Photography Provided by Christie Turnbull

In keeping with tradition, the Zionsville Performing Arts Center will be overflowing with cheer this holiday season.

Take a break from Christmas shopping this December and enjoy a performance or two at the community-centric venue, located at 1000 Mulberry St. in Zionsville. On Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, Zionsville Community High School will present its annual holiday concert, featuring all of the school’s performing arts groups. And from Dec. 13-15, Central Indiana Dance Ensemble (CIDE) will present their annual rendition of “The Nutcracker,” with various evening and matinee performances.

Originally built in 2003, the Zionsville Performing Arts Center (also known as the STAR Bank Performing Arts Center) started out as being a Zionsville Community High School venue, before eventually pivoting to its current role as a space that’s used by the entire Zionsville community.

“When the Performing Arts Center first opened, it was functioning primarily as a school venue,” says Zionsville Performing Arts Center director Isaac Spillman. “There were a few rental events, but not a ton. Now, I’d say we’re at the point where we’re not only a school resource, but we’re also a community resource. When we’re not in use for school events, we’re bringing in dance studios from the community, dance competitions, conferences, speakers, and all sorts of things to really help get the community in through our doors.”

The Center’s pair of holiday shows serve as a prime example of its yearly programming, with one being a Zionsville Community High School show and the other a community function. As previously mentioned, the Zionsville Community High School Holiday Concert features contributions from all of the school’s performing arts groups, including band, choir and orchestra.

“The holiday concert is great because every student, freshman through senior, will be on stage at some point during the concert,” Spillman says. “We will either have an ensemble by itself or a combination of two ensembles, and the bulk of the program is composed of that. Then for the finale, every student who’s in the performing arts performs one giant group number.”

As a 2015 graduate of Zionsville Community High School, Spillman can personally vouch for just how important the school’s performing arts programs are.

“They had a huge impact on me throughout high school,” Spillman says. “I was involved in band. I was involved in the theater department. I worked on the technical crew.”

As for the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble’s rendition of The Nutcracker, Spillman says the show has become “a fixture” of the Zionsville Performing Arts Center’s annual programming.

“They have been hosting “The Nutcracker” at our space for over 10 years,” Spillman says. “They have dancers from all over the Indianapolis area who are involved in the ensemble. There are usually some ZCHS students that are in the dance ensemble as well because it’s one of the larger ensembles in the area.”

The Zionsville Performing Arts Center is located at 1000 Mulberry Street. You can call them at 317-733-4833 or visit their website at ZionsvillePAC.org.

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