said she's had dreams about her biological mother but understands it will be difficult to find her, if that's even what she wants. and Nora haven't returned to China, but both hope to visit their homeland. "It wasn't until we got off the plane in Chicago that she turned and buried her head in my chest, and I knew it was OK," Christine Ryan said. She plans to give Nora the journal as a 16th-birthday present.Ĭhristine Ryan said when officials first handed her Nora, she wouldn't stop crying, and that lasted for several days. It is such a pleasure to know them both.”ĭuring the two years prior to adopting Nora - before the girl was even born - Christine Ryan wrote a note to her future daughter every day in a journal describing the adoption process and how she couldn't wait to meet her. "They both smile continually throughout all rehearsals and seem to be delighted to be dancing. They both stood out in the audition with their level of proficiency, focus and ability to make corrections," said Katie Kirwan, Joffrey Nutcracker Children’s Ballet Master. In 2013, they were soldiers, and this year, they are "Party Boys" in the 20-plus-minute Party Scene that opens the show. And, that year, both got parts as snow tree angels. had unsuccessfully auditioned for roles in "The Nutcracker" for two years before Nora and she tried out together in 2012. "It's just kind of been with me the whole time," Nora said. Nora has been a ballerina since she was 3 years old, and also has taken Chinese, Irish, Broadway jazz and tap dance classes. has been involved with ballet since she was 6. and Nora also have shared a passion for dance. Mary's School, which Nora had attended since preschool. and Nora's friendship blossomed in 2006 when both started going to JCC Apachi Chicago Day Camp at University of Illinois at Chicago on the Near West Side. Needing larger living space, they moved into the neighborhood that year, and one day, Diane Jacoby walked right past Ryan in an alleyway in between their homes. The seven kids - all girls now between 12 and 14 years old - became known as the "Wu Sisters," and the families made a deal to meet once a year at one of their homes for them to catch up.īut other than that, the Jacobys - both attorneys and who have an 18-year-old biological daughter, Renee, a senior at Jones College Prep - and Ryan likely wouldn't have congregated until similar circumstances coincidentally brought them to the South Loop in 2003. 29 at a small office building in Wuzhou, a city in southern China. and Nora, were officially adopted at 2 a.m. The seven children, including 1½-year-olds K.J. "It was the right choice for me, knowing I could make a difference in a child's life," said Ryan, an early childhood professor at Roosevelt University and DePaul.Īfter two years of filling out paperwork and taking adoption classes, the Jacobys and Ryan first met as part of a group of seven Illinois families, including others from Rogers Park and Lincoln Park, that flew to China through the Family Resource Center adoption agency in 2002. They also liked the fact that Chinese adoption rules didn't require them to keep contact with the child's biological parents. They both were "older" and wanted an addition to their families. 1 'Nutcracker' performance: That’s a one-in-a-million shot right there," Diane Jacoby said.Īdopting a child from China was an easy decision for Diane Jacoby and Christine Ryan. "These two little girls start out randomly being at the same social welfare place in China in 2001 to 13 short years being on stage in arguably America’s No. And they understand the significance of their daughters' love for each other and for dance. Their parents - Diane and John Jacoby, and Christine Ryan - are just as tight. Justin Breen details their journey to the U.S.:
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