On December 4th and 5th, the
Mercyhurst Dance Department will present ‘Tis
the Season with the Little Match Girl. This ballet is a heart-warming story
based on the Hans Christian Andersen tale of the same name. It tells the story
of a young girl forced to sell matches on a cold winter night, her struggle,
and her eventual happy ending. This year, a portion of the proceeds from ticket
sales will go to benefit the Regional Food Bank. Additionally, children under
12 years old will be allowed free admission to the performance if they bring a nonperishable
food item to donate with them.
In the
show, I will play a doll and an angel. My part as a doll functions as
divertissement in the ballet. In a village where the Little Match Girl attempts
to sell matches and encounters village vendors, a magician, and a doll maker
and his dolls. Working on this part has been very fun for me, I love playing a
more lighthearted part in a ballet that has many sad elements. This is the tone
of the entire scene in the village; happy and vibrant. It adds a happier element
to the ballet, before some of the more somber scenes that follow.
My other
part, as an angel, is a vital role to the ballet. The Little Match Girl, alone
and cold, lights her final match to stay warm. As she does, her deceased
grandmother and a group of angels appear to take care of the little girl. The
angels dance around the Little Match Girl to beautiful music, and knock on the
door of a family, who take the little girl in as their own.
The Little Match Girl is a wonderful,
heart-warming winter tale, which the Mercyhurst Dance Department is extremely
excited to share. The performance will be a great one for both the audience and
dancers!
- Kerry Schroeder
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