Students from the Dance Arts Center will present The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this weekend at the Historic Missouri Theater.

Marla Heeler with the Dance Arts Center said this is the first time they have done a full-scale production.

“I’ve wanted to do this for over 10 years… I lived in Chicago for several years and taught dance there and a great friend of mine, Béa Rashid, created this dance story and I wanted to do it for a long time but everything wasn’t quite in place – the kids, the staff members and the parents and where I was at – as far as being able to finagle it all,” Heeler said. “It just kind of all fell together about a year ago. I said, ‘We’re going to do this,’ and so, met with Béa and one of her other artistic directors in Chicago and started the wheels rolling.”

Heeler said the story translates well into a dance production.

“What’s so cool about it is it’s so unique. It’s not any type of dance production that anyone has ever seen before. It’s not The Nutcracker or even Cinderella or any other ballet that somebody might typically go see,” Heeler said. “It’s a story that most people have never seen in this format. Maybe they’ve seen the movies, maybe they’ve read the books, but they did an amazing job of bringing the story to life.”

The production features students and teachers and features a range of dance styles including ballet, jazz and tap.

Claire Phillips is performing the part of Lucy in the production.  

“We read the whole series when I was younger and as soon as I watched the movie, that was the part I wanted to play before I found out this was even a thing,” Phillips said.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be presented at 2 p.m. and at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Sunday at the Historic Missouri Theater.

Tickets can be purchased online or by calling (816) 233-5442.