The Christmas Cracker That’ll Drive You Nuts!

It takes a huge amount of effort to produce something as effortlessly magical as Northern Ballet’s The Nutcracker, back after a four-year break but still as fresh as Tchaikovsky’s original score.

Wisp-like Rachael Gillespie was on stage for her hattrick as Clara, the young girl given a Nutcracker doll for Christmas and the dream to bring it to life and, as any dance diva will appreciate, this ballet is as perennial as the seasons themselves and the perfect introduction to the artform for any ballet virgin.

Easy to understand it brims with colour, magnificent costumes, charm, nuance and that je ne sais quoi that compels people to return year after year.

Tchaikovsky’s music is sublime and, at times, you have to remind yourself to listen and not just watch otherwise you miss so much of the musical maestro’s work: hard to believe that he had left this world having achieved so much, at the relatively young age of 53.

But his legacy was such that it inspired this timeless ballet and, in particular, David Nixon’s captivating version last night.

It is Christmas Eve in the twinkling drawing room of the Edwards' family home in Regency England. Amidst the commotion the fire crackles and the pile of presents grows ever taller.

Uncle Drosslemeyer's curious box of performing toys captivates the children and adults alike, but it is the wooden Nutcracker doll that enchants young Clara most.

The audience is invited to share in her adventures as she is swept away by her Nutcracker Prince into a magical winter wonderland of dancing snowflakes and the famous Sugar Plum Fairy, danced to perfection by Japan’s Saeka Shirai.

And I have always had a soft spot for the wonderful French dancer Kevin Poeung since I watched him in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This time he was only on for a short time to dance the ‘Spaniard’ in Act II and, as usual, he is a tiny stick of precise dynamite: wonderful!

But, as a wider ‘piece’ , The Nutcracker is so complete and it is hard to fault Nixon’s choreography which is sweeping and uses the stage expanse to the full.

Gillespie is the undoubted star of the show but, at her side, was Harris Beattie as the Nutcracker Prince, looking like a fresh faced teenager straight out of the sixth form but with all the dance maturity of someone much older!

First soloist Gillespie said of The Snow Scene that it ‘may look effortless…..(but) entails months of hard work before it goes on stage.” And that I suspect is true of the whole ballet.

It looks effortless and when the ballerinas rise from the stage at the hands of their dance partner they glide, and that takes effort beyond effort!

It continues to be a Christmas favourite for it plays to the festive imagination, taking each member of the audience back to a time when life was simple and imagination was everything.

Throw your i-pad to the lions……for just one night and let Northern Ballet be your imagination for the evening. You won’t be disappointed.



Read our interview with Northern Ballet's new Artistic Director, Federico Bonelli: Federico Bonelli Getting The North To Dance