Make Soulful Messiah part of your holiday routine

Soulful Messiah, the R&B-inflected dance production from mainstay Toronto company Ballet Creole, is a hot-blooded, high-energy antidote to the lethargy that usually accompanies the onset of winter. Now in its 13th year, the show pairs various genres of dance—tap, jazz, ballet and modern—with Quincy Jones’s funky 1992 take on Handel’s Messiah (for a taste, see “For Unto Us a Child is Born,” a divine combination of classical music and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song). The production, choreographed by Trinidadian-Canadian Ballet Creole founder Patrick Parson, leaves an abstract yet beautiful mark on the classic oratorio through solo performances and synchronized group routines—the high-flying performers effortlessly leap, slide and twist their way around a sparse black stage. It injects a dose of joyful African-Caribbean culture into a round of holiday festivities that likely involves more in-laws than artistic innovation. Grab a ticket to one of this weekend’s three performances here.

Nov. 28 & 29. $20–$45. Fleck Dance Theatre. 207 Queens Quay W., 416-973-4000, balletcreole.org.