Then one foggy Christmas Eve …

When the Terpsichore Dance Company decided to put on their first holiday production, director Julie Stevenson said they did not want to stage another Nutcracker.

So co-director Isabele Melo Elefson, formerly of the Classical Ballet of Sao Paolo, choreographed an original ballet set to the story, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Dance Academy of Libertyville's Terpsichore Dance Company will perform this new look of a holiday classic for two performances on Saturday and one on Sunday at Libertyville High School's auditorium.

Stevenson said the holiday show is another way the company wants to expose the community, particularly families to something classical and familiar but present it in a new artistic way.

"We try to take classical songs and classical stories you don't always see and try to give them a new element, try to bring them to life in a new art form," she said.

Shelley Grunert of Libertyville plays Rudolph, a lonely reindeer who becomes a Christmas hero as he guides Santa through the fog to deliver gifts to children.

Grunert said she is excited to bring Rudolph to stage in such an original way.

"I'm going to have fun with it. If you're on stage having fun, they will have fun too," she said.

While the story is told entirely through dance and no spoken word, Grunert said the movements are planned so well with the holiday music that all ages can follow along and enjoy the story.

"That is what dance is. It's is putting a thought or idea through music," she said.

Playing Santa Claus is John Daley, whose daughter Caitlin recently graduated from the dance company. Daley said directors thought he had the personality and the basic steps to play the jolly man in the red suit.

Daley said there were nerves to take the role, but the girls are poised and work so hard that they make him comfortable.

"For me, it is real fun and a privilege to work with these girls," said Daley, who lives in Wildwood.

There are moments for Santa that are fun and easy such as playing with the elves in the shop, Daley said. But there are some dramatic moments too particularly as Santa worries how to deliver the presents on a foggy Christmas Eve.

"A lot of it was just being fun but some of it is serious too," he said. "In the end of the day, it is a real ballet."

Performing with 45 members of the Terpsichore Dance Company also will be guest artists from Dance Academy of Libertyville's faculty who are professional dancers in the Chicago area. Among them are Aaron Fitzpatrick, Tracy Thom, Holly Pace and Stacy Bowden.

Following the show, children can meet the dancers, get autographs and meet Santa. Parents can take pictures of their children with Santa at no charge.

If you go

What: Terpsichore Dance Company's "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer"

Where: Libertyville High School auditorium, 708 W. Park Ave., Libertyville

When: 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday, and 1 p.m. Sunday

Tickets: $15

Call: (847) 247-1327