Nikki Balsamo and Brice Turgeon in the WIZM studio for La Crosse Talk having some fun with the origins story of this weekend's performance of the Ugly Duckling and the hat that started it all for the La Crosse Dance Centre.

The show happens at 4 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Heider Center in West Salem (tickets here).

On the show, we discuss how a duck hat prompted them to do this show and Turgeon describes how Hans Christian Andersen pieces like the Ugly Duckling and the Little Mermaid are timeless works that show the plights of societal issues today.

But we also talked about the history of the Centre, how they do the Nutcracker every year and how crazy it is certain radio hosts have never experienced this winter-time play that’s somewhat of a La Crosse staple.

Balsamo has owned the La Crosse Dance Centre since 2015, while she’s been the artistic director since 2001. She took over ownership from her mother, who was running the Centre since 1983.

Turgeon is taking on a bigger role for the Ugly Duckling, and we may have joked a bit about how many hats he’s wearing for this piece — despite the actual duck hat being MIA.