By MARY ELLEN KALUZA
Remember Jude the Dude from last month’s alley? This month meet Edee the Sweetie! Eden is Jude’s sister, also a very talented and smart youth artist. Apparently there are no bounds to the creativity in the Anikpo family!
Eden Anikpo is almost 11 years old and in the 5th grade. She focuses on the performing arts: acting, dance, singing and piano, to name a few. She has performed in ballet, tap and modern dance, and just began a hip hop class. When asked which performing art moves her the most, Eden didn’t hesitate a second to say “Acting!” She loves portraying characters, and hopes that no matter what she decides to do in life, acting will be a part of it at least “two days a week.”
Eden was inspired to take up acting by her mother, who “brings me to plays and musicals at the University of Northwestern,” adding that she gets inspiration from “Everything!” She also credits her teachers at Lundstrum Performing Arts in North Minneapolis: Ms. Amy and Ms. Julianne for acting; Ms. Lachell, her piano teacher; and the late Mr. Patrick for dance.
I asked Eden if she’d like to try other performing arts. She told me, “I’m very flexible so I would like to try contortion. I watch a lot of videos.” She demonstrated a few impossible positions, like lying on her stomach and bending her legs backwards to touch her head, and twisting herself into a pretzel! She has been lobbying her parents to go to circus arts school.
But, Eden’s talents don’t end with performing arts:
- From a young age she has enjoyed transforming old clothes into new creations – from clever outfits to stuffed animals. She recently got her first sewing machine.
- Her mother reports that Eden has received much praise from teachers for her writing skills well beyond her years. And, she manages to stick a bit of humor into every piece.
- Eden also loves baking and cooking. The morning we met up she had made pumpkin waffles for the family. She enlists her 5 year old brother, Zeke, as her assistant in the kitchen, teaching him culinary and food service skills.
In addition to acting, Eden wants to travel when she is older. She speaks French, having been exposed to it since birth through her father and Côte d’Ivoire grandparents. She’s considering a career as an international news reporter. Eden was recently chosen to be on her school news team as a news anchor – a role she is well equipped for.
Oh, and “Edee the Sweetie”? That moniker is from her beloved maternal grandfather who passed away last year. Like her brother, “Jude the Dude,” she wanted to honor him by using it as the title to this article. He must have been a pretty special person to help shape these two amazing and lovely individuals.
