ALANA WINGATE
Staff Writer
With the holiday season just around the corner, SUNY Fredonia’s Rockefeller Arts Center presented NYC-based performing arts company Cirque-Tacular’s “North Pole Nonsense,” a children’s Christmas show, in the Marvel Theatre this past weekend.
The Dragonfly Productions performers brought their holiday spirit to the Fredonia community on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
In an attempt to keep everyone’s holiday cheer alive, show director and cast member Emily Season felt that even with all the issues in the world, the holiday season always brings out the joy in everyone.
“The magic behind this time of year as everyone comes together for joy and happiness [is comforting]. There is a lot going on in the world that isn’t so great right now,” Season said. “[But] this time of year, everybody has love and joy in their hearts and in their minds, and that is the best part of the Christmas season.”
The goal of the performance was to maintain the crowd’s holiday spirit. The show featured acrobatic tricks, a huge polar bear, glowing lighting bugs and a dancing snowman. The audience was full of laughter from kids and their parents.
“The show involves the ‘Bahumbugs,’ and the Bahumbugs are small, furry round creatures that steal your Christmas spirit,” Season said. “Our jobs as elves is that we have to keep Christmas spirits very high, so we don’t catch a case of the Bahumbugs and get cranky.”
With funding from the Kaleidoscope Family, the Rockefeller Arts Center was able to put on the production. The Dunkirk Observer and Jamestown Post Journal were both sponsors of the performance.
The six-member cast, using their many talents, provided an evening that, in their words, could bring back fond memories of a traditional Christmas.
One family that got in on the Christmas cheer was the Noel family. Father John Noel, and his wife and two kids shared that they felt it was a joy filled performance.
“[We] loved it. It was really high energy, and it was great,” Noel said. “The kids loved it, too, and they were so excited.”
John’s son, the youngest member of the Noel family, had never seen a live performance, since he was born at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For him and the rest of the Noel family, the show was even more meaningful and memorable.
The end the production gave kids and their parents a special experience, with a performance full of creative tricks and a visit from the one and only Santa Claus himself. Claus filled the theatre with laughs from every child, and memories for all that attended.
Children and adults alike can enjoy the entertainment offered by Dragonfly Productions performers. The Production has many performers in the area and are situated in the center of New York City. Clowns, stilt walkers, face painters, balloon sculptors, unicyclists, belly dancers, fire dancers, aerialists, jugglers, magicians and a wide range of other performers are among the many forms of entertainment they offer. The performers customize and tailor each of their party and event entertainment packages to meet any unique requirements or desires. Anyone interested can always count on receiving what they want.
For more information about the Dragonfly Production company visit their website at https://www.dragonflyproductions.net/about-us.html.