RICHMOND, Va. -- The Epiphany of the Three Kings Day is a holiday tradition that is celebrated around the world and in Virginia.
A non-profit organization is sharing a passion through Latin cultural dance experiences and is celebrating its 22nd annual holiday production of the Legend of the Poinsettia.
"It's such a beautiful production, it's basically kind of like the Nutcracker something that you know, a performance, a production that we do every year," Marisol Betancourt Sotolongo, the artistic director for the Latin Ballet of Virginia, said.
The event is presented by the Latin Ballet of Virginia which was founded in 1997 by Anna Ines King who now serves as emerita and consultant. The dance celebrates the 12 days after Christmas which are also known as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day.
"A lot of people in the Hispanic culture celebrate the Three Kings Day and Christmas, they don't, We don't just celebrate it just in December. So we extended it up until about the second week in January," Sotolongo said.
The Legend of the Poinsettia features professional dancers and junior and little company dancers. Marisol has been performing with the company for more than two decades.
"It's amazing thinking about it. And it's like, wow, it has actually been 22 years. When I started, I was just a little angel walking across the stage," Sotolongo said.
Sotolongo was only three when she started with the company. Her classes with the Latin Ballet paid off when the then-tiny dancer landed a spot in the ballet's little company.
"And then from there I moved on to the junior company and then the professional company and then I was the director of the junior company for a while and now I'm the artistic director," Sotolongo said.
At 26, Marisol is one of the youngest artistic directors in the area.
"So, I think it's beautiful, I mean, to be able to participate in the production for so long," Sotolongo said.
Based on a Mexican legend, the performance depicts the story of a girl named Maria who wanted a gift for baby Jesus.
"So she was so sad that she couldn't find anything to get baby Jesus and then she found a handful of weeds. And so since she gave from her heart those weeds turned into poinsettia flowers," Sotolongo said.
Maria would then learn about the true meaning of Christmas, a lesson Marisol said is for everyone.
"That no matter what gifts you give to anybody, as long as you give from the heart, that's a beautiful gift. It doesn't have to be materialistic," Sontolongo said.
In her few months into her reign as artistic director, Marisol has had the chance to reflect on her new role.
"It's been a wonderful experience thus far. It is hard. I'm not gonna say it's easy," Sontolongo said. "But I've been under Ms. Ana's wing for so long. So it's kind of made it easier for me to take on such a big role."
You can see The Legend of the Poinsettia at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen on Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
