The Christmas Shoes celebrates 11 years!
The Christmas Shoes has been uplifting families since 2012 and will return to the stage on December 17. “When we first premiered the Christmas Shoes, it was never my intent to keep doing it, but every year we saw ways to improve and expand it and it has grown into something we all love and look forward to every year”, says Founding Director Princess Johnson.
Just as many arts lovers look towards the Nutcracker, there are many people who have begun to make The Christmas Shoes a tradition for their family. The show includes modern day Christmas music and a meaningful storyline that is sure to warm hearts.
The Christmas Shoes was conceived when Princess Johnson and a volunteer (now employee), Daniele Herbin, were sitting trying to decide what to do about a Christmas performance. Herbin suggested The Christmas Shoes as a song to include in the show. At first, Johnson was not interested in including that song in the line up, but when she went home that night she thought about why that song was so important to Herbin and the meaning behind it.
Herbin’s mom had been battling with colon cancer for about 2 years and this song just so happened to be her mother's - Ruby Brewington's - favorite Christmas song. The song is about a man who is shopping and not really in the holiday mood. He's frustrated with the commercialism of Christmas. While he was in a store he sees a little boy standing in line who appears to be very excited about his purchase. When the little boy gets to the register he does not have enough money. He turns around to the man behind him and explains that he is buying the shoes for his dying mother so that she will look beautiful when she goes to heaven. The man pays for the shoes and in that instant realizes that Christmas isn't about the physical presents we receive, but the presence and gifts of love, family, and friendship.
The production intertwines favorite holiday songs around the story and tells it from the perspective of the child. Ruby Brewington was able to see her daughter and grand-daughter perform in the very first run of the show in 2012. Six months later she passed away. Ever since then, The Christmas Shoes has been the holiday tradition of Royal Expressions as way to spread love and hope as many families cope with the loss of loved ones during the holiday season.
This year, in honor of the ten year anniversary, there will be two shows on December 16, 2023 at Guilford College – Dana Auditorium. The 1:30 pm show cast includes all students at Royal Expressions School of Dance with Mala Onneli Walker as the mother for the first time, and 7 year old Olivia Marie Sadler as the little girl. The 6:00 pm show will be star Atiyah Wright for the second time and 6 year old Samaria Pierce as the little girl.
Tickets will go on sale November 1 at http://tinyurl.com/reboxoffice
Please continue to support our Let's Move Campaign to raise $150,000 to move into a new space and establish a hub for Black artists and arts organizations to thrive in Greensboro.
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