Current Rhythms holiday performance, A December Dance Suite, took the stage at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 11, at North Star Theatre in the Cordova Center. Dancers performed to a selection of holiday music from “The Nutcracker” soundtrack.
This was the five-year-old dance company’s first performance open to the public since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Last winter and spring brought performances open to limited audiences.
“Our hearts are full. Our spirits are lifted,” the company wrote on its Instagram account after the performance. “Many thanks to those who helped us back on stage and performing once again to the general public. Shout out to Amber Nolan, David Saiget and Mimi Briggs.”
“These connections are so important during COVID,” Alyssa Kleissler said, who runs and teaches dance with her sister, Marita Kleissler.
This season was a special one for Kleissler, whose daughter and graduate of Current Rhythms, Serena Herschleb, joined the company as a teacher. The winter performance included dances choreographed and taught by Herschleb.
“She has assisted with classes for about 3 years, and this is her first year teaching a class on her own,” Kleissler said. “She also branched out into choreographing for groups and set a piece (the last one) on our company dancers. She graduates this year, and we will miss her! She’s already planning more dances for our spring performances!”
Tickets to the show were $10 and funds go to cover the facility, costumes and tech support for the show. A dessert sale went toward funding dance scholarships and future Current Rhythms projects.
“Our company dancers aim to perform a showcase of their original works in February and the rest of our studio classes will perform at the end of March and once again at the end of April,” Kleissler said. “We have decided with COVID, it works better for us to not have a full studio show like we’ve done in the past. This allows us to highlight certain classes and doesn’t overwhelm the backstage area of our theater.”
The studio will celebrate 25 years in February. Find out more at currentrhythms.com.
