Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Credo Dance Academy's Annual "Cosmic Christmas"

(Poster design courtesy Credo Dance Academy)

Credo Dance Academy invites you to come along on a journey to experience what might have taken place on the first Christmas with their annual production of "Cosmic Christmas," based on the book by Max Lucado.  Performances will be Saturday December 19th at 2:30 and 7:30pm, and Sunday the 20th at 2:30, at Parkview High School Theatre, 516 W. Meadowmere.

Credo Dance Academy director Kate Riegler says she grew up with Cosmic Christmas as a part of her family's Christmas tradition.  "We would read this story every Christmas Eve--and/or, if we were up too late on Christmas Eve we'd read it on Christmas morning before we'd open gifts.  It's a beautiful narrative of, perhaps, what the supernatural story behind the scenes of Christ's birth might have been."

This is the fourth time Credo Dance has presented Cosmic Christmas over the last five years, and they've added a third performance this year, the Sunday matinee, in response to ticket sales last year.

As a dance performance there needs to be music of course, and Kate has utilized a number of pre-recorded soundtracks. She says the music "has a real, sort of epic feel to it."

The production includes 25 cast members--they add more dancers every year--including Father Ben Jeffries, a native of England who serves as Assistant Rector at All Saints Anglican Church in Springfield.  He got involved, he says, because "Kate is a member at All Saints Anglican... and I have a small background in acting.  When Kate found that out, she needed a new narrator, and so we just put our heads together and worked it out."

Father Ben read a bit of the final postlude from Lucado's book, which highlights the author's usage of not just the "cozy" thoughts about the baby Jesus and wide-eyed shepherds as depicted in Matthew and Luke:

"In John's Book of Revelation, however, he offers another perspective.  From his perspective, the birth of Jesus stirs more than excitement--it stirs evil... a bloody war in the heavens."  (As the poster for the performance reads, "And there war war in the heavens....") Told largely through from the point of view of the Archangel Gabriel, we witness angels, fallen angels, and even Lucifer battle over this poignant event in human history. In other words, Cosmic Christmas offers a different, more drama-filled take on the "traditional" Christmas story.

Lighter fare will also be offered at the performance: Credo's assistant director Kaitlin Price has produced a new children's ballet based on Charles Tazewell's The Littlest Angel.

Tickets for Cosmic Christmas are $15 for adults, $10 for children age 12 and under, and will be available at the door. (They can only accept cash or credit cards, so you'll have to pay at the door!) For information call (417) 496-9527 or visit http://www.credodance.com.

Randy Stewart joined the full-time KSMU staff in June 1978 after working part-time as a student announcer/producer for two years. His job has evolved from Music Director in the early days to encompassing production of a wide range of arts-related programming and features for KSMU, including the online and Friday morning Arts News. Stewart assists volunteer producers John Darkhorse (Route 66 Blues Express), Lee Worman (The Gold Ring), and Emily Higgins (The Mulberry Tree) with the production of their programs. He's also become the de facto "Voice of KSMU" in recent years due to the many hours per day he’s heard doing local station breaks. Stewart’s record of service on behalf of the Springfield arts community earned him the Springfield Regional Arts Council's Ozzie Award in 2006.