Photo album of "The Coming King"

An album of pictures from "The Coming King" has been created. Click here to see the pictures that tell the story of the presentation.

The Coming King

Stuck with Sheep

"Were stuck here with a thousand sheep!"

Picture credit: Robyn Clement

Flying shepherd

These shepherds were fun to work with. They came up with more daring stunts than I would have dreamed of, and Ben survived without ever breaking a bone! :)

Picture credit: Robyn Clement

"You're Here"

"You're here!"

Picture credit: Robyn Clement

Heart Sisters

It was fun seeing these girls be "big sisters" to little 4 year olds, when a mere 4 years ago THEY were the little ones!

Picture credit: Robyn Clement

Slidshow of "The Coming King"

Below is the slideshow I made to play at the beginning of "The Coming King" presentations. I had a few great photographers! Enjoy seeing a glimpse of the ballet through pictures.

"To worship Him"

"We have come to worship Him"

Photo credit: Dieter Spears

"What can I give Him?"

"What can I give Him?"

"I'll give Him my heart!"

Dad & Daughter Duet

"He would tell them of His kingdom..."

"When love was born"

"Close my eyes and see the night when love was born..."

A cradle...

"A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem..."

Sheep and Shepherds

The girls make the cutest sheep!

These guys make some crazy shepherds!

Come Friday at 7 PM or Saturday at 4 PM to see them for yourself!

Cast of "The Coming King"

The cast of "The Coming King" - after teaching them in small group classes all year, it's fun, and a bit overwhelming, to see them all together. God has truly blessed The King's Praise Ballet!

Dress rehearsal went well this afternoon. It's always a little crazy getting everyone together for the first time, but I had a great crew and lots of helpers!

"The Coming King" at Charlton Place

7 of my 10 classes danced at Charlton Place (nursing home) on Thursday, December 8th. It was a joy to see the girls sharing the gift of dance for the glory of God! The residents and workers really seemed to enjoy it as well.

Enjoy the pictures - a sneak peak of what you'll see if you come to "The Coming King" next weekend!

A dance taken from the prophecies of Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah

"Perfect child gently wakes..."

"When love was born."

"Carol of the Bells" - swirls of gold and white!

There's always a lot of action in this song!

"And peace on earth good will to men!"

"I don't know what to say when I look in Your eyes..."

"Behold a manger is His throne"

"Born is the King of Israel!"

"A mother tonight is rocking a cradle in Bethlehem..."

"God with us..."

"Emmanuel abides with us!"

"What can I give Him..."

"All of my heart!"

"What can we offer that's fit for a King?"

"But the sadness would be broken as the song of life arose"

In lieu of the finale (which we need all the dancers and a LOT of space for!) we sang "Joy to the World" and invited the audience to sing along.

One presentation down, three to go - first on Monday at another nursing home, then presentations at Hunter Hills Church next Friday & Saturday (16th & 17th).

Please pray that dancers will stay well (there's sickness going around!) and that all the final details will come together for God's glory!

Choreography Complete!

Yesterday I completed the choreography for "The Coming King!" With 5 weeks until the presentation, it's good timing, too! With 17 dances total, it has been a long but fun process.

My solo was the last one I choreographed. I am portraying Mary, and dancing to "You're Here" by Francesca Battistelli. Most of the song I have a baby doll in my arms, and it can be a challenge to try to bring to life the tender love of a mother for her new child, when the child is a stiff doll and you've never been a mother yourself.

I'm no stranger to dancing with baby dolls, though. The picture above is from 2009, when I portrayed the prophetess Anna, dancing with joy with the Savior in her arms.

God truly gave grace and creativity as my solo just flowed out. It's always amazing to see God work in bringing a new dance together. We serve an awesome King!

I must admit, though, at 21 it feels a bit strange to dance around the room with a baby doll, especially if a student or parent happens to be watching. :)

Now, to practice myself, oversee my student's practice, and continue to pray that God uses "The Coming King" for His glory!

Of Bloomers and Bows

Costuming "The Coming King" proved to be a big task, with the increase of students. I also have less time year to work at home on my own this year, so I scheduled a workday last Friday with my oldest class, Ballet IV. A dance mom also saw my post on Facebook about the day, and offered to bring her daughters and come.

Everyone worked hard, and we made great progress. All-in-all, we made 10 angel shirts, 17 sparkly headbands, 8 silver headpieces, 18 scrunchies, 8 bow headbands, 10 lamb headbands, decorated 10 sunglasses, and started 4 slips and 10 bloomers.

The bloomers ended up taking the longest. I was able to work more over the weekend, with my sister helping thread elastic through the waistband and knee ruffles. Tying 20 little pink bows was fun, and hand sewing as I watched movies with the family made the time go quickly.

The ensemble turned out very cute for my little lamb dancers. :)

Choreography for "The Coming King"

Preparing for a dance presentation is always a long process. The students enjoy learning their dance, but before I can teach them there's a lot of work to do on my own.

First, finding the right music is essential. It often starts the year before, as all songs I hear that I like after one presentation get put on a list as potentials for the next year. For Christmas presentations such as "The Coming King," I have to be intentional about listening to Christmas music long before the season arrives. This year, I started in April, listening to Christmas music on and off (much to my sister's amusement - there's nothing like hearing "Carol of the Bells" while it's 98 degrees outside!) over the summer. In August I got serious and narrowed the songs down to what I was actually going to use, and chose a name that fit the theme.

Then, I play the songs over and over and over, getting a feel for them, learning them intimately. I listen while I clean, cook, wash dishes, sew - whenever there's a time I can two things at once. As I listen, I get ideas for different steps, formations, or an overall feel for each dance. This makes the choreography process a lot easier.

In the week before classes began, I made the final decisions about which class was dancing to which song(s) and decided what they'd wear. After all, the costume makes a difference in the choreography. If the skirt is full and fun and twirly, for example, that class often does more spins, and different colored costumes play into formations.

Then, I start choreographing. I'm always amazed at the creativity God continues to give. I've choreographed over 100 dances since I started teaching and directing, and yet new ideas continue to flow. Sometimes it's a hard process, and I have to try different things before I find a movement I like. Usually, however, it just flows out naturally. It's fun to see God at work, bringing His story to life through dance.

There are 17 total songs for "The Coming King" and so far I've completed choreography for 12 of them, so the end is in sight! The students are learning their dances well, which is good, since my goal is to have the class dances taught by the parent observation days the first week of November.

I'm really excited about "The Coming King" and the diversity of the dances this time. From cute (Basic 2) angels with wings to older (Ballet IV) angels with fluffy, long tutus and gold/silver streamers, to tiny "mothers" (Wee 3) with baby dolls to "sheep" (Wee 2) and shepherds (a group of 5 men dancing to a hilarious song!), as well as many songs in between, this will be a memorable presentation.

May everything involved - choreography included - bring glory to God in and through "The Coming King!"