A new classic ballet, with purpose, has been born. The Holly Claus Ballet of Dreams at The Dance Center of Walla Walla.
Awaken your dream and you will change your world; follow your dream and you will change the entire world, Forever. A dream is your imagination on fire. ~Author Brittney Ryan
Brittney Ryan authored the modern legendary classic story Holly Claus.
When Brittney told her grandmother she wanted to be a writer, her grandmother said this” “A writer writes what the world sees and an author writes what the world cannot see and it is an original." Brittney’s grandmother saw her granddaughter’s future when she told her she will write a legend that will become part of our culture. And Brittney knew she is going to write a classic and her Holly Claus is heading that way, a classic legend that will create a culture.
Miss Ryan wrote the story with the absolute intent for it to become a true legend. For that reason it was important for her to present Holly Claus as fantasy that will become part of our culture and tradition.
Synapsis
When the poor with the golden heart, young Christopher, writes a letter to Santa Claus, he poses a question no one has ever thought to ask Santa before: ‘Dear Santa Claus, What do you wish for Christmas?‘
Christopher gives his wish away to Santa in the most selflessness way and miraculously, Santa's longtime wish comes true. A baby girl is born -- Princess Holly Claus. But just as the Land of Forever joyously celebrates the arrival of purest of hearts princess, far away an evil is unleashed. A curse is placed on Holly, freezing her heart in ice so her future will be bound by a world of darkness. And with the Gates of the Land of Forever now locked, Santa can no longer spread the magic of Christmas to children everywhere. As soon as Holly finds a way to make a daring escape from the Land of Forever, she begins an astonishing journey to the Empire City, determined to free her heart, thus herself, and for once and for all bring back the joy of Christmas to the world.
This extraordinary and beautifully illustrated adventure is an everlasting gift of Christmas enchantment, more so a gift of one’s purpose in one’s journey of one’s life.
Nowadays, the story of Holly Claus is being produced and is expressed in a classic ballet with purpose, to be performed by The Dance Center of Walla-Walla, in Washington State, by 85 members of the company, from 4-60 year old, led by director and choreographer Idalee Hutson-Fish.
The exciting world premier with its potential to make history in the classic ballet world, will open curtains this December 2015.
I had the honor to speak with Miss Ryan about her book and her Holly Claus world. When she talks about the story and all that its entails, she literally enters the Land of Forever. With her skillful acting talent, while living her characters, she tells an amazing story, which could be a turning point in a child’s life, while helping parents to guide their children to become achievers followed by a life full of meaning as adults.
While chatting with animated Miss Ryan, a soft spoken lanky and of ballerina slender figure, thanks to our 21st century technology, the ballet director Idalee, in Washington State, joined our conversation. I certainly got a sense of the meaning ‘the birth of a classic ballet’.
There is so much to write about this exciting upcoming classic ballet performance of our time, about the best-seller book, a possible movie series, fashion, book clubs, and so much more of Holly Clause culture, it is impossible to tell it all in one article. But I will try highlight the exciting points so the reader can join me in my excitement.
The last classic ballet was written many, many, years ago, but not one classic ballet had a message and purpose. One well known worth mentioning ballet is The Nutcracker, Libretto adaptation from E. T. A Hoffmann’s 1816 story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. In it young Marie Stahlbaum's favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker, comes alive and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom populated by dolls.
The ballet was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sunday, December 18, 1892, during the reign of Tsar Alexander III, on a double-bill with Tchaikovsky's opera, Iolanta.
The Nutcracker’s original production was not a success, the 20-minute suite that Tchaikovsky extracted from the ballet was. However, the complete Nutcracker has enjoyed enormous popularity since the late 1960s and is now performed by countless ballet companies, primarily during the Christmas season, especially in the U.S.
