"…a contemporary dance spectacle to rival The Nutcracker… a wonderful sight to behold." Michael Crabb, “Broadway’s yuletide best” Toronto Star 2010
Court of Miracles
A magical evening of dancetheatre, rich in music and pageantry, created by a master of Canadian dance and performed by a cast of fifty dancers and acrobats, including local residents.
Through a series of lively tableaux – including a wedding, a gypsy dance, a miracle play and an unusual feast – the performance captures the romance and struggle of medieval life and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.
In December 2010, the Toronto Star announced “Broadway’s yuletide best”, their Critics’ Choice of the all time picks in holiday entertainment. Alongside the movie and music critics’ naming Bing Crosby’s White Christmas and The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York, renowned dance writer and critic Michael Crabb named Court of Miracles as the best Christmas dance offering of all time.
“..rich and poor, firm and infirm, the righteous and the rogues - all in different ways affirmed and uplifted by the spirit of the season. It was a wonderful sight to behold.”
"...Court of Miracles, I can tell you first hand, appeals and speaks to generations in the audience and onstage." Veronica Tennant
Conceived by David Earle and choreographed by David Earle and James Kudelka, Court of Miracles, under the inspired direction of Kenny Pearl, is an evening of heart-warming music and dance, and a welcome addition to the seasonal bill of family entertainment. Guest artists who have performed include: Jackie Burroughs, James Kudelka, Veronica Tennant, Lawrence Adams, Donald Himes, Celia Franca, Lois Smith, Lilian Jarvis, Danny Grossman, Erik Bruhn, Andrea Nann and more.
Act 1: Pageant of the City – A panorama of life in Medieval times. The Feast of St. Nicholas - a holiday when lepers and penitents shared the streets with courtesans and royalty, when townspeople were crowned and became kings, where a wedding of royalty was shared with the common, and when everyone, rich and poor alike, was confronted with the everyday realities of Life and Death.
Act 2: Feast of Light – A home for the socially discarded, on Christmas Eve. Each inmate embodies one of the seven deadly sins: anger, pride, sloth, greed, hunger, lust and envy. Finally, envy steals each person’s sin, which was their only remaining possession. The beggars arrive with their gifts to perform the miracle of Christmas and are themselves witness to an unexpected miracle.
Court of Miracles was created to offer, in the season of light, a true representation of the values which that precious time was meant to celebrate: generosity, compassion, gratitude, and joy! ~David Earle
