By Anusha Trivedi ‘23

On January 21 and 22, Notre Dame students held a dance show in Julie Billiart Hall called Two Tales, a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The choreography included a wide range of styles, including jazz, contemporary, ballet and hip hop. Forty dancers, from Notre Dame’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Regent Collective Dance Company (RCDC), Advanced Dance class and Dance Techniques class performed the first live show since 2020. Ms. King, the dance director, stated that they had been “working on choreography since August, and we [were] so thrilled to be able to finally show off all of our hard work!”

In this version of the classic tale, the show portrayed the character Ursula’s perspective that depicts why others see her as an evil sea witch. The show added complexity to this well-known villain by detailing her backstory, where she falls in love with a sailor on land who tragically dies when she brings him underwater to meet her family. Notre Dame’s iteration of this story also ended differently than the original. Instead of ending up with her love interest Prince Eric, the mermaid Ariel decides to pursue her dreams and stay on land.

This show was a major success, with more than 430 people attending. “For the seniors, this was the last winter show we will ever be in, so it was a bittersweet moment,” said Aparna ‘23. “Overall, the show was amazing! We had an incredible turnout, and we could not be happier with Two Tales.”