A Christmas Carol in Dance.

Three ghosts taught Ebenezer Scrooge the importance of showing compassion in much the same way 27 dancers showed the audience the importance of sharing their passion.

“If the audience has an emotional reaction, then I feel the performance was a success,” said Gina Darlington, Executive Director of Canyon Movement Company, as well as the director, producer and choreographer for the holiday show, “A Christmas Carol in Dance.”

Darlington said the Christmas gift was the generosity of the dancers, who gave everything they had to the performance.

“Whether it’s humor or empathy or tears or anything in-between – If the audience enjoyed it if they laughed, then it’s helped them escape reality and come to a place that’s touched them and made them feel something real,” she said. “Based on the crowd’s reaction, the show must have been a huge success."

This year’s show consisted of dancers from Canyon Movement Company, Northland Preparatory Academy’s Velocity Dance Academy and guest dancers - all were excited to participate in the year-end show.

“Everyone enjoys doing the Nutcracker, but sometimes we get tired of it, so this show is a way for us to change things up a little,” Darlington said, noting they’ve taken the original story and adapted it to suit the strengths and dancing style of the dancers.

“I think we are a group of like-minded dancers who want to share the art of dance through performance, education and collaboration,” Darlington said, adding that Canyon Movement Company is celebrating 30 years in 2023. “I feel like we are very much a part of this Flagstaff community, and that reflects in our work.”

A dance to remember. A dance never to forget.

Zhuoting Wu, a Physical Scientist with the US Geological Survey, was performing in her first holiday show with her daughter, Carrie Cobb. Wu danced in seven of the 18 dances. Her favorite was the “Snowflakes on Christmas Morning,” where two other dancers, Breanna Lengyel and Meredith Cook, performed with large, colorful, flowing wings.  

“It was a little tricky at the beginning with wings, but they became an extension of my arms, and I felt so pretty wearing them,” she said. “Being on stage with wings makes me feel free and happy. It feels like having real wings, twirling and leaping. Seeing the colorful wings on stage makes it magical – like on Christmas morning. “

Wu said when she looks back at the photos from the performance, years from now, she’ll remember all the fun laughs and connections she and her daughter made. They worked through late-night rehearsals as the dancers struggled to be ready in time. 

“I felt out of place performing sometimes,” Wu said. “But I also felt that I was right where I belong because I love it so much. Seeing my daughter perform with her friends, working hard together with all the dancers as a team, makes me so proud!”

Carrie Cobb, 13, Wu’s daughter and an eighth-grader at Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy (FALA), said she learned the importance of cooperation, responsibility and discipline while working to get the show ready to perform.  

“When I look back at the photographs and memories of this performance, I won’t ever forget how special it was to dance and create a show with my good friends along with the bonds that were created,” said Cobb.

Cobb admitted that while photos capture the beauty of the performance, they can’t capture the inside jokes created by close friends working on hard choreography under tight deadlines. “We had inside jokes about different pieces, and everyone was trying not to laugh while performing them,” she said.

Meredith Cook, a legal secretary, performed the Snowflakes dance with Wu and said that she loves performance photographs and uses them to remember important moments from past shows. But she admitted they can’t capture all the in-betweens – the nuanced moments that make shows possible. They can’t capture the frustration of long rehearsals or the nurturing moments between older and younger dancers as they goofed off or overcame pre-show jitters.

Cook said the comradery and teamwork have forced her to learn the same lesson over and over again. “No one but my inner critic has ever questioned my ability to participate,” she said, adding that she pushed herself to wear costumes she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. “My lack of confidence about my dance technique has traditionally been the only thing that has held me back.”

Darlington said the dancers aren’t the only ones stressing out over being ready for a performance and every show; she’s amazed how it always comes together when the first curtain opens.

“The hardest part is having enough time to feel like we’re polished enough,” Darlington said. “Nobody ever feels quite ready, but then we get on stage and it’s like magic.”

Reclaiming the stage

If Charles Dicken’s Christmas classic is a redemption story where Scrooge has a change of heart, then the 2022 performance is a reclamation story where COVID-separated dancers reunite to show the audience their hearts.

“The dancers are all just so excited about being part of a community – and that connection was hard to find during COVID,” Darlington said, adding that several dancers had been graduating seniors and were robbed of important moments. This performance helped compensate for that.

Darlington noted that Canyon Movement Company is always looking for new members to their dancer community. There are no auditions, and anyone can apply.

Dedication and passion are the only prerequisites.

“In Flagstaff, people have other interests – they have jobs or are in school – so in that sense, dance is extracurricular,” she said. “But our dancers are so dedicated that the stuff you need in life to live here really starts to feel like the extracurricular stuff.”

As Darlington looks ahead, she is excited by all the new dancers whose input will shape the direction of the dance company.

“I’m so excited for what going to happen,” she said. “But I don’t know what that is quite yet.”