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The Christmas spirit was alive and well at TAC-New England on Saturday night as the Senior Class hosted the first dance of the semester: a Nutcracker-themed formal.

Women swept into the Bl. Frassati Student Center in floor-length gowns, admiring the brightly lit setting. The seniors had transformed the room into a festive hall, decorated with hundreds of string lights, elegant paper snowflakes, and a gigantic Christmas tree that reached almost to the ceiling, appropriately creating a sophisticated yet whimsical atmosphere for a Tchaikovsky-era event.

For entertainment, seniors handed out song sheets, and everyone sang classic Christmas carols, while Paul Dinan (’23) accompanied them on the piano. Then, Elizabeth Doylend (’26) performed a self-choreographed ballet piece to the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” enthralling the crowd with her graceful pirouettes and glissades.

“Waltz of the Flowers” played, inviting couples onto the floor to partake in the famed dance. To the sides, people talked and ate homemade cream puffs, candied walnuts, and cheese as dancers whirled around them.

A variety of live music performances took place throughout the night. Katharine Doylend (’23) sang the “Once Upon a December” waltz, Bernadette Mohun (’23) played and sang “I Dreamt That I Dwelt in Marble Halls,” and a string quartet performed the Blue Danube waltz. “The live music was really cool,” said Matthew Duchow (’25). “I always like the live waltzes. I think they really add more to a dance.”

Much like the party scene from the Nutcracker ballet, students danced well into the night — and were sad to see such a wonderful evening come to an end.