Two Baldwinsville residents are featured in “The Adventures of Rudolph,” Central New York’s annual holiday family ballet, which will be performed at 11 a.m. Saturday Dec. 11 at the John H. Mulroy Civic Center in Syracuse.
Christina Kwiek, 17, is cast as Rudolph in the performance. A senior at Baker High School, Kwiek has 14 years of dance training at the Center of Ballet & Dance Arts and five years of performing in the production of “The Adventures of Rudolph.” She previously held roles as a soldier, elf, reindeer and Rudolph in the production.
Gretchen Grade, 15, is cast as a snowman and reindeer in the performance. A 10th grade student at Baker High School, she has 12 years of dance training through the Center of Ballet & Dance Arts. This is Grade’s fifth year performing in the production of “The Adventures of Rudolph.” She previously held roles as a soldier, snowman and reindeer in the production.
Synopsis
It is a week before Christmas and Santa’s elves are busy making presents. The evil Witch Winter Grey kidnaps the elves so that they might make presents just for her. Only Santa’s reindeer Rudolph can penetrate the gloom around the witch’s castle with his bright nose. When he arrives at the castle, he and the elves make a plan to escape from the witch.
One of the gifts the elves make for the witch is a magic mirror of truth, which will show the witch what she really is – an ugly hag. The elves and Rudolph refuse to tell her the secret of the mirror until she agrees to release them and change her evil ways. The witch agrees and is transformed into the beautiful Witch Winter White.
When the elves, Rudolph and Witch Winter White return to Santa’s workshop, it is Christmas Eve. They find Santa disheartened because there is no snow and the reindeer, who move through the air by stepping on snowflakes, will not be able to fly. Witch Winter White offers her help and begins her magical dance that fills the air with snowflakes. The reindeer can fly and Christmas will come after all.
The show is a product of the creative team of Deborah Boughton and Vince Tunbiolo. Boughton is the Director of the Center of Ballet & Dance Arts in Syracuse. Tunbiolo wrote the original story that Boughton staged to the dynamic music of Prokofiev. Center of Ballet and Dance Arts students from all over Central New York will perform as Rudolph, the witch, elves, soldiers, harlequin dolls and more.
Made possible by the Cultural Resources Council of Syracuse & Onondaga County, the show is a Central New York holiday tradition celebrating its 32nd anniversary this year. Tickets range in price from $10 to $19. For more details or to purchase tickets, contact the Syracuse Symphony Box Office, 424-8200. Discounts of $1 per ticket are available with the purchase of four or more tickets. Free parking is available at metered spaces downtown on the day of the show.
