Ballet Magnificat: The Hiding Place

For those of you who don't know the story of Corrie Ten Boom and have never heard of or read her book "The Hiding Place," it is a definite must read. MUST.

An incredibly moving and inspirational true story of Corrie and her family during the Holocaust, this ballet did an amazing job of retelling it in dance. Honestly, if I hadn't been busy changing lenses and creeping around the orchestra pit, I would have been in tears through the whole second half!

To give you some background of how this ballet came to Niagara in the first place, my sister Rachel and my cousin Carolyn own Soli Deo Gloria Ballet. They recently visited a friend in Mississippi (who is in one of Ballet Magnificat's training programs there), and ended up arranging a tour in our area! (I'm pretty sure this is what happened anyway... if I'm wrong, Rachel will undoubtedly correct me in the comments section, so be sure to check that out too. ;)

We were so privileged and blessed to have the incredibly talented ladies from Ballet Mag's Omega Company perform Hiding Place for us!! They were able to arrange performances in Toronto and Ottawa as well, and I for one am prayin' to pieces that they come back!!! :D :D

I'm so proud of Rachel and Carolyn for putting on such an amazing event! They've been working hard for months, getting the word out, working on getting sponsors, organizing host families for the girls to stay with, and SO much more!! There were around 500 people in attendance--nearly a full house--and it was just such a rewarding feeling (even for me!) to see such a great turnout and see how blessed everyone was to see such a powerful ballet! The girls were all available at the front afterward for people to meet and talk to, and it was just such a joy to talk with a few of them! (And let me tell you, those Nazis were the sweetest girls ever! ;)

To learn more about Ballet Magnificat and their tours or training programs, be sure to visit their website!

Next time, you definitely want to be there. ;)

And now... pictures.


Carolyn opened the night with a piece she choreographed:









And then, the rest of the show started:















































































































Years after the war ended, Corrie wrote her story and was asked to appear on radio shows and in other forms of media to share her testimony. This final scene demonstrated the lives that were touched and impacted from hearing what she and her family went through. The most emotional part of the ballet took place when the same guard who had been responsible for her sister Betsy's death and for most of the persecution and torture they faced met with Corrie, and was in turn met with forgiveness.











The final dance was beautiful and so energetic! It ended the performance on a very happy note. :)