Coal City Broadway Dancers light up the stage at AMAZE Light Festival in Tinley Park

COAL CITY – For the first time, the On-Broadway Dancers will light up the stage in Coal City at the AMAZE Light Festival in Tinley Park for the Amaze Stage Show.

The show brings Amaze storybook characters, Zing, and Sparky to life as the On-Broadway Dancers create a one-of-a-kind performance filled with a live singer, original dancer numbers, and an original theme song.

Kim Scerine, owner and choreographer, for On-Broadway Dancers, said her name came up as a recommendation when AMAZE was looking for dancers for the stage show, giving her students the opportunity to perform at a professional event.

Usually, the On-Broadway Dancers would be performing their annual Christmas show, but this was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.

“For us, it is like every other show that we do, so we value the importance of it. To be able to do it on the scale that [AMAZE] does, it is giving them exposure performing on the same schedules and demands as a production,” Scerine said.

According to its website, the AMAZE Light Festival is “magic come to light! AMAZE Light Festival welcomes everyone of every age to feel the spirit of the Holiday unfold in a universe of sparkle, music, food, dance, celebration, and wonder.”

The On-Broadway dancers perform during the Zing and Sparky Sweet Adventure Storybook & Stage Show at 5 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m. each night.

Scerine said the dancers had multiple rehearsals to get ready to perform with Ryan Reinbacher, of Braidwood, in charge of blocking and staging the mascots. They created their own ten-minute audio track for the show and rewrote a song for Zing and Sparky to end the show for the finale, which is being used in the New York show.

“We reworded and reverted an already written song and Stephen sings it. and now that song and his voice are being used in the New York show,” she said.

Stephen Byers, of Coal City, sings the original song “Zing and Sparky” thanked Scerine for the opportunity and said after he got the role he “was ready to go.”

“I wasn’t expecting me saying yes would put my voice all the into New York. Being Zing has been one of the most rewarding things ever. Seeing those kids’ faces grow a smile every time I walk on stage is the most amazing part of the night,” he said.

Scerine said the performance is up-tempo, holiday-oriented, and kid-friendly but her favorite part of the show is the meet and greet, where the dancers come off stage and meet the children in the audience.

“One of my favorite parts about performing at AMAZE would be to spread the holiday cheer and put smiles on little kids’ faces and taking pictures with everyone after we dance makes my day,” Mya McCubbin, a dancer from Wilmington said.

The AMAZE Light Festival runs until Jan. 7, and is open from 4 to 10 p.m. on event days. For more information including tickets, go to https://amazelightfestival.com/chicago/. AMAZE Light Festival Chicago is located at Odyssey Fun World at 19111 Oak Park Ave. in Tinley Park.