.jpg)
‘It is a new and innovative holiday performance for our students, who have enthusiastically embraced the story, the characters, and all the new choreography.’
- Jessica Pyatt, artistic director
The Rockbridge Ballet will present four winter performances of a brand-new production, “The Night Before Christmas,” this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 15, 16, and 17, at Washington and Lee’s Lenfest Center for the Arts.
Visions of holiday magic will dance in the heads of audience members as The Rockbridge Ballet brings the world-famous Clement Clarke Moore poem to life. Holiday-inspired pieces will complete the second half of this production that celebrates the joy and excitement of the season.
“The Night Before Christmas” was written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822, reportedly while enjoying a sleigh ride on a snowy winter day. Perhaps the most famous Christmas poem in the world, “The Night Before Christmas” gave us our modern idea of Santa Claus, his reindeer, and, of course, Christmas presents.
The Rockbridge Ballet’s production explores this worldwide classic that captures the joy of the holiday season, the magic of gift-giving, and Christmas joy through the beauty of dance. The show will star the Ballet’s local dancers in fun Christmas roles that showcase their artistry, talent, and athleticism. The Night Sky, Stockings, the Snow Queen, and Santa and his Reindeer promise to enhance the audience’s enjoyment of the holiday season.
“The faculty had so much fun creating this premier production,” said Rockbridge Ballet artistic director Jessica Pyatt Martin. “It is a new and innovative holiday performance for our students, who have enthusiastically embraced the story, the characters, and all the new choreography.”
Martin, along with Rockbridge Ballet faculty members Kitty Burke, Meagan Herald, Evelyn Branscome, and Maeve Dick, created brand-new choreography for the production, showcasing the individual talents of the company’s dancers, who range in age from 10-18. This new show honors The Rockbridge Ballet’s ultimate goals to discover and nurture promising young dancers of diverse backgrounds, to offer performance opportunities beyond dance school recitals, and to train to a pre-professional level.
Company dancers performing featured roles include Annalee Penny and Ava Perdew as the North Star; Catherine Balkey and Emma Woody as the Sugar Plum Fairy; Tom Boss, Sydney Boucher, and Madison Poulsen as Mom and Pop; Grace Fleshman and Lena Greer as the Snow Queen; Hannah Stephens and Ella Schmidt as Santa; and Ella Cate Brown and Claire Sigler as Rudolph.
Following an intermission, the second half will include holiday-themed dances choreographed by Martin and The Rockbridge Ballet faculty members Burke, Dick, and Branscome.
A range of styles will be represented, including modern, jazz, contemporary, and tap.
Martin’s choreography will lead off the second half with “Where Are You Christmas?” “Carol of the Bellz” is a collaborative work of Burke and Dick. The Senior Company dancers will perform Dick’s “Step Into Christmas” and Martin’s tap piece “Happy Holiday.” A trio will perform “I Saw Three Ships,” choreographed by Martin followed by younger Senior Company members in Branscome’s “Ode to Joy to the World.” The Junior Company will perform Dick’s “Christmas Tree Farm” and Branscome’s “December Song.”
The finale piece, “Holiday Spectacular,” choreographed by Martin and Burke, will feature Rockette-style kicks and formations, and will be performed by all 22 of the Ballet’s Senior Company dancers.
The performances will run Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 6:30 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance at rockbridgeballet.org, Pronto, Downtown Books, and, if available, at the door; $12 for students and $15 for adults.
These performances are sponsored by CornerStone Bank, Austin Electric, Washington and Lee University Community Grants, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
