Dance Contempra offers a new twist on an old standard

The scene is familiar to most who love classic holiday ballet. The little girl falls fast asleep and dreams of her toys coming to life. There is a great battle around the Christmas tree. She awakens to herself face to face with a big . . . Grinch?

No, it’s isn’t a mix-up in the Nutcracker wardrobe department. It is “The Grinch . . . A Contemporary Ballet” which is adapted from Dr. Seuss’s classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” Presented by Evolving Pointe, Inc, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural enrichment through performing arts, it is the brainchild of Paola Jenkins, owner of Dance Contempra, one of the newest and most innovative dance studios in Peachtree City.

“This has been one of the most difficult things I have ever done,” said Jenkins of the upcoming performance. “It is really starting to come together. When we started the first rehearsal, I thought to myself, ‘There‘s no way we can do this.’ It has never been done before. My teachers have been really instrumental in making this happen - I could not have done it without them.”

The idea of modernizing ballet is not exclusive to Dance Contempra, according to Jenkins. “Ballet companies throughout the country, including the Joffrey, the San Francisco Ballet, and numerous others, have found their audiences dwindling because classical ballet has become too rigid. Most of them are trying to do things to bring their audiences back and make it more appealing.”

Jenkins opened her studio in 2002 with a simple goal, she said. “I didn’t want to be the biggest studio in Peachtree City, only the best studio in Peachtree City. There aren’t very many contemporary dance studios in Georgia, and the whole country, for that matter. We want to be known for the quality of our dancers, not for the number of students we have.”

Offering something a little bit different, “to push the envelope,” such as “Grinch” has allowed Jenkins to distinguish herself and her studio. Although her focus is on contemporary dance, that is not at the expense of building and teaching the basics of classical dance.

“Classical ballet is the mother of all dance,” she said. “You have to have a strong foundation to build on. We teach solid classical ballet until a student gets to the upper level classes. Once you have the proper technique, positioning and style, then we say ‘OK, let’s have a little fun with it.’ ”

“The Grinch . . . A Contemporary Ballet” is the perfect blending of a heartwarming story and the principles of Jenkins’ philosophy. “I have put on several Nutcrackers and performed in more than 15 myself and I am just Nutcrackered out,” she explained. “It’s receiving a great response so far.”

Jenkins is referring to two presentations of excerpts of the show to kids at Peachtree Elementary School and Christ Our Shepherd Lutheran Church. “Everyone was thrilled,” she said. “One parent came up to me and said she is excited that we are performing something other than ‘The Nutcracker.’”

There were numerous challenges, according to Jenkins, but surprisingly, putting the music and choreography together were not among them. “We were able to use music from the original animated Grinch, as well as John Williams compositions from the soundtracks to ‘Home Alone’ and ‘The Santa Claus.’” Jenkins said they also were able to use music from “Lambarena” which is an infusion of classical Bach with contemporary African sounds that has been performed by the San Francisco ballet and other professional ballet companies.

“The original story line is there,” she said. “The Grinch hates the residents of Whooville and plots to steal their Christmas so they won’t gather in the town square and sing ‘Yahoo Doray.‘ We had to adapt the story line a little to bring out more characters. And then there was the backdrop, the Grinch’s house. There was no real pattern to work with, no blue print to rely on. We are basically setting the blue print ourselves. It has been a great experience.”

The cast of 87 is made up entirely of students from Dance Contempra. Most parts have been split between two dancers for each separate performance. Performances are scheduled for Saturday, December 4 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, December 5 at 2 p.m. at the Starr’s Mill High School Auditorium. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance by contacting Dance Contempra @ 770-631-0460. Adults $12, Students $10, Children under 12 are free.