Celebrating the holidays at ABA can often be found as our dancers’ favorite part of the year, since we celebrate in a variety of fun and entertaining ways. A long held tradition at this studio has been Secret Santa, while a more recent tradition has been including holiday themed jump rope choreographies within Saturday cardio classes. As each of these activities lead up to our exciting Nutcracker shows near the end of the holiday season, we always conclude the year with a bang, continuing to party the day after our shows at “Madame and Dale’s Residency” during our annual Holiday Celebration.

To start off the festivities, we have Secret Santa, a joyful gift exchange that lasts through the span of around a month. You might say that a month is a long time for this silly little game, but here at ABA, we take these gift exchanges very seriously. Therefore, the time given is the perfect amount to complete the whole process: fill out our wishlist, draw for the recipient, spend time buying the recipient’s presents, and then organize three separate exchanges. Those three exchange dates are spread out so that we have time in between each to perfect our gifts and think of a hint to include, allowing the recipients to have something to guess from beyond the presents. Nearing the end of the third swap, we each hypothesize who we think our Secret Santa is and then finally reveal to each other. Although each Secret Santa’s identity is supposed to be a surprise, many of us often construct our own lists of who we think everyone has, and some even guess their Secret Santa very early on. Whether this is because they are great detectives or because they have hidden contacts in the studio will remain a mystery 🐸. My experience this year was honestly the most fun out of all the years that I have done it. Not only did my Secret Santa give me some pretty awesome gifts, I was also able to trick the person I was giving to into thinking it was practically anyone and everyone else besides me! Besides feeling accomplished, I also loved watching the reactions that everyone had while opening their presents. This tradition never fails to make me smile and connects the whole team in a way like no other.

Holiday jump rope choreographies are a must. During the last Saturday cardio class of 2023, the girls jumped along to a Christmas song called “Dominick the Donkey.” Although I was not there to see the creative process in action, I could hear the joyful music playing all the way from Studio C and was greatly intrigued by it. When they called Madame to go watch their creation, Mrs. Marina and I followed, eager to get a glimpse of it as well. With a silly start, the routine was filled with grand pas de chats, backwards jumps, and partner tricks, executed with precision throughout. No matter what happened, it was clear that the girls enjoyed themselves. Laughter grew even as they performed and the Christmas spirit visibly radiated through the whole studio. Because of this, I am already excited to see what we have in store for next year.

Another major tradition that I am always enthusiastic about is attending the Holiday Party. A blast every time, we get to start winter break with a lovely gathering, a rewarding event for every member of ABA. As each family brings one or more of their specialty dishes to share with the rest of the ABA family, teachers, students, and parents get to relax and enjoy time with each other. While the bundt cakes were a fan favorite of the kids, I thought all the plates were filled with appetizing and well-prepared goods. Beyond the delicious food, something special about this year was that our group gained a passion for bellowing, I mean singing. Like we did in Italy, we gave it another go, though this time sang along passionately to Christmas music! Unlocking new memories and conversing with the girls in this comforting environment after a successful Nutcracker season is something I look forward to each time.

To sum it up, we commemorated this year through dancing, singing, and eating, growing our bonds and friendships, while motivating each other to work harder and collectively. As we await for the next holiday season to begin our traditions once again, we have a lot in store for 2024, including new solos, group pieces, and shows!


Publish Date: 12/30/2023