Christmas concert
'Cause that's the way things happen at the Louisville Christmas concert
Chloe McBride '24
Copy Editor
A widely anticipated Louisville tradition that helps kickoff the holiday season is the beloved Christmas Concert. It’s a time for students participating in performing arts classes, ranging from Creative Dance to Show Choir, to show off the dances they have been working hard all semester. Additionally, students in and out of the classes also did a mixture of solos, duets and group singing numbers.
The Christmas Concert exemplifies Louisville’s incredible sisterhood and displays how close the dancers, singers and backstage crew have gotten over the course of the rehearsals and performances. The Concert was two nights of Christmas songs, extravagant costumes and an omad to the 2004 holiday movie, “The Polar Express!”
Performances ranged from cherished Christmas tracks to remade melodies from the film, such as the infamous songs “When Christmas Comes to Town” and “Believe” that all fans of “The Polar Express” absolutely adore.
During the first act, there were lots of singing numbers, along with performances from the concert and creative dancers. The tracks were a perfect recipe of fast, slow and romantic music, demonstrating the immense talent that all the participants contained. The concert immediately encapsulated the audience in the warm nostalgia of Christmas.
Santa Claus, the head elf and reindeer gifting the children
In the middle of the show, there was a quick intermission where audience members could catch up with others or browse the different tables that were selling ornaments, cookies and other Christmas assortments.
Before you knew it, the show was back on and the audience could barely contain their excitement. Mr. Wilson’s kids, Jack (11) and Finn (7), sat on the side of the stage where Jack read from a storybook, narrating the rest of the performances, and Finn even accepted the first gift of Christmas in one of the performances. Furthermore, Emilia Brown ’24 performed as the conductor from the movie and appeared in multiple numbers to serve her role, while Mr. Dan was the most spectacular Santa Clause.
The remainder of the concert went in chronological order of the actual movie, “The Polar Express,” orchestrating dances and songs that correlated to each part of the film.
Many students had multiple numbers, both singing and dancing, that they had to perform, some doing as many as three! Backstage, there was a whirlwind of costume changes, assisting fellow sisters with their hair and makeup and motivating each other before they went on.
While the on-stage talent was nothing short of breathtaking, the backstage crew really helped tie the show together. Specifically, one of the stage managers Ella Sutherland ’25 shared her personal experience:
“I’ve been doing tech for a little while now but this is my first time stage managing. It’s a little stressful but I totally love it. This has kind of been training grounds for next year which is exciting but also kind of sad (since it means preparing for the seniors to graduate). Lola has been stage manager before me and has been showing me the ropes. Those are some big shoes to fill. And I’m totally grateful for her and all she has done. I don’t even wanna think about what next year’s gonna be like without her.”
The on-stage talent and backstage crew were able to grow very close over the time that they spent preparing for the concert, despite grade levels.
The Christmas Concert is a revered Louisville tradition that will hopefully last many years to come as it is a landmark that students countdown the days to. It serves as a reminder that the holiday season has officially begun!