Oklahoma City, OK, October 2026 — Hobby Lobby has asked Luanda de Hilster back for a second year to direct and choreograph a number for the Hobby Lobby Creative Division’s corporate Christmas event. After last year’s show, the company specifically wanted Luanda to return and take the reins again — a callback that speaks to how well the first assignment landed.
This year the event carries a western theme, which gives the number a very different flavor from last December’s program. Boots, hats, and a little bit of twang replace the traditional holiday staging, and the choreography has to live in that world while still reading as a Christmas showpiece.
Back by Request
As she did last year, Luanda will oversee staging, choreography, and performer coordination, shaping the number around the Creative Division’s needs for its internal holiday celebration. Hobby Lobby’s national headquarters are located in Oklahoma City, and the Christmas event is part of the company’s own in-house festivities.
Luanda first took on the assignment in December 2025, when musical theatre faculty recommended her for the job and she stepped in to direct and choreograph the holiday number. That show went over well with everyone involved, and the invitation to come back for a second year makes it a return engagement rather than a one-time favor.
A Senior Year of Leading Roles
The Hobby Lobby number arrives during a full season for Luanda, who is in her senior year in the University of Central Oklahoma’s Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre program. It follows her run as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, and adds to a growing list of credits on the directing and choreography side of the table alongside her work as a performer.
Luanda wants to thank Hobby Lobby’s Creative Division for the invitation back, and the faculty and fellow students who have supported her work on both of these holiday shows.
