Rockford's Ballard family sings, dances messages across Illinois
February 3, 2014
Rockford Register Star
By Corina Curry ccurry@rrstar.com
MWAH! troupe member Landon Ballard, 14, of Rockford, performs December 20, 2013, at Rochelle Middle school
(Photos By Dan Williams of Lifeworks Photography in Rochelle, Illinois)
Click Bigger for a larger picture.
Luke Ballard of Rockford startles the audience by portraying a loud racist during the opening of a performance at Rochelle Middle School. Luke, 18, his brother, Landon, 14, and his sister, Leah, 16, have been part of MWAH!, an issues–oriented teenage traveling troupe, for nearly a year and a half.
Click Bigger for a larger picture.
Troupe members (from left) Rachel Plasch, Leah Ballard, and Landon Ballard sing acappella during a performance at Rochelle Middle School Dec. 20, 2013.
Click Bigger for a larger picture.
ROCKFORD – School looks a little different for the Ballard family of Rockford.
The youngest of three siblings, Landon, 14, is a freshman at Berean Baptist Christian School, but his older brother and sister, Leah, 16, and Luke, 18, are home–schooled.
On top of that, all three participate in a traveling performance troupe that takes positive messages to young people in schools across Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.
The Ballards are members of MWAH!, Messages Which Are Hopeful. The group performed at Rochelle Middle School late last year and will be at Rock Falls High School in Whiteside County later this month. MWAH! members use song and dance woven together with skits on topics like bullying, depression, divorce, drug addiction, discrimination, teen suicide and abusive relationships.
"I like that we're spreading important messages," Landon said. "Sometimes kids don't know what to do when you're being bullied. They don't know that there are people who will help you out and help it stop."
MWAH! performers range in age from 12 to 18. They attend 11 different schools in seven cities in Illinois. Leah sings and plays piano, Luke plays bass and Landon plays guitar and drums. All three act. Landon's favorite skit includes a song called "Two Houses." It's about having divorced parents and the pressure of living in two houses.
"The students pay really good attention to that one," he said. "You can see it in their faces that they get it." It's not all serious, Landon said. The troupe likes to get the audience involved in the show. They do some skits that are funny. "We do things to try to lighten the mood a little because we don't want it to be all serious," he said. "We try to include students in our performances. We try to relate to them."
Corina Curry: 815–987–1371; ccurry@rrstar.com; @corinacurry
Read more: Original Story