Holly Claus is distinctively the first classic mythological character who has a purpose in our world. Her purpose is to see over what each child dreams about and to know whatever inspires him or her to follow on and accomplish it, while, in turn, ask what he or she are going to contribute to the world with the dream they are going to accomplish. That means commitment and responsibility, traits much of our youth today have lost or are not being asked to fulfil.
In the culture of Holly Claus there is a Dream Tree. This tree should be in every town, whether during the Christmas Holiday Season and right through the year. After all, a dream can be dreamt and wished every day.
Nicole, 9 year old wrote: “Dear Holly, my dream is to be a pediatric doctor to cure children. I will find a cure for diabetics and cancer. Thank you for inspiring me.”
What a powerful wish for a child to want to change the world because of Holly and Holly has millions of Nicole.
Miss Ryan gave birth to Holly who gives our children purpose and the upcoming ballet is filled with purpose.
Idalee Hutson-Fish, a lecturer in Dance at Whitman College, spent much of her life living in rural land. She takes a group of student dancers to dance in Spain and Italy every other summer and taught dance in Italy for 10 years before returning home, to the United States. When she settled on Washington State she wanted to apply her talent to inspire children to feel good about themselves through the dance. She believes that a dream and believing in it gives a child the ability to focus and achieve that dream.
With her ballet expertise, Idalee believes that ‘Holly Claus The Ballet of Dreams’ is going to be the “biggest thing in the dance world because all the existing classic ballets are overly performed and people are looking for something new and inspiring. The ballet has all the factors built into it, the good, the evil, the romance, and the hope for children as much as for the adults. Though the ballet is a classic ballet it is a mesmerizing story. A new classic ballet story being born with a new element of inspiration and hope. It is about beauty that comes from within because when you dance your beauty shines from within. A dream and a wish has a purpose; the ballet’s fairies have a purpose, and the entire Holly Claus ballet is of a purpose.”
Idalee thinks that today’s dancers do not dance from inside, they dance technically yet, Holly Claus ballet is to the contraire. In her opinion the world of dance has become technical and in general dance is commercial and with sexual gist. She wants to change all that from her ballet world in Walla Walla. In 2007, while looking to do something for the Holidays, Idalee found the book Holly Claus and contacted Miss Ryan through Facebook social media and the rest is history.
The Romantic ballet has no immediate end, rather a slow decline. It has specially written music, as opposed to a pastiche typical of a ballet of the late.
The ballet, with the title, ‘Holly Claus The Ballet of Drams’, Produced by Brittney Ryan and Idalee Hutson-Fish, with leading ballerina, Sophia Rolph, as Holly Claus, is romantic, defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. It opens in the Land of Wishes with a magical pen and parchment, seeking the heart of a child who will write on it. Little Christopher, a poor boy with a golden heart writes the golden letter. Each child who attends the performance needs to bring along his or her own personal page in which he or she expresses their wish and dream, including what they promise to do for the world, and hang it on the great Dreamtree with the hope to one day be inscribed in the Book of Forever for following their dream and changing the world.
The creator of Holly Claus aims to make December 1st Holly Claus Dream Day and light a child’s dream each year. The Holly Claus story and ballet has the potential to change our culture in the most positive way.
A woman never wrote a ballet and Miss Ryan wrote Holly Claus the Ballet of Dreams Libretto for the ballet in which Act one and two spread over 2 hours dance-story performance. The Danza Foundation is sponsoring the inaugural performance, its motto is to inspire children to dance.
The exciting ballet world premier is about to make history.
I sense that author Brittney Ryan, choreographer/Director Idalee Hutson-Fish and Character Holly Claus are about to give the world of children a purpose, the world of grownups inspiration, the world of ballet a new classic for centuries to come and the world of arts a true winner.
I am inspired; you should be too!
Tickets can be purchased though Brown Paper Tickets under Holly Claus
Through the Whitman College Dean of faculty and Office of Provost they donation $3,000 for tickets. Do not forget, children must bring their dream and wish page to the performance and start living the culture of Holly Claus.