No matter how much time passes, there will never be enough time between the current and 1984 for Generation Xers and Baby Boomers to forget the film, The NeverEnding Story and the way Tami Stronach simply captivated movies in that film. It has been more than thirty years since that film was released and Tami admits that she never encounters anyone or auditions for anyone and that film is not mentioned. In the movie, Tami plays the role of a Childlike Empress. The movie had a production budget of $27 million, and it was Germany’s most expensive film ever at the time of its release.
While Tami was not new to the world of acting, The NeverEnding Story would be her first feature film. At the age of 12 that is quite an accomplishment. Since that movie was released, many people have wondered whatever happened to he little girl who played the role of the “Childlike Empress” in the movie.
It would seem with Tami taking on such a prominent role in the movie that it would have opened up a lot of opportunities for her to pursue an acting career. The truth is that the offer for new films and television shows rolled in, but Tami’s parents were highly averse to the associated risks that come with being a child actress. With the exception of a few minor acting roles here and there, Tami focused on her dance career – a career that has proven to be very successful.
In 1996, Tami Joined the Neta Dance Company and subsequently formed her own dance company – Tami Stronach Dance in 2000. Tami is a very gifted dancer and choreographer, and she has used her talents to inspire and teach others dancers. Tami and the dancers in her company have performed in more than 30 highly-renowned venues in and around New York City.
It would seem with all of the success that Tami has experienced with her dance company that she would be satisfied, but she is highly driven to be successful. She also founded paper Canoe, a performing arts company that is highly family oriented. As Tami puts it, the company is known for producing physically-driven ensemble-based work known for its merging of forms and sophistication.
When talking with Tami, you can’t help but wonder whether she regrets the shunned opportunities to pursue an acting career. It is likely that an acting career would have been more financially lucrative. However, it does not take long before her words, and the manner in which she speaks them introduces you to her passion. She is a dancer through and through. There is no doubt in my mind that if she desired to forge out a successful career in acting, she would achieve everything she desired and more.
What she expresses, not only in her words but also in her dedication to her craft, quickly reminds you that there is so much more to life that money. That is not to say that she is not making money, but it illuminates the fact that she is not chasing money and it does not drive her.
The magical world that unfolded in The NeverEnding Story seems a lifetime away from Tami, but she has created a world where she is continuously reinventing magical moments for adults and children alike.
Maybe her parents knew best. We all have seen so many child stars be consumed by Hollywood and other genres of entertainment. The list of fallen and destroyed child stars is too long to attempt to recall. While dancing is still a very pure form of entertainment, it tends to exist in a more subdued and majestic world than acting and music.
What we do know is that Tami Stronach has forged out an incredible career in the world of creative dance as a performer, choreographer, and entrepreneur. What is so amazing about all of this is the fact that she is hasn’t wholly entered the second half of her life yet. There are so many more goals to be achieved, many challenges to be overcome, and there are still obstacles to be conquered. There is not a doubt in my mind that Tami will more than deliver in ways that we can’t even imagine at this point. In a certain way, she is still a “Childlike Empress.”
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