The characters from The Chronicles of Narnia will be brought to life via dancers with a Central Alberta dance school.

Joy’s School of Dance will stage Narnia Nov. 28th at the Welikoklad Centre (4922 49th St.). Performances run at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

“I like the idea of Narnia because it’s a story that many people are familiar with,” said Joy McIlwain, owner and dance instructor at Joy’s School of Dance.

“We’ve tried to include something for everyone to relate to and going back to your childhood is always something that is fun too,” she added of the classic story.

There are about 70 dancers who will perform Narnia this year with different styles including ballet, jazz, acro and lyrical, among others.

This is the fourth time the dance troupe has staged Narnia and McIlwain said she received positive feedback from last year’s show.

“It was definitely the kids’ request this year. They were very anxious to do it again.

“It’s so neat to see the younger dancers looking up to the older ones and thinking that one day they will dance that part too,” said McIlwain. “Anyone I talked to really enjoyed it a lot because it was something different.”

According to Wikipedia, The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children’s literature and is the author’s best known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages.

Written by Lewis between 1949 and 1954, illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published in London between October 1950 and March 1956, The Chronicles of Narnia has been adapted several times, complete or in part, for radio, television, the stage and film.

Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic, mythical beasts and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world.

Of all the books, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is perhaps one of the most popular and re-created of them all.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, completed by the end of March 1949 and published in 1950, tells the story of four children – Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie.

They discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke’s house that leads to the magical land of Narnia.

The Pevensie children help Aslan, a talking lion, save Narnia from the evil White Witch, who has reigned over the land of Narnia for a century of perpetual winter.

The children become kings and queens of this new found land and establish the Golden Age of Narnia, leaving a legacy to be rediscovered in later books.

“I think people can expect to see the story pretty close to what they read growing up.

“It’s very detailed in parts of the story. If you are not familiar with it, you will be able to follow along and see what is happening,” said McIlwain. “There is the winter and the snow and Father Christmas coming along and the fights between the good and the evil.

“It has a Christmas feel to it and I think it’s such a classic and it’s different – it’s not something that everyone is used to seeing in a performance. It’s something new.

“Anyone of all ages can enjoy it.”

Tickets for Narnia are $17.50 a piece.

They are available through the Black Knight Ticket Centre by calling 403-755-6626 or online at www.bkticketcentre.ca.

efawcett@reddeerexpress.com