L.A. HOLIDAY CELEBRATION 2009 is the "best of" of the six-hour live L.A. County Holiday Celebration broadcast from Los Angeles' Music Center in December 2008. The one-hour highlights version of this Emmy-nominated music and dance spectacular mixes traditional, contemporary and offbeat holiday entertainment. That holiday staple "The Nutcracker" meets street dance as Antics Performance does a hip hop take on the first act Christmas Eve party and battle with the Mouse King. Backhausdance similarly transforms the "Nutcracker" Snow Scene: ballerinas in white tutus are replaced by modern dancers in ski wear gamboling in the snow. The natural beauty of the holiday season is also the backdrop of DreamDance II's "Ladies in the Snow," inspired by the elegance of Chinese dance of the Han dynasty.

Among the critically acclaimed artists spotlighted in the show are two who made their mark on reality television: Melissa Sandvig, the "Naughty Ballerina" from "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 5 and member of the company Motion Tribe, solos in a mesmerizing aerial performance, and Celtic Spring, from the first season of "America's Got Talent," offers trademark high intensity fiddling and Irish step dance.

L.A. Holiday Celebration was produced by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. For more Holiday Celebration information, visit www.holidaycelebration.org.

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