The miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ will be presented in ballet form next week.

Allonge Dance Academy will feature a cast of 30 children and adults in the Nativity Ballet production, owner Amanda Short said.

“The ballet is our way of giving back to the community,” she said. “We want to keep Christ in Christmas.”

The performance is free, but donations will be accepted at the door for area ministries.

When Short opened her studio, she considered some of the traditional winter ballets, such as “The Nutcracker,” but ultimately decided to create her own instead.

“As a faith-based studio, we want to keep Christ in Christmas,” she said. “I decided I wanted to do something that was original and focused on the true meaning and spirit of Christmas.”

It has been successful. Last year, the first of the Nativity Ballet, the 600 seats at Southside Baptist Church were nearly filled.

“We are hopefully starting a new Christmas tradition,” Short said.

Short opened the ballet up to the community to get potential performers who were not already involved at Allonge. They have been rehearsing multiple hours a week since August, she said.

Some parts have even been created for people who want to be a part of the ballet.

“This ballet is ever-evolving,” she said. “We’ve opened this up to anybody who wants to be part of it.”

Even so, Short said, she tried to stay true to the Biblical account of the events surrounding Christ’s birth.

This year, she bent that rule slightly to allow three wise men in the production. They were missing last year, as many Biblical scholars believe their lengthy travel from the Far East meant they did not arrive until a few months to two years after Christ’s birth. But a lot of people missed them and asked for them, Short said.

The combination of their favorite things is something the dancers look forward to every year.

“I really like dancing and I really like Christmas and the nativity, so I thought if you put it together, it would be more fun,” said 11-year-old Anna Gomer, who has been dancing for seven years. She plays a big shepherd and an angel.

Caroline Eure, 12, performs the parts of a big shepherd and an archangel.

“It tells the story of Mary and Joseph traveling to a safe place to have Jesus,” she said.

Claire Taliaferro, 10, is in her fifth year dancing. She gets to be one of the wise men.

“They just added that part this year,” she said. “It’s just exciting to be on stage.”

Parents of the younger dancers said their children also enjoy being in the Nativity Ballet.

“She loves being on stage,” Kristen Campbell said about her 6-year-old daughter, Raelee, who plays a shepherd. “She just loves to dance. Because of (Allonge), she fell in love with dance.”

Beth Blanchard, whose 11-year-old daughter, Katie Ann, is in the ballet, said she enjoyed last year’s performance.

“There’s something simple and classic and elegant about it,” she said. Blanchard is a local artist who painted props for the show.

Short said donations accepted at the door will be given to the Haiti ministry Supply & Multiply, ministries at Southside Baptist Church including its Burkina Faso missions, and the local nonprofit organization ForKids.

The event will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 16 at Southside Baptist Church, 917 Carolina Road.