Let's Dance studio has been providing holiday entertainment since 1999, and this year they are returning to their original soldout performance.

Now, however, instead of a cast of 200 they have more than 400 dancers.

"In the past, people have said that it didn't feel like Christmas until they left the show," Jenny Samuelson, Let's Dance studio owner and director, said.

The dancers will perform their signature "A Christmas Carol" Friday through Sunday at the Belle Mehus auditorium.

"We like to come back to our original 'A Christmas Carol' every few years," Samuelson said.

Samuelson spiced up the story, while still not breaking the traditional tale.

"Our version of the 'Christmas Carol' takes a different spin on the story," Samuelson said. "We wanted to appeal to all ages, and make it more of a fairy tale."

In order to complete this vision, a toy shop scene and a Rockettes number were added into the traditional Charles Dickens novel.

Samuelson also has changed the performance so it is not the same as the previous shows.

"Every time we bring it back, we seem to add something," Samuelson said. "We've always made changes so it is a new show every time."

This year's performance has caused extra excitement in the practice rooms at Let's Dance because some of the lead role dancers performed in the original dance in 1999.

"What is neat, from my perspective, is seeing the first cast from 1999 are now the teachers, and the little pre-dancers from that year are now in the leads," Samuelson said.

Carla Mund, now 14, was one of the young dancers, and has now stepped into a lead role as Bell, young Scrooge's girlfriend. She is excited to step into the shoes of one of her dancing mentors, and to be a role model to younger girls.

"I was a little girl in 1999," Mund said. "I was a villager, and I danced with the girl that Iam in the role of now."

Let's Dance has created an original dance performance that combines musical genres from classical Tchaikovsky to Jessica Simpson's "Let it Snow," as well as everything from point to hip hop dance.

This year they added a marionette dance and a grave scene dance. But they still keep to the original story, complete with a Scrooge and three ghosts. They also have to convey the entire story through dance and music.

"Instead of using lines in a play, a lot of things are left to acting with your body," Samuelson said.

The audience seems to agree with the Let's Dance version of "A Christmas Carol," because tickets are going fast.

Tickets are $20 for reserved and $15 for general admission, and can be purchased at the Let's Dance studio, 809 Interstate Ave., Bismarck, or by calling 222-1052.

Tickets also are available at the door, but Samuelson recommends before-hand purchase as the shows frequently sell out. The first show will be at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by performances at 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and a final show at 1 p.m. Sunday.

"I think it is going to be a great show, and we've already sold so many tickets," lead snowflake Krysi Greff, 18, said.

(Kay Kemmet can be reached at 250-8260 or at kay.kemmet@bismarcktribune.com.)