{"id":120266,"date":"2025-12-15T09:00:30","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=120266"},"modified":"2025-12-15T09:00:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:00:30","slug":"preview-holiday-variety-chris-christels-christmas-collection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/12\/15\/preview-holiday-variety-chris-christels-christmas-collection\/","title":{"rendered":"PREVIEW | Holiday Variety At Chris And Christel’s Christmas Collection"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Chris
Chris & Christel Christmas Collection performer L-R: Christel Bartelse and Christopher Sawchyn (hosts\/performers); Chris Robinson; John Park; Morgan Joy (Photos courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Award winning musical\/dance\/theatre performers Christel Bartelse and Christopher Sawchyn are bringing back their show Chris And Christel’s Christmas Collection for an 8th year. It\u2019ll be the second year that the performance takes place at the iconic VideoCab theatre.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a festive evening of fun and music with a Christmas theme, and features stand up comedy from Chris Robinson<\/strong>, music and burlesque from Morgan Joy<\/strong>, and circus skills by John Park<\/strong>, along with the two co-hosts.<\/p>\n

Christopher Sawchyn \u2014 Co-Host\/Co-Producer<\/h3>\n

A native of Manitoba, Christopher is a triple threat \u2014 actor, singer, and dance \u2014 who has also worked in TV and film in such productions as The Bridge, Mayday, and Queer as Folk. He\u2019s also directed actors, and choreographed works for Mirador Productions, New Teatro, and Rogue & Peasant Theatre.<\/p>\n

Christopher is a dedicated educator, and has taught acting, movement, improvisation, clown and stage combat at The Toronto Film School, in the Acting program at Dramaway (special needs), International School of Brussels and the Canadian Stage Company. He currently works as a teaching artist with Join the Dance Canada, an organization that introduces ballroom dance to inner-city schools in the GTA. He is a founding member of the Teatro Scaramouche, and conducts workshops for high school students in the Greater Toronto Area.<\/p>\n

Christel Bartelse \u2014 Co-Host\/Co-Producer<\/h3>\n

As a performer, Christel Bartelse work spans acting, comedy, storytelling, clown, directing, writing, and education. She trained at the Becket School for Drama (Waterloo), George Brown College in toronto, and at the Randolph Academy for the Performing Art, a theatre school, along with a summer at the New York Academy for Dramatic Arts. Christel began her career with comedy and improv shortly after graduation, and performed as part of the physical comedy duo The Burnt Marshmallow. She co-created the duo and performed in the Toronto comedy scene for eight years, garnering a nomination for a Canadian Comedy Award. She fell in love with clown performance along the way, and studied the art with a variety of prominent practitioners.<\/p>\n

Christel also performs as a solo artist, and has drawn crowds at Fringe Festival and beyond with one-woman shows, including CHAOTICA, ONEymoon, Significant Me, All KIDding Aside, The Surprise and Encore, earning another two nominations for a Canadian Comedy Award. She has toured every major Canadian fringe festival, as well as several in the U.S. Christel has also has performed twice at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival twice, as well as in London, UK.<\/p>\n

She currently produces and hosts Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, a show that asks veteran actors and comedians present material on the theme of Age. Christel is also a passionate educator who has led workshops in various disciplines, and a director.<\/p>\n