By Candice Cook
Northern Light freelance reporter

       In its 16th consecutive year, “Enchanted World” returns to the Egan Convention Center from Dec. 23 - 27.

       “Enchanted World,” a production described as “a dance program to help promote diversity and acceptance of all types of people,” incorporates dolls representing different countries and fairy tales that all people can relate to. This year, the University of Alaska Anchorage has one of its own students performing in this holiday event.

        Heidi Lund, a 19-year-old sophomore majoring in English, debuts in “Enchanted World” as the Irish doll. “I represent Ireland,” she said. Lund performs a rendition of an Irish dance during the performance

         Rather than sitting in an auditorium, audiences walk through the Egan Center and watch as the dolls perform. Lund described the production as a cycle, where the dolls have repetitious movements, then stop when one doll has a solo dance. Halfway through the performance, one of the dolls comes to the microphone and tells a fairy tale, mentioning the sponsors of “Enchanted World.”

“It's sort of an intermission,” Lund said. People can take their time going through “Enchanted World.”

Lund is excited to be a part of the production. “It started out small,” she said, “but has grown because of people's reaction to it.”

While Lund enjoys dancing, she doesn't plan on making a career out of it. “Dance is something I'd like to be involved in for the rest of my life,” she said. “It's something I enjoy and I'd like to be able to do every once in a while.” Lund would like to eventually teach in high school.

• Dec. 23: 3:30, 6:30 p.m.
• Dec. 24: 6:30 p.m.
• Dec. 25: 3:30 p.m.
• Dec. 26: 3:30, 6:30 p.m.
• Dec. 27: 1:30, 6:30 p.m.