English National Ballet Nutcracker

"If Sir Peter Wright's productions of The Nutcracker for The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet are the benchmarks against which other Nutcrackers are inevitably judged, ENB's Nutcracker, brand new last year, carves a rightful place for itself as a youthful, quirky, often inspired alternative."

"Conceived and co-choreographed by company director Aaron S Watkin and in-demand dance maker Arielle Smith, with crucial input from designer Dick Bird, ENB's Nutcracker doesn't deviate much from the traditional tale Act I is set in the Christmas Eve party in Clara's home, where she is given a nutcracker doll by the magician Drosselmeyer. English National Ballet Dancers in Aaron S Watkin and Arielle Smith's Nutcracker. Photography by ASH Act II is set in a magical land, where Clara travels with her magically transformed Nutcracker Prince and witnesses a series of divertissements, culminating in The Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux."

"Framed by Dick Bird's stunning designs, ENB's Nutcracker is set in Edwardian London: a prologue shows Clara and her mother crossing bustling, gas-lit streets where suffragettes compaign cheek-by-jowl with chimney sweeps, food carts, and a band of child pickpockets (with tails emerging from under their rags)."

English National Ballet's Nutcracker is presented at the London Coliseum for the festive season as a fresh, colourful and often original interpretation that can verge on being overly sweet. Aaron S Watkin and Arielle Smith conceived and co-choreographed the production with designer Dick Bird. Act I follows the traditional Christmas Eve party in Clara's home when Drosselmeyer gives her a nutcracker; Act II moves to a magical Land of Sweets culminating in the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux. Dick Bird's Edwardian London setting adds suffragettes, chimney sweeps, food carts and child pickpockets, creating a youthful, quirky alternative to classic versions.

Read at www.london-unattached.com