Winter Wonderland

Flurry Dance: Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater brings a seasonal favorite to Newtown, Pa., Dec. 19-20.

By: Amy Brummer

Photo: Terrey Ruhl

Wrightstown, Pa.-based Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater performs a stage rendition of Raymond Briggs’ children’s book The Snowman at Bucks County Community College.

   A snowy day is an adventure waiting to happen. Unpredictability rules in the guise of a heavy, quiet blanket. For most adults, getting to work is a journey. Anything that happens according to plan can be seen as a miracle.
   But for children it is the ultimate holiday, a day off from school for no reason other than the sky is raining soft, white petals. It opens up a whole set of activities that are otherwise impossible to do like sledding, having a snowball fight, building snowmen and making snow angels and forts.

Photo: Terrey Ruhl

James (right) meets a snow angel in Terri Lee’s production of The Snowman.

   For a little boy named James, building a snowman sent him on a fantastic voyage of discovery and friendship in Raymond Briggs’ 1982 illustrated children’s book, The Snowman. In the same year, composer Howard Blake adapted the story for the stage, writing both the musical score and narration to accompany a choreographed performance.
   The Wrightstown, Pa.,-based Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater will present The Snowman at Bucks County Community College’s Library Auditorium in Newtown, Pa., Dec. 19-20. The show gives viewers a glimpse of what happens when James allows his imagination to transport him outside of his safe, insular world. After his mother has scolded him for throwing a snowball at the kitchen window, he decides to put his energy into building a snowman. When he awakes that evening to find the snowman alive, he accompanies his new friend on a journey that takes him sailing above the treetops and into outer-space, delighting in the fantasy flight within his own mind.
   Though it will be the company’s first time presenting the show at the college, it will be the fourth year they have presented the work that has become their yearly trademark. Terri Lee, Spirit in Motion’s director, founded the company and its parent institution, Pennsylvania School of the Performing Arts, in 1996.
   "I really consider my choreography to be very spirit filled," says Ms. Lee, who received scholarships to train with the Pennsylvania Ballet, Alvin Ailey and Joffrey Ballet before founding Spirit in Motion. She also performed on Broadway, most notably in Jerome Robbins’ revival of West Side Story.
   "I place God in the forefront of everything I do," she says, "which is hard to do, but in a bigger picture, I think about a higher purpose and giving people something more meaningful that they can relate to. It is important that you leave people thinking — as they leave a piece they are thinking about their own lives, their own experiences."
   In order to deepen the connection with the audience, Ms. Lee puts a lot of thought into who the characters are and how viewers will relate to them. By choosing prototypes that are familiar and accessible, it makes the nuances of the story more resonant.
   "His mom is a homemaker, his dad is a fireman," Ms. Lee says. "He comes from an everyday working family, and I think so many people will relate to this because they are everyday people. You see him with his mother and father at the kitchen table, taking this really quiet time, and I think that families will really understand those special moments with their children."

Photo: Terrey Ruhl

Above, a dancing snowflake in The Snowman.

   She also wanted the character of James to come from a place that had some substance to give the two dancers who play him a point of reference. This gives James a deeper individuality and perspective, as opposed to being a one-dimensional representation of the narrative. By giving him a background and an emotional history, the dancers can convey how and why this experience was particularly meaningful to him.
   "When I was directing this, I would talk to the two boys who were playing James," Ms. Lee says. "I asked them to write papers on who James was and what kind of family he comes from. We came up with that he was an only child, in the book he has no siblings, and they came up with great, very eclectic ideas.
   "I had them ask questions like, Why do you think he built the snowman? Why did they think the snowman was brought to life? One of the boys came up with his being very lonely and he had no friends, and we went with that idea and that he was a very quiet, young boy who had this dream and experience when the snowman takes him into his life. It was a really poignant time, exploring growing up and meeting other people and making a friend."
   Ms. Lee likens James’ journey to that of Clara in The Nutcracker, but feels that James’ character will be particularly appealing to boys as a way to introduce them to dance and theater. Mariusz Smolij, resident conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and music director and conductor of Riverside Symphonia, also sees connections to The Nutcracker, but in other ways. He has been the conductor for The Snowman with Spirit in Motion over the last four seasons and says it has the power to become an equally beloved holiday standard.
   "I have performed many different compositions by many different composers that include narration, song, dance," Maestro Smolij says. "From quite a large number of works, I like this one the best because I think it is appealing to a very wide range of listeners, from very young to adults, incorporating music, narration and singing. You have all of the artistic elements pushed together. The music is really charming, the story is charming. In my estimation, and what is really important is the reaction of the public, we find out that it is like another ‘Nutcracker,’ so to speak. (It is) something that even though you play it repeatedly, it still is attractive and is starting to be a part of the season celebration for people living in this area."
   The audience reaction is something that John Tucker can actually see from his position on stage. Returning for his third year to narrate the production, the Princeton resident looks forward to reprising his role each year, knowing how important his part is to grounding the performance and providing a structure to the music and dance.

Photo: Terrey Ruhl

   "I’m at the point where I can catch an audience view every now and again," he says, "and I can see the kids from 3 to 10 years old really get involved. The story is a simple one, but in the simplicity is the beauty. The music that is written for the snowman is very appropriate. It swells with emotion, yet it is something that a 3-, 4- or 5-year-old can stay with. But I understand now the reason for the narration. I know how a 5-year-old can sense what is going on as he sees it and hears it, but the narration fills in all of the pieces that a young child might not get."
   It inspires him to know that he is making a contribution to opening a child’s eyes to the excitement and wonder of live performance. Theater is a passion for Mr. Tucker, who has been an active patron and a one-time intern at McCarter Theatre in Princeton. He looks to instill that passion in the next generation of audiences but also recognizes that this production has the ability to revive the youthful spirit in the adults who attend, as well.
   "There is a part almost at the very end, when the snowman and the boy have returned from running around the earth and space, and they alight in a northern forest that is filled with snow," he says. "Immediately, supported by the music, they hear the unmistakable noises of a party, and sure enough they come upon a party, and all of the people at the party are snow people. The dancers then launch into what is one of the most exciting dances you will ever see. It integrates perfectly into the piece. That is my favorite part — that is the part where I become the 5-year-old."
   Perhaps reaching the 5-year-old in all of the audience members is the show’s greatest accomplishment. Opening people’s minds to the possibilities of wonder and adventure is a key message that Spirit in Motion seeks to express with their performance of the work.
   "I hope that every child will come out thinking about their imagination and their stories coming to life," Ms. Lee says, "and they will know to dream higher and remember the special moments in their life."
Spirit in Motion Ballet Theater will present The Snowman at Bucks County Community College, Library Auditorium, 275 Swamp Road, Newtown, Pa., Dec. 19, 1 p.m., and Dec. 20, 7 p.m. Tickets cost $17. Seniors, students and children $13. For information, call (215) 598-8513. Tickets for the Dec. 20 performance may be ordered on the Web: www.bucks.edu/cultural