Central on ABC Family.




For related stories check out:
 

This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Yolanda Goins
 

This week's inspiring pop culture moment: Jane Lynch

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