Let Her Kick The Film

07/04/2021

We are honored to have Jillian Swanson and our music video, Every Time I Kick the Ball, featured on the Women of Substance Vlog Page. Check it out here: http://www.wosradio.com/video-blog/2021/4/1/todays-video-share-every-time-i-kick-the-ball-by-jillian-swanson

Thanks Women of Substance!

Jillian Swanson, an operatic soprano, is a native of Schaumburg, Illinois. Since graduating with her Masters in Vocal performance from the State University of New York at Fredonia, she has appeared in numerous operatic, concert, and musical theatre productions throughout the country and over-seas, m

23/03/2021

The pandemic may have slowed us down but we finished this project anyway. Glad to share this with everyone.

23/03/2021

We are excited to announce the release of the Every Time I Kick the Ball video. Thanks to Harlem High School for allowing us to shoot in one of their locker rooms. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJNImUoR6U8&t=7s

Let us know what you think. Next step, developing the full Let Her Kick musical short.

17/03/2021

Pretty excited with the progress we are making on this project. We successfully shot the music video for Every Time I Kick the Ball and it is now in post. Can’t wait to share this video with everyone.

17/03/2021

Jillian Swanson takes time from her Every Time I Kick the Ball recording session at Soundvault Studios in Chicago to discuss her character, Gabby, motivation to overcome the obstacles placed in front of her as she pursues her dream to kick for her high school football team.

06/03/2021

We were finally able to shoot the music video. The project is now in post. Thank you to Nick Stange and Harlem High School for the use of the locker room. We can't wait to share this project with everyone!

21/02/2021

21/02/2021

Final wardrobe check before we begin filming next weekend. “I’m ready Coach. Put me in.”

21/02/2021

Final wardrobe check before we film next weekend.

02/01/2021

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, we are doing our best to move this project along. Next step is to find a locker room to shoot the music video portion. Excited to see this through.

01/01/2021

The pandemic restrictions offered some unique challenges in the studio recording the vocal track for the music video, but Jillian and Andrew nailed it!

21/12/2020

As a former college athlete and storyteller, I have followed the story of Sarah Fuller with interest. Days after she helped the Vanderbilt University Women’s Soccer team the SEC Conference Championship, she received a call asking if she would come try out to be a kicker of the Men’s Football team. She proved to the coaches and the team she could do the job with the result she was the only kicker rostered as the team traveled to play the University of Missouri. As she kicked off the second half of play, Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five conference football game. A week later, she made history again, becoming the first woman to score in a Power Five conference football game when she was successful on two extra point attempts. Her college football career ended abruptly when Vanderbilt’s scheduled game against Georgia was cancelled due to COVID.

I especially liked the similarities between Fuller and Gabby Mitchell in Let Her Kick. Both women overcame multiple obstacles placed before them as they followed their athletic dreams. Both relied upon the inspiration of female role models that came before them. While Fuller’s coaches, teammates and fans were generally supportive, unfortunately the haters were not far behind. Social media posts complained she didn’t kick the ball very far (she squib-kicked the ball exactly where he asked her to); this was merely a PR stunt to distract Vandy fans from, a dismal 0-9 season; or the one troll who was disappointed that a “6’3” lineman didn’t lay her out during a kick off”. (Fuller is 6’2” and probably could have handled the situation.) When I read the negative comments, it only reassured me there was a real need to share Gabby’s story in Let Her Kick.

Sarah Fuller’s collegiate football career is over. She will return to the Women’s Soccer team in the spring for the COVID rescheduled NCAA Tournament. She plans to transfer to North Texas University next year to pursue her master’s degree in hospital administration as well as finish her remaining two years of NCAA soccer eligibility. No matter what her future brings, Fuller will be likely be remembered most by the positive role model she provided to women, young and old, to overcome the obstacles, follow your dreams and “Play Like a Girl”. , ,

30/11/2020

"I represent the little girls out there who wanted to do this or have thought about playing football or any sport, really," she said after the game.

29/11/2020

Sarah Fuller, a goalie for the Vanderbilt University Women’s Soccer team, joined the Men’s Football team as they played the University of Missouri. The Vanderbilt senior made history when she kicked off in the second half, becoming the first woman to play in a Power Five football game. https://news.yahoo.com/vanderbilt-university-senior-sarah-fuller-192623546.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACX3wm6j391xUbFEkXKA91ttzA4xkiZPMLE4SyAuYazJclsyCijcr1AuZrBI3QfM_yV-IdoxDPwLjYV1fwQ-IU-NQxg9OY-_xUoXu5517TkFpKb2qw9dfi3zzNxjpYsU2rBxVA_DLk-gU_HLFcI12Yc078jMj9ZpfdKsqAaLVcRP

Fuller wore the saying “Play Like a Girl” on the back of her helmet, a nod to the nonprofit that encourages girls to play sports and get exposure to STEM opportunities.

"I represent the little girls out there who wanted to do this or have thought about playing football or any sport, really," she said after the game.

08/11/2020

Wardrobe fitting - Pandemic Restrictions

08/11/2020

Dancing Pony Productions is happy to announce the casting of the talent Jillian Swanson to play the role of Gabby Mitchell in the indie musical short, Let Her Kick.

Jillian Swanson, an operatic soprano, is a native of Schaumburg, Illinois. Since graduating with her Masters in Vocal performance from the State University of New York at Fredonia, she has appeared in numerous operatic and musical theatre productions throughout the country and over-seas, most recently Graz, Austria.
Jillian’s past credits include Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes as the Second Niece, while covering the lead Ellen Orford, Sondheim’s A Little Night Music (Anne Egerman), Menotti’s The Consul (The Foreign Woman), Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (Lucy), and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Dido).
In the past Jillian has worked with The Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Nickel City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
In addition to opera, Jillian also appears in plays and film. Most recently she appeared as Sabine in Wheaton Drama’s production of “Sex in the Title” and two short comedic films. She has trained in both Stanislavsky and Chekov.
When not performing Jillian is an avid cosplayer and builds unique costumes, with original hair and make-up design.

08/11/2020

Dancing Pony Productions is excited to announce we are moving forward the Let Her Kick indie musical short project. With lyrics by Brandon Michael Lowden and music by Minjoung Hwang, Let Her Kick follows the challenges Gabby Mitchell must overcome to pursue her dreams to kick for the Barnesville High School football team. This is not an easy ride as many in the community do not agree with a girl playing on any boy's team, let alone the high school football team. Throughout her fight, Gabby must rely on the inspiration and support from female role models who have paved the way for her.

This project will consist of two phases. The first will be a music video developed around the film's climatic song, Every Time I Kick the Ball, which will serve as a proof of concept. The second phase will be the filming of the entire six song, 25-30 minute Let Her Kick musical short.

Both phases will be filmed in the greater Chicago area and will be produced by Dancing Pony Productions. Whether you are an avid football fan, a supporter of women empowerment, and just enjoy a good musical, we hope you will follow Gabby's journey to pursue her dreams to join her team mates in the championship game.