karen: today on "cityline," three performances guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit. karen: hello, everyone. welcome. stages will come alive with the crew production to put you in the holiday mood. first, starting december 4, the national center of afro-american artists put on black nativity. gospel play brings audiences the tale of the nativity, and the birth of jesus. 45th annual performance is the longest running production in

they also will perform live in the boston common on thursday in this year passes production of wcvb' s holiday lights. quite i have got good news. the lord is come. go tell it on a mountain. over the hills, everywhere. go, tell it on a mountain that jesus christ was born. go tell it on the mountains over the hills and everywhere go tell it on the mountain that jesus christ was born >> an angel came to hell jesus' birth -- hail jesus' birth go tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere

go tell it on the mound that jesus christ is born karen: significance here in boston and around the country, both of how are you today? oh my goodness. black nativity is so wonderful. i cannot tell you how many times i have had an opportunity to see it. when did you become involved? >> i became involved around 1993 when i had my two daughters in the production and i just ushered every show for about seven or eight years and i started performing around 2000. >> i come out on whatever song i am signed -- a signed on that particular show. i sing joy to the world, i sing >> is born and whatever else i

karen: how about you? >> i started out a long time ago , learning to sing well to college and i went to new york city and i came back here years later and john said you have to sing in the production, in 1996, never knowing that ms. lewis were grooming me for something much greater. karen: something much bigger. s in-house vocal coach. karen: that is a tough job.

performance ready , they sound so beautiful and angelic when they are done. for those who do not remember ms. lewis, the grandam of the boston arts scene, and john roth, of course, the legendary director of the black nativity production, while is having ms. lewis and john rogers' stream continuing in boston, so important? >> because it was the national center' ' s to the city every year. it was our gift saying thank you for letting us be in the city and for letting us put the show on every year. it is just to keep the legacy of mr. lewis and even vernon, who was heavily involved in the theatrical version of the production, to keep the legacy going and just to keep that tradition. it is so family oriented.

my children were involved and i had a lot of family members involved in the show. it is one of those family kinds of productions. our good friend who was a reporter at channel four was one of the lead soloists for many years. he has a beautiful voice. black nativity is not only representative of the great work of langston hughes, known all around the world, but it is a community event. >> very much so. i like to think it is a way to bring the community together, you know what i mean? it is fellowship, not only with each other, but with the community at large. because you can see people whose lives are touched, when you see

karen: people literally grow up in this production. i want to get back to you and talk about some of your goals as you try to coach the children into these roles. >> one of the things i tell the children from day one, you are not going to be children' s choruses in the city. i want you to aim to be the best children' s chorus in the city. not just somebody who is a child singing in the black nativity chorus, but someone who could he sought after to sing solos as children anywhere in this city, in the country, in the nation, and they have. karen: share with us some of the particulars of the history of the langston of this black nativity as a gospel play?

scenario, he wrote the script , and it had been put on in new york city. john ross' s history with him, which is so integral to the play as we know it, was that his father was a roommate of langston hughes. karen: john ross' s dad? >> that' s right. langston -- uncle langston, as he called him -- called him and said, "why don' t you have a go at putting this together?" is was acknowledged as one of the best productions of langston hughes' play. karen: in the country. >> in the country. karen: that' s amazing. which leads to why it has been

so successful for all these years. >> that' s right. karen: what is your favorite song in the performance? last question. >> my favorite song is "christ is born." it sums up everything that has happened to that point. christ is born in the land of judea and the virgin mary -- it tells the story in one song, it is one of the faster pieces, we build up to that song, and it explodes and the audience goes crazy and we feel their energy . we normally go back into singing the song again because the energy in the room is just so intense. karen: oh boy. and your favorite song? >> my favorite is "joy to the world." we have two versions. the first version is sung with this childlike karen: quality. karen:you will be performing at

at w tvd -- wcvb' s holiday lights. >> that' s right. karen: thank you for being here today. "black nativity" will be at the paramount theater beginning december 4 and run through december 20. watch them this thursday on "holiday lights." up next, a classic holiday ballet set to tchaikovsky and duke ellington.

karen: welcome back. tony williams was a troubled teen who discovered the art of dance. as the first african-american principal dancer of the boston

to unite diverse communities in boston. the result -- >> [classical music plays] karen: the tony williams dance center, where they put on the urban nutcracker every season of christmas. it follows the traditional story of clara -- now, clarice -- internet cracker. this time, the cast is diverse, as is the music, featuring music from tchaikovsky and duke ellington. the show, now in its 15th year, has a little something for everyone.

karen: love it. love it, love it, love it. joining us in the studio is tony williams. it is always such a wonderful production, tony. for those that have not had a chance to see the nutcracker, tell us how the project began. tony: well, it began around 2000 when i opened up a school in jamaica plain and i had these two guys who taught for me. one taught tap and the other taught hip-hop. the first year that i had that school, i did not have a lot of kids in the school, maybe 60. 15 were boys. that is a huge percentage for a dance school. and i had not had a dance school before that. i thought it would be really a good idea to use those boys in the "nutcracker." why?

