Ballet Magnificat! brings holiday show to Temple

GLENDA SANDERS |, The Meridian Star, Miss.
·3 min read

Nov. 17—Internationally acclaimed Ballet Magnificat! returns to the stage of the Temple Theatre on Tuesday night, Nov. 21, with its annual Christmas presentation, "Most Incredible Christmas."

The performance is one of the most spectacular holiday events held each year in Meridian and offers something for the whole family, said Ken Rainey, who along with his TK Productions partner, Tony Sansone, is bringing the ballet once again to the Temple to kick off the Queen City's holiday season.

"It is the most beautiful production that you will see in Meridian," Rainey said. "They do an outstanding job ... and they are a Christian ballet company here in Mississippi."

Dozens of students from area ballet schools, ranging in age from 5 to 12, will be joining Magnificat!'s ballet troupe on stage for the show which makes it even more special, he said.

"It is a first-class show, and the performance is done with local students who get the chance to dance on stage with these professional dancers," Rainey said. "It's funny because some of the mamas who are coming up to buy tickets used to dance in our annual Christmas show when they were younger."

The two-hour "Most Incredible Christmas" performance is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday with doors set to open at 6 p.m. Tickets for the show, which range in price from $15 to $40, are available at the Temple box office between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday and Monday, from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday and at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Tickets can also be purchased at the door before Tuesday night's show.

For more than 20 years, TK Productions has been bringing a holiday ballet to Meridian's Temple Theatre the week of Thanksgiving, Rainey said, noting that Roger Smith at the Temple has been extremely supportive of their efforts.

A longtime country music radio host, Rainey admitted the ballet was a whole new ballgame for him. He said it was Sansone's idea to bring in the ballet, and for many years a Russian dance company performed the Nutcracker ballet.

"I have been booking the Temple Theatre with country music since the 1960s. I did my first show in the Temple in 1967," Rainey said. "I never dreamed I would be involved in a ballet. But I am always amazed, and have been for over 20 years, with how beautiful this Christmas show is."

About five years ago, TK Productions began working with Ballet Magnificat! to bring its "Most Incredible Christmas" show to Meridian, one of only five cities across Southern states where the ballet will be performed outside of Jackson.

Ballet Magnificat!, considered America's premier Christian ballet company, was founded in Jackson in 1986 by Kathy Thibodeaux, a silver medalist at the 1982 USA International Ballet Competition and a former principal dancer with the Jackson Ballet Company, and her husband Keith Thibodeaux, a former child actor and drummer for the Christian rock band David and the Giants.

Heavily influenced by their Christian faith, "Most Incredible Christmas" is a Broadway-style contemporary ballet that is set to heartwarming, familiar holiday tunes like "Winter Wonderland," "We Three Kings" and "Joy to the World" with Jesus, the Messiah, at the heart of it all, according to Ballet Magnificat!'s promotional description.

"The ballet reveals that Jesus, King of kings, Lord of all, is ultimately the most incredible treasure to behold," it states.

Rainey encourages families, especially those visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday, to come out and be delighted by the "Most Incredible Christmas" show.

"We have been doing this for over 20 years," he said, "and it is the most beautiful show in the most beautiful theater you are going to find anywhere."

Contact Glenda Sanders at gsanders@themeridianstar.com.