- I am working as an elf seven days a week in the first Enchant holiday celebration ever to come to Scottsdale, Arizona.
- I'm an aspiring dancer and actor, and I auditioned for the Christmas elf role in early October through my school.
This is a conversation with Kamdin Lewis, 18, an elf at Enchant in Scottsdale. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I'm working as a holiday elf at Enchant, a holiday celebration sponsored by the Hallmark Channel in eight U.S. cities. I'm working at the Scottsdale location, where it's open for the first time.
I auditioned for the elf role in early October through my school, Theater Arts Preparatory School in Las Vegas. I'm an aspiring dancer and actor, and I thought it'd be a great opportunity to kickstart my career.
This is great experience for an aspiring performer
Arizona is my hometown, so I was able to travel back to take this job. One of my classmates is also working at Enchant.
We're just a few days away from Christmas now and we're working seven days a week - it's super busy getting ready for the holiday, but it's been such a fun experience. Since I'm on my feet dancing and interacting with the visitors, I have to take care of myself by getting massages and using a massage gun to keep my body healthy, even with the hectic schedule.
As a dancer, there's a lot of picking up and moving around. It's not always the same routine, and I'm dancing on our Hallmark stage in new spots every day and with different dancers. It's awesome experience to have for upcoming gigs.
As an elf, I get creative
In addition to dancing, being an elf at Enchant also requires a lot of improv acting. A lot of kids ask us what we do at the North Pole, and it's great to make up stories everyday about our "elf life" and how we help Santa. I'm now playing Peppermint the Elf - so I tell kids how I make the candy canes at the North Pole. The other elves and I have to make up these storylines as we go. It's really fun and requires us to be creative.
We also tell the kids stories about how we got to the Phoenix area from the North Pole. It's great to see their reaction and joy.I love walking around and seeing new people every day, and being able to share the Christmas spirit with them.
Giant tree, reindeer maze and a bar made of ice
It's a great environment. My favorite things to do are helping out Santa or watching everyone ice skate while I hand out "passports" for our giant maze. It surrounds a 100-foot Christmas tree. The maze has light-up statues of all nine of Santa's reindeer and guests get a passport stamp in one of the booklets I hand out for each one they find.
We also have over four million lights, and the Polar Ice Bar, which is a full bar made of ice, so there's a lot of fun things to see.
Since this is the first year Enchant has been open in Scottsdale and I'm from Arizona, it's fun being a part of a new experience in the area and being a member of the first cast here. My friends and family have come to see me at work s so it's a great experience all around.