Friendswood Contemporary Ballet presents “The Girl with the Matchsticks”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Heather Atherton, AthertonPR

913-316-4568

heather@athertonpr.com

Friendswood Contemporary Ballet presents its fourth annual winter production, The Girl with the Matchsticks, November 16 at Friendswood Junior High School Theater

A joyful reimagining of the Hans Christian Andersen seasonal classic.

(Friendswood, TX – October 2, 2018) – Tickets for Friendswood Contemporary Ballet’s production of The Girl with the Matchsticks, a joyful reimagining of the Hans Christian Andersen seasonal classic, are now on sale for their November 16^th performance at Friendswood Junior High School’s theater, 1000 Manison Pkwy, Friendswood, TX 77546. This is Friendswood Contemporary Ballet’s third annual holiday production for its growing semi-professional ballet company. Tickets for the single performance, 6:00 p.m. on November 16^th are $20 for adults and $15 each for children (age 12 and younger) and seniors (age 60 and over). Tickets are available at www.friendswoodcontemporaryballet.com.

Friendswood Contemporary Ballet gives pre-professional company dancers the opportunity to learn from two professional dancers performing with the student cast. 

Melissa Ludwig has danced professionally with the Grand Rapids Ballet Company, Milwaukee Ballet, and Ballet Austin. She joined Bay Area Houston Ballet and Theatre in 2012 as an Artist in Residence. Ms. Ludwig was cast as the Stepmother and the Autumn Fairy with Misty Copeland in Open World Dance Foundation’s production of Cinderella at the Hobby Center. She spent this summer dancing with Deos Contemporary Ballet in Michigan. Ms. Ludwig is currently the Dance Program Deputy for the Juxtapose Emphasis Theatre and Performing Arts Center, and the Youth Program Principal for Vitacca Vocational School for Dance Montrose.

Edward DeShane is a professional, free-lance dancer in Houston, Texas. He grew up dancing at Ballet Magnificat and trained there for 8 ½ years. He danced professionally with Ballet Magnificat in Mississippi, Uptown Dance Company in Houston, and Tobacco Road Dance Productions in North Carolina. Edward graduated from Belhaven University with the class of 2016 and earned his B.F.A. in Dance.

The Girl with the Matchsticks is based upon the Hans Christian Anderson seasonal classic and is described as:

A young girl and her grandparents live together. The girl ventures out to sell matchsticks to raise money for a Christmas gift for her grandparents; however, while out, she gets lost and has not sold any matches. Discouraged, she is greeted by the snow queen and all the little snowflakes make her cold. She then uses her matches to try to bring warmth to her cold fingers and toes. The flames from the matches cast shadows on the street reminding her of her favorite things about Christmas. Through each of her favorite memories she is reminded that the best part of Christmas is not the gifts, it is the time spent with her grandparents, family, and friends. In the end, she is reunited with her grandparents and they hold a lovely party with their closest friends.

“This is our favorite time of year, celebrating Christmas with a beautiful story that illustrates what is most important in life, the precious people around us,” explained Shanna Kirkpatrick, founder of Friendswood Contemporary Ballet. “Our company members love to perform, and we look forward to helping kick off the holiday season with the community through this unique holiday story.”

Friendswood Contemporary Ballet produces high quality dance performances for the community, providing an outlet for pre-professional young adults to showcase their years of dedication and talent in contemporary ballet. 

About Friendswood Contemporary Ballet

Friendswood Contemporary Ballet company seeks to enhance the ballet community by bringing together students and professional artists throughout the Greater Houston area. Twice a year, Friendswood Contemporary Ballet produces a full-length, high-quality performance to showcase the talented pre-professional dancers in the program.

Tickets for Friendswood Contemporary Ballet’s production of The Girl with the Matchsticks, a joyful reimagining of the Hans Christian Andersen seasonal classic, are now on sale for their November 16^th performance at Friendswood Junior High School’s theater. Professional dancers, Melissa Ludwig and Deward DeShane, will join company dancers for this touching holiday performance. The ballet has a positive holiday message about a young girl who, through each of her favorite memories, is reminded that the best part of Christmas is not the gifts, it is the time spent with her grandparents, family, and friends.