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Northern Ballet in The Nutcracker. Picture Sophie Beth Jones <\/p>\n
2026 will see Leeds company Northern Ballet launch the world premiere of Belgian-Colombian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa\u2019s Gentleman Jack at Leeds Grand Theatre from March 7 to 14.<\/p>\n
Already the stuff of biographies, novels and a brace of TV series, the story of adventurous Yorkshire landowner Anne Lister, of Shibden Hall, Halifax, will be staged with a new live score by Peter Salem in a co-production with Finnish National Opera and Ballet.<\/p>\n
Exciting times ahead under Federico Bonelli\u2019s artistic directorship, but in the meantime Northern Ballet regulars will be delighted at the latest return of company staple The Nutcracker.<\/p>\n
Premiered in 2007, former artistic director David Nixon CBE\u2019s decorative, delightful, dazzling winter wonderland has become his most performed work, bidding farewell to the old year and embracing the new every few years, last doing so in 2022 on tour and back home in Leeds.<\/p>\n
Glory be, this latest resurrection comes with a live orchestra (under conductor Yi Wei on press night), when the sight as well as sound of musicians makes the ballet all the more joyous (whereas recorded accompaniment can be so sterile).<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, like singing Christmas Carols or re-visiting Dickens\u2019s A Christmas Carol, the familiarity of Nixon\u2019s choreography and costume designs breeds ever more contentment, adding to the emotional impact of a story told so beautifully, with such sparkle, wonder and bravura dancing, against the grain of the 21st century world\u2019s woes and wars.<\/p>\n
Once more snow may fail to dust Yorkshire\u2019s hills this festive season, but winter\u2019s white coat is all part of the nostalgic magic of Nixon\u2019s Nutcracker, where snowflakes flutter across the stage front cloth to set the mood for his \u00a0Regency England setting of Tchaikovsky\u2019s late-19th century Christmas ballet.<\/p>\n
Charles Cusick Smith\u2019s gorgeous designs cast their own spell again, their grand scale sweeping up audience and dancers alike in the fantastical journey from castle drawing-room party to toy battlefield, snowy fairyland and a world above the clouds.<\/p>\n
As in every home across the land, Rachael Gillespie\u2019s inquisitive Clara excitedly awaits the chance to unwrap the presents that lie behind the towering, closed doors on Christmas Eve night.<\/p>\n
When the clock strikes midnight, Clara is transported to fantasia by Harris Beattie\u2019s noble Nutcracker Prince, her journey through the snow orchestrated flamboyantly by Harry Skoupas\u2019s dandy Herr Drosselmeyer, fleet of foot and full of poised purpose.<\/p>\n
Bruno Serraclara\u2019s Mouse King seeks to defy the odds, so brave in dashing defeat, and making an amusing exit to boot, before Act One\u2019s climax mirrors the traditions of pantomime in the outstanding transformation scene, graced with the most beautiful imagery of all, yet more delightful for Mark Jonathan\u2019s lighting: spectacle as big as Yorkshire.<\/p>\n
As ever, Act Two is even better, its tempo set by Saeka Shirai\u2019s enchanting Sugar Plum Fairy, in tandem with Jonathan Hanks\u2019s Cavalier.<\/p>\n
Amid the snow, contrast is provided by the kaleidoscopically colourful pