Park enthusiasts share big plans
Dec. 14, 2016 ... see page 5
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‘Nutcracker’ to include students, community
Coweta boasts ‘Christmas Tree Fairy’
By REBECCA LEFTWICH becky@newnan.com
By MAGGIE BOWERS maggie@newnan.com
When Southern Arc Dance’s “The Nutcracker” takes the Wadsworth Auditorium stage Dec. 16-17, audience members will have the opportunity to watch not only professional and student dancers perform, but members of the community as well. Starring ballerina Regina Metayer as Sugar Plum and James La Russa as Sugar Plum Cavalier, the Newnan Cultural Arts Com m ission-spon sored event feat u res young dancers from Southern Arc Dance and Sharpsburg Dance Academy throughout the performance. The Christmas party scene will be populated with dance parents and other members of the community, including Carol Healy, John Kennedy, Jeffrey Cook, Michelle Gillardon, Tori and Taylor Lamb, Harriet McLaughlin, Wade Robbins, Irina Wilkes, Phillip Midas and Clint Taylor. Many of the adult performers as well as the tiniest dancers – some as young as 2 – will make their public debut in “The Nutcracker.” “For some, it’s their very first ‘Nutcracker’ and first time on stage,” Southern Arc Dance Artistic Director Paulo Manso de Sousa said. “The parents are working very hard and really enjoying the entire experience.” Manso de Sousa said Southern Arc Dance is “very excited” to bring Metayer and La Russa to Newnan. Metayer began her dance training in Portau-Prince, Haiti at the Haitian-American Academy of Ballet & Arts. She was a performing member of the Haitian-American Contemporary Dance Theater, under the direction of Eileen Herzog-Bazin. Metayer attended Florida State University where she earned a BFA degree in dance. She has performed in such noted works as Balanchine’s “AGON,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Cinderella,” “La Bayadere,” “Paquita” and “The Nutcracker.” Metayer has performed with City Gate Dance Theater and Ballethnic Dance Company, and she is the owner and founder of the Metayer Conservatory for the Arts in Atlanta. La Russa began his dance training at The Atlanta Ballet and was a student of the preprofessional division by the age of 9. During his time as a student, he earned full scholarships to the Atlanta Ballet Summer Intensive, Boston Ballet Summer Intensive, and the Australian Ballet School. He’s performed in multiple works adjudicated for the Southeast Regional Ballet Association as well as Regional Dance America. After graduating high school, La Russa earned his Bachelor of Science degree at
Carole Shankel, also known as the “Christmas Tree Fairy,” began her tradition of dressing up as the holiday icon in 1982. “I originally made the costume for a friend’s Halloween costume party,” said Shankel, a retired teacher in Coweta County. “The first few years though, I made the mistake of attaching glass ornaments to the outfit.” According to Shankel, the design of the whimsical costume has come a long way since the 1980s, but the concept behind the outfit remains. “It brings me such joy,” she said. “It makes people smile and, in many ways, that alone spreads a bit of kindness.” She noted that for years she wore the costume to parties and, occasionally, to East Coweta High School where she taught English and Literature for several years. Since retiring, Shankel has added to her list of appearances. These days she can be found in local nursing homes, reading to children at the library and in bookstores, visiting elementary classrooms and even stopping in local businesses.
Downtown group backs open-container provision By REBECCA LEFTWICH becky@newnan.com Allowing people to sip beer, wine and mixed drinks on city streets during special events isn’t meant to shatter Newnan’s quiet charm, say supporters of relaxing the city’s alcohol rules. Downtown Development Authority members are among those eager to reassure the community that a proposed open-container provision won’t have Newnan looking like Lakewood Amphitheater’s lawn during a Jimmy Buffett concert. The authority is working to allow the con-
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PHOTO BY REBECCA LEFTWICH
Newnan Downtown Development Authority is working with a city attorney on a proposed amendment regarding alcohol.
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