Two upcoming shows — a Christmas concert at St. Athanasius Church and a "Winter Fairy Tale" ballet at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts — promise to capture the spirit of the holidays for local residents.

At the MVCPA, Bayer Ballet Academy presents this "fairy tale set to the music of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov in the Russian Ballet style." The description sounds ideally suited for children who love both dance and magic:

"On a snowy evening, the Queen of Bats' kidnapping of a little bunny disrupts the forest creatures' Wintertime celebration. With the help of the wizard and a beautiful rose maiden, the bunny is restored to its family. Santa, the Snow Maiden and an enchanting fairy treat you to the magical finale of an exquisite celebration that includes joyful Spanish dancers, bright Chinese dolls, and other characters from treasured fairy tales who come alive to help celebrate the bunny's return."

Bayer promises "spectacular costumes, special effects, and technical precision of movement," and says guest dancers include principals of the San Jose Ballet Company.

The Winter Fairy Tale ballet is Sunday, Dec. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, located at 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Tickets are $33 for adults, $28 for seniors and children 12 and under. For more information, call (650) 903-6000, visit www.bayerballetacademy.com or see the MVCPA Web site at www.mountainview.gov/mvcpa.

This Friday, meanwhile, St. Athanasius Church will host its annual Christmas Music Concert, billed as a celebration of "the spirit of the season."

The free event begins Friday, Dec. 18, at 7 p.m. and runs until 9:30. Supervised activities for children will be hosted in the vestibule during the show, and refreshments will be served. St. Athanasius is located at 160 N. Rengstorff Ave. in Mountain View. For more information, call the parish office at (650) 961-8600 or visit www.saintathanasius.com.

— Staff Reports

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