Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
Ballet Tennessee presents Holiday Special
Ballet Tennessee’s Holiday Special pays homage to Christmases past and present.
The dancers will present scenes from Christmas classics such as “The Nutcracker” and “A Christmas Carol” as well as dance new choreography featuring characters from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
The production will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, at Center for Creative Arts, 1301 Dallas Road. Tickets are $20 and $18.
A cast of 40 dancers will incorporate several styles of dance ranging from classical ballet to hip-hop and musical theater. Featured soloists will be Jenison Owens, Lauren Day and Sophia Ledford. Owens and Day also choreographed several of the show’s numbers.
Anna Van Cura, Ballet Tennessee co-founder with her late husband Barry, says the Holiday Special will be divided into three sections.
“The first is ‘Where is Christmas?’ We’re doing the Grinch, Scrooge and the Humbugs and a hip-hop piece called ‘Triple Dog Dare.’ The Grinch will be Andrew Bewley and Nadia Giles is dancing Cindy Lou Who,” she says. “Jenison and Lauren choreographed the Grinch and it is all new.”
The second section is the search for love and peace, she says, and is highlighted by an angel scene featuring a large number of children, choreographed by Day. Also in this section is a new work for preteens choreographed by Van Cura to “What Child is This?”
There is also a section from “The Christmas Carol” in which Bewley will play Scrooge trying to find peace. This work was originally choreographed by Barry Van Cura, and his wife has restaged it for this performance.
The final segment is titled “The Suites,” and includes “The Little Drummer Boy” featuring dancers Eric Sumner and Will Freeman, then moves into “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers” and “March of the Toys,” new works choreographed by Owens.
“Our goal is to send everybody out lifted up and ready for the holidays,” Van Cura says.
For more information: 423-821-2055.