Living Portrait: Pearl Shirley of 'Swannanoa Solstice'

For the Living Portrait series this month, Citizen-Times photographer Katie Bailey is talking to dancers, actors, musicians and others performing in Asheville's holiday shows to shine light on what it takes to put on their performances.

This year's "A Swannanoa Solstice" will look and sound similar to the first performance 12 years ago. Award-winning artists Al Petteway and Amy White bring the sounds of Appalachia and images of winter in the mountains to the Diana Wortham Theatre year after year in what has become a popular tradition in the area.

Combining Celtic and Appalachian music with storytelling, percussion and stepdancing, the annual holiday concert draws back audiences for an energetic evening celebrating the winter traditions of Western North Carolina and beyond.

While there are tweaks to the program and new twists on the tradition every year, "A Swannanoa Solstice" maintains its loyal following because it keeps to a tradition of high quality performance, said Pearl Shirley, co-leader and dancer in the group Twistycuffs, which performs in the program.

Shirley joined the group in 2003 and has been part of "A Swannanoa Solstice" since 2005. The Cape Breton-style dancing, similar to much of the percussive Celtic dancing often performed, is a high-energy portion of the event that Shirley said people look for every year.

She agreed to answer a few questions about what it's like being part of "A Swannanoa Solstice."

KatieBailey: How did you come into Twistycuffs and "A Swannanoa Solstice"?

PearlShirley: I've done percussive dance my whole life. Growing up in Black Mountain, it's really easy to see clogging everywhere you go. I play old-time music and now there's a big Celtic music scene here. Joining Twistycuffs seemed like another neat thing to do. I met Stephanie Johnston, the founder of the group, in 2002 and started dancing with them in 2003.

Katie: What do you like about being part of the "Solstice"?

Pearl: The people are really great. Al Petteway and Amy White are really friendly and generous. I think the audience that comes is really faithful and enthusiastic, and we just so appreciate that. They sell out almost every time, and people just feel like it's a good show.

I also think the quality of the musicians is really high. The last few years, we have been playing with the bagpiper E.J. Jones, and he's really awesome.

He's written some of the music we dance to and that's how we originally got him. When he moved to Asheville, we told him we had a dance choreographed to his song "Bayou Reels." He came and played for us and said, "I always want to play for dancers now." Now we do a couple of things throughout the year with him, and we hope to do more.

Katie: What kind of changes, if any, have you seen in the "Solstice" since you started?

Pearl: I can't remember the early days well enough to really tell you. It's a lot of the same cast, and they have a new little quirk on the tradition each year, but I feel like it's exactly that — a tradition, each year. People come expecting the quality and the content that they get.

I think the tradition of having that same core group of performers is what makes people back every year.

Katie: What's difficult about preparing for the performance?

Pearl: Everyone has busy lives, and with a group of eight dancers practicing once a week, there's always going to be something going on. So up to the last minute we're making sure that people know different parts so they can substitute in if they need to. We spend a lot of time just refining and tightening up our rhythm, and changing the way it sounds and the way it looks.

We do a rolling repertoire of dances, and we try to always have three or four dances ready by the beginning of our season in late summer. That way we're always ready to jump up and dance.

Katie: What would you tell people who have never been to "A Swannanoa Solstice" about the event?

Pearl: I think the quality of the musicians is just something you won't see everywhere. And it's not your typical Christmas show. It's a lot of different kinds of music. It's a lot of really old tunes that maybe people haven't heard in a while.

Al and Amy are beautiful singers, and it's really rthymic and energetic. There are some beautiful soft tunes, too, but the show is really full of energy.

The dancers are a really exciting part of it, and people wait to see who have been there before, because that brings a lot of energy, but Al and Amy are the core.

It just feels like a family tradition. It feels like an in your living room kind of thing, just with really high quality sounds.

Katie Bailey is a visual journalist at the Asheville Citizen-Times, committed to telling stories of Western North Carolina and showing the struggle and triumphs of people in Appalachia and beyond. You can see her work at www.kbaileyphotography.com and follow her on Instagram at @katiebaileyphoto.

About this series

Each month, a local photographer hosts the Living Portrait Series, choosing a theme and different subjects to photograph and interview each week.

The goal is two-fold: to share and champion work by local photographers, and to foster a greater understanding of the people and perspectives in the community.

View past Living Portraits at CITIZEN-TIMES.com/photography. To learn more or ask questions, contact Jess McCuan at jmccuan@citizen-times.com.

If you go

"A Swannanoa Solstice" is at 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday at the Diana Wortham Theatre, 12 Biltmore Ave., Asheville. Tickets are $40, students $35, children $15 at the theater box office or online at www.dwtheatre.com. For telephone purchases or to learn more, call 257-4530 during box office hours.