[Click her for a gallery of photos from the show]
Most athletic performer of the year goes to…..drum roll please….Lindsey Stirling.
Showing off skills and moves that resemble a highly trained ballerina she darted and danced all over the stage at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Aug 15.
Even a hot summer evening and a show near the end of a long tour could not slow down this amazing classically trained violinist.
Stirling studied classical music while growing up in Arizona. Her passion for the violin became an emotional consolation while she worked her way past a difficult struggle with an eating disorder.
She created a world with whimsical fantasies and explored different moods of energy and choreography.
She may be most noted for her appearance on 2010’s “America’s Got Talent”, where she was eliminated in the quarter finals and was told by Piers Morgan that the world had no place for a dancing dubstep violinist.
Stirling has used these setbacks as the stepping stones that have helped her create the person and artist she is today.
The Music Box Tour used a wide array of stage props with an elaborate orchestration of screens, lights and sound.
She led her audience through a musical wonderland from Celtic folk rock music to electric violin dance beats to “Phantom of the Opera” and “Game of Thrones.”
It is classical music meets the high energy of the fairy dance queen.
At times during the show, Stirling takes time to catch her breath and wipe away some perspiration from the hot evening while she shares her story and passes on a message of positivity, confidence and one’s own ability to overcome obstacles and be successful.
Her show was a visual feast for the eyes with set changes and virtual video feeds that would be fit for a Broadway play.
Coupled with the amazing phonics of her band and the deep positive message of “crystallize” it is easy to see why Lindsey Stirling has garnered such a large Youtube following, with millions of views of her videos and fans worldwide.
Her ability to capture a niche where many other artists fear to tread is a testament to her perseverance as an artist and a positive role model.