It would be impossible to count the many lives touched by Felicia Rhoden, known affectionately by generations of young dancers – and the community at large – as “Miss Felicia.”
A longtime ballet instructor in Atlanta, Rhoden arrived in Ponte Vedra Beach with her husband more than three decades ago planning to simply spend her retirement in the role of grandmother. But what can only be described as a calling led her to establish one of this area’s most beloved holiday traditions, Miss Felicia’s Dance Ministry’s annual “Nutcracker.”
And over the past 30 years, she has enriched the lives of hundreds upon hundreds of children – both those performing in her shows and those across the country and even outside the United States who have benefitted by the dance ministry’s charitable contributions.
And she is far from finished.
Today, still youthful and dynamic at 87, she continues her mission, preparing a cast of 198 for the 2025 iteration of “The Nutcracker,” which will take the stage Dec. 13 at the Lazzara Performance Hall at the University of North Florida.
It’s a remarkably large troupe considering the show’s humble beginnings.
Simple beginnings, explosive growth
Not long after Rhoden and her husband arrived on the First Coast, the Rev. James Cooper, rector of Christ Church, asked if she would be willing to teach ballet there a couple of afternoons a week.
She began with 17 students. That first year, the small group presented excerpts from “The Nutcracker.” But the ministry soon bore fruit.
It “grew and it grew and it grew,” according to Rhoden.
Several performances were held at Christ Church, but the show was moved to a local Presbyterian church to better accommodate the growing audience.
“People wanted to see it, wanted to be a part of it,” Rhoden said.
Still, after just two performances, Rhoden realized the ministry had outgrown its new venue. In an early indication of the popular demand now enjoyed by the show, it quickly sold out.
Next, Miss Felicia’s Dance Ministry moved the show to Fletcher High School but only stayed for another two performances, as “The Nutcracker” outgrew even that venue.
But around that time in the early 2000s, the Lazzara Performance Hall, which seated more than 1,000, was opened at the University of North Florida.
“I went there, and I felt like: This is our home,” Rhoden said. “It was a perfect fit, and we’ve been there ever since.”
A teacher in training
Rhoden’s lifelong commitment to dance began at age 3, and even then, she demonstrated a desire to instruct others.
In those days, Savannah – Rhoden’s hometown – possessed a certain cultural sophistication. And when it was visited by the Royal Danish Ballet, the prima ballerina met and married the first violinist of the Savannah Symphony. That ballerina, Ebba Olesen Thomson, then opened a classical ballet school in the city.
It was, according to Rhoden, “the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Her mother enrolled her in the school but soon heard from the instructor.
“After about two weeks, she called my mother and said, ‘I am so sorry, but you’re going to have to come get Felicia,’” recalled Rhoden. “My mother was indignant. ‘What are you talking about?’”
The instructor said 3-year-old Felicia apparently thought she was the teacher, refusing to stand behind her instructor, telling the other students what to do.
“I was kicked out of ballet,” Rhoden said, laughing. “When I was 4, my mother took me back.”
Assured that the girl had learned to do as she was told, the teacher accepted her back.
“And I never left,” Rhoden said.
Later, her teacher took her on trips to New York to further her study of dance. A young teen by then, she was intimidated by the expertise of the other dancers but was committed to learning from them.
“That’s how I realized I had the kind of character or strength to do ballet,” Rhoden said. “Because ballet is hard.”
In her 20s, Rhoden met a young man in one of her classes in New York who had been with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. They teamed up to travel and do guest performances with ballets that needed professionals to fill the major roles in their shows.
Later, Rhoden transitioned to a teaching role, something she has been doing ever since.
A place to belong
For the annual “Nutcracker,” Rhoden does not conduct auditions. Any student can appear in it.
“And they do a good job,” she said.
The quality of the performances certainly arises from the discipline and skill of the dancers, but the family atmosphere encouraged by Rhoden probably augments the students’ dedication.
“I feel like I’ve created a place where they can come and feel loved and safe and appreciated,” she said.
Rhoden doesn’t tolerate any sort of meanness.
And she is a constant in her dancers’ lives, often comforting them when they are struggling with some crisis.
Dancers do not have to be a member of Christ Church to join the troupe, though at the end of each class, everyone gathers in a circle to pray.
“We all hold hands, we gather, we pray,” Rhoden said. “We pray for each other. We pray for the world.”
One of the most difficult tasks Rhoden must perform each year is selecting the leads, but it’s also an occasion when good will instilled in the young performers shines forth.
“When I’m announcing Clara, I always have my nutcracker, and I always say, ‘Every little girl in this room is capable of this and could do it, but unfortunately, I can only pick one,’” she said. “So, I walk over to her and hand her the nutcracker. And you know what’s so beautiful? All the rest of these children, who thought it would be them, come running in to hug her. They know that we’re a family, and they’re happy for her.”
The show must go on
Looking back over the past 30 years, one would have to marvel at the dance ministry’s agility to accommodate not just the many changes in venue, but also the challenges posed by the recent pandemic.
In 2020, the church was closed, so Rhoden had nowhere to teach. The theater was also closed in December of that year.
But four of the dancers who had been with Rhoden throughout the years were set to graduate in June 2021, and it looked like they would miss their long-awaited, senior-year performance.
But demonstrating the can-do spirit she employed as a teen in New York, Rhoden found a way.
“I thought: God, help me figure this out,” she said.
In the end, the performance had to be staged in May, everyone had to wear masks, only widely spaced family members could attend, and no tickets could be sold. (It would actually take two later “Nutcrackers” to make up for the revenue loss.)
“But I did it for those girls,” Rhoden said.
The wonderful blessing
The impact of the dance ministry’s “Nutcracker” extends to several charities to which it contributes.
Each performance raises funds for Pediatric Hospice, Dreams Come True, the Amistad orphanage in Bolovia and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, where children with cancer can get the best treatment at no charge.
“My dancers know why they are doing this ‘Nutcracker,’” said Rhoden. “To raise money for the little children who are too sick to dance … I just say, ‘They’re too sick to dance, so you’re helping them.’”
She called the opportunity to support such causes a “wonderful blessing,” and she isn’t planning to retire anytime soon and give that up, reserving that decision for God.
“I feel like, as long as God lets me continue doing that, I really want to,” she said.
Rhoden said she has enjoyed every minute of her journey.
“I think my life has been absolutely like a wonderful ballet story,” she said.
For those wishing to see this year’s performance, tickets can be purchased at missfeliciasdance.com.
