Thornton heads to Disney Tokyo
Annie Thornton fell in love with the art of dance at the age of three and has loved performing on stage since she was a child. Though it started with dance, she found a new love for theatre in high school, where she began dreaming of performing on Broadway.
Annie’s dreams of performing on Broadway began to take shape during her junior year at Bishop Kenny. As the school was shut down as part of the lockdown protocol in response to COVID-19, Annie began a new dream of performing for Disney. Little did she know, this dream would come to fruition very soon.
In July of 2021, Annie began her Disney journey. After several rounds of auditions to perform abroad in Paris, Hong Kong, Japan, Shang-Hai, and domestic locations in Hollywood and Orlando, Annie received an in-person call-back from Tokyo. She shared, “I just kept my head down so as not to be distracted by my nerves and tendency to compare myself with others. I kept praying that whatever God wants will happen.” It was more than a month before she heard back, and on December 16 she was invited to join the Disney crew as a face-character performer in Tokyo.
Annie left for Tokyo on Friday, April 1, and will spend the next three months in training and rehearsals before beginning her new role as a friend of the Disney princesses. She will remain in Tokyo for a full year while also completing her college courses at Santa Fe College. Annie plans to return home next April in time to watch her brother JP graduate from Bishop Kenny before deciding what the next leg of her journey will entail.
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