popular and you get the kids involved and their parents involved. i got the idea around that time. karen: taking on "the nutcracker" in a city like boston, where the boston ballet' s "nutcracker" is known all over the country, that takes a lot of gumption to say, we are going to do our urban nutcracker. tony: i danced in the very first year in 1964 of the boston ballet "nutcracker." i was in that show. i' m raised on being a part of the nutcracker world. in 2000, i said, i cannot put on a "nutcracker" that is going to compete with the boston ballet, so i have to do something different. i came up with the idea of the "urban nutcracker." so that is how that happened. i could not just do classical

dance. i had to incorporate khalid and ricardo, tap and hip-hop. so we had cap, hip-hop, and ballet. karen: we are looking at some of the scenes from the "urban nutcracker" right now. how has the production evolved over 15 years? tony: it has sort of seasons like a fine wine. the first year, we only had half the scenery, half the scenery, have to set, and have the costumes and we put it on at the strand theater, the famous theater in dorchester. it just, through the years, it just -- i tweeted every year trying to improve it -- tweak it every year trying to improve it. karen: at the top of the show, we said you had a mischievous childhood. let' s call it that. tony: yes, i was raised -- nine kids in my family. i'

my father and mom were great parents and we lived in the projects in jamaica plain. you know, as kids, this was the 1950' s, not to date myself that much, but i was in a street gang -- but street gangs then compared to now, we fought with their fists. we were real masculine kids. we did not fight with weapons. we would get into trouble and i got into a little bit of trouble and i -- through dance, i was able to find a way out of that. karen: what led a tough street kid to turn to dance and ballet? tony: well, i was an athlete. i played baseball, ran track, i was also going to the gym and i was doing gymnastics and some of the gymnasts were doing ballet.

they said, because the russians do that and it helps them. some of them were going to take classes, so i tagged along with them and i took a class and i found out, this is really a lot of fun and that is how i got involved with it. karen: what is it about the ballet and the dance that it did for you that you hope will do for the young kids in the "urban nutcracker"? tony: did give me a wonderful career and a great life and i' m day. it is something that can last for a whole lifetime. it just gave me a very successful -- it gave me a great opportunity to be successful and to enjoy my life. i feel that, with children today, that dance goes way back and we all have that inner beat in us about dance and when kids get involved with the dance,

realm of their feelings and, through that expression, they find themselves. special. self-respect. they have respect for their friends. it is like an extended family. for their energy. they learn discipline. they learn teamwork because they stage. there are a lot of lessons for life that come out of being part of this production. tony: absolutely. most of the kids, we have a cast of 150, and most of the kids come to rehearsal, but they are doing their homework on the side. i find that it really keeps kids in a good place and it helps them progress and explore as

karen: one big thing that we should expect from this year' s production. tony: yes, we have new sets and costumes to the tune of $100,000. we are excited about that. also, we have -- we are all about inclusion. we have an autism friendly show at one of the shows. the other show we have is an lgbt, gay friendly show. we have 15 shows this year. two of them. we talk about diversity and inclusion and our city is like that. we are the boston "nutcracker" that reflects the diversity of boston. karen: tony williams, you are a legend. "the irvine nutcracker -- urban nutcracker" is playing from december 11 through december 27. up next, the tale of qualms that

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karen: welcome back, founded in 1994, origination' s images to shape the lives of children ages 2-14. they raised the awareness of african cultures through performing and cultural arts. they host several events that educate audiences about kwanzaa during the holidays. one of the major events is the young child' s search for the meaning of life during kwanzaa. it is written by the executive director of origination. she joins us in studio with her

lead in the show. how are you today? >> good. karen: i will start with mom, the founder. tell us more about this performance and how would came together. >> it came together in 2011. one day, when i was in the gym walking on the treadmill, i was thinking about the different programs that happened during the holiday season in boston and there were not a lot of programs or musicals, i don' t believe there were any, that focused on kwanzaa. with a lot of the young people i families, they are very s try to create a musical. i was on the treadmill and i wrote it on my blackberry while walking on the treadmill and i would not suggest that. [laughter] karen: there may be some people in the audience who are not familiar with kwanzaa. celebration that takes place december 26 through january 1

le is celebrated every day. the focus is to utilize those principles and the philosophies throughout the entire year. it focuses on unity and teambuilding and being able to speak up for yourself and helping your community members. karen: i believe it was maulana karenga who was the original founder of kwanzaa many, many years ago. >> and is actually going to be in boston in december doing a lecture. karen: fantastic. tell us more about the production. >> it is "my heart." it started in 2011. the first lead character was my son for the first few years. it is about a child' s search for the true meaning of kwanzaa. he is bullied in school because he does not celebrate the traditional holidays that his

family celebrates kwanzaa year after year after year. this year, we had to change the old. hi. how are you? >> good. karen: you are playing the lead? >> yes. karen: tell me about your role. >> it is about a girl trying to . school. she goes home and she does not want to tell her parents what happened at school. she goes to the mall and she finds friends that help her. karen: do you sing in this production? >> yes. karen: do you like to sing onstage? >> yes. karen: do you also have lines that you deliver? >> yes. karen: was this difficult for you to take on, this whole presentation? >> well, there are a lot of

i have to memorize them by december 5. i have to get on a roll to [laughter] karen: how many songs do you perform? >> one song. that we sing altogether. karen: what is it called? >> "celebrate kwanzaa." karen: this must be a lot of fun for you? >> yes, it is very fun. karen: how wonderful to have an opportunity to work with your >> very much. karen: what is your favorite aspect of the musical and how audiences react to this production? >> wow. the young people find their voice. we take in any child that wants to participate. we accept them into the program. some of them are very shy. by bullies. watching them really get their

feet wet and dive into it and want to perform over and over is the most important part to me. the audiences, when they laugh, it is the best feeling ever. they laugh so hard and so much and it is fantastic. karen: it is also important for kwanzaa, as well. we spend a lot of time with our cast members getting them to understand kwanzaa because at the end of the protection, we do a talkback -- production, we do a talkback. they get a rehearsal guide to well. joining us today. production. your first year in the lead >> yes. karen: at roxbury community college' s mainstage on december for more information on all of

"cityline" community page at wcvb.com. everyone.