’Tis the season to fa la la in love with Dance

Eleanor Hein, Contributing Writer

While most students were busy in September not thinking about the imminent Erie winter, the Mercyhurst Dance Department was already warming up to the Christmas Spirit. That’s right!
This December will see the continued tradition of the department’s annual Christmas show featuring Act II of the “Nutcracker Suite” as well as Mark Santillano’s “Holiday Fun on Fa La La La Lane,” which is a half–hour long jazz and tap–based story that will make you laugh, cry and fall in love, according to junior Dance and Business major Rebecca Voulgarakis.
Half of the show will be a performance of the “divertissements” of “The Nutcracker” Act II, which takes place in the Land of the Sweets. Voulgarakis defines “divertissements” as “dances that do not move the plot forward, [and] in this instance it will be group dances that represent different regions of the world,” Voulgarakis said.
“The Nutcracker” first premiered in the year 1892 and has since undergone many interpretations.
This production, according to Voulgarakis, is one interpretation of many.
“Holiday Fun on Fa La La La Lane” premiered in 2014 and is being brought to life again by the department for this year’s show.
The show will be performed in the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center on Dec. 2, at both 4:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., as well as on Dec. 3, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Tickets will be $5, with free admission to children 12 and under.
Do you have plans that weekend, but still want to see the show?
“The Nutcracker” performance will be presented again from Dec 17-18 at the Warner Theatre as a part of the Lake Erie Ballet’s show.
Tickets for adults range from $19 to $34, but the show will also include live music by the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time ever.
Take advantage of these opportunities to “Fa La La La” in love with Mercyhurst’s talented dancers.