NEW PALESTINE — At the beginning of each new dance season, Cristy Corwin-Howard shares an African philosophy with her troupe of cloggers: ubuntu. It is a concept of oneness, voiced among the dancers as, “How can one of us be happy if the other ones are sad?”
This week, Corwin-Howard and the Hearts Ablaze clogging team have much to be happy about. They are about to make their third appearance as part of the Circle of Lights holiday celebration at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis.
Festivities for this event — which marks the kick-off of the holiday season — begin the day after Thanksgiving at 6 p.m. with live entertainment on the Circle. The merry-making goes live at 7 p.m. when WTHR (Channel 13) begins a broadcast of the show, which will feature the Hearts Ablaze cloggers and other local performers. Josh Kaufman, the 2014 winner of the television show competition “The Voice,” will perform as the headliner. Additional acts include soloist Lydia Tremaine from Huntertown; the a capella group Impromptu from Indianapolis, soloist McKenna Hall from Shelbyville and the One Voice choir from Indianapolis.
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To audition for this year’s performance, Corwin-Howard selected two songs. “Christmas This Year,” sung by Toby Mac, is a partner dance. The second song — “Light Up the World Tonight” as sung by the cast of the television show “Glee” — isn’t even a Christmas song, Corwin-Howard admits.
But using an audio application on her computer, Corwin-Howard added a ho-ho-ho ringtone and a sleigh bells ringtone to the beginning and the end of the song.
“It made it perfect for lighting up the monument,” Corwin-Howard said.
As the final performance on the stage — and dancing to a song with lyrics like “we’re gonna light up the world tonight” — Corwin-Howard’s young dancers will create a perfect transition for Santa and the winner of the Indianapolis Power & Light coloring contest to flip the switch and light the world’s largest Christmas tree.
The 110-plus dancers from Hearts Ablaze span in age from pre-school to adult. They are separated into groups — all with names like Firestorm, Inferno and Ignite. Corwin-Howard combined Firestorm, made up of dancers ages 11 to 14; and Inferno, the teen to young adult group, for this year’s audition group.
Corwin-Howard and her cloggers are performing for the third time. In 2013, she saw a commercial on TV calling for auditions to perform at the annual Circle of Lights. She assembled a team and took on the challenge, auditioning against more than 200 other performers. Hearts Ablaze didn’t make the cut in 2013, but in 2014 — and again in 2016 — Corwin-Howard’s cloggers were accepted into the inner circle of entertainers for the Circle of Lights.
She credits the success of being repeat performers to the group’s personality and demeanor.
“They like our energy, and they like that the kids are personable and easy to get along with,” Corwin-Howard said. “The producer has told us the kids are so well-behaved, talented and easy to work with.”
The Circle of Lights, which has traditionally taken place on the Friday after Thanksgiving since 1962, kicks off the Christmas season in Indianapolis with entertainment, Christmas lights and fireworks. More than 100,000 people will gather on Monument Circle for the lighting of 4,784 lights along 12 strands of garland. The strands of garland stretch from the base of the monument to its peak 284 feet in the air, giving it the appearance of a huge Christmas tree.
Carlie Dahlquist, 19, has been dancing with Hearts Ablaze since she was 5 and looks forward to returning to performing at the Circle of Lights.
One difference with this year’s performance is that director Corwin-Howard will be performing with them on the stage.
“It’s so cool,” Dahlquist said. “She’s such an amazing soul. She pushes us so hard in such a loving, gentle way. She’s a mother figure in our lives, and it will be super-cool to have her on stage with us.”
Corwin-Howard, who watched from the sidelines in 2014 and 2016, looks forward to dancing with her kids, as she calls her students. Competition regulations prohibit instructors from dancing with their students competitively, but this performance is non-competitive. Corwin-Howard will fulfill a promise to herself that if the group made it back to the Circle of Lights, she would be up there with them.
“It’s really the one chance I have to dance with my kids,” she said. Ubuntu.
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This free event is expected draw more than 100,000 people to Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.
Entertainment and activities begin at 6 p.m. Friday, but attendees would be smart to get downtown at least an hour ahead to find a parking place.
The event includes the lighting of the Christmas tree and fireworks.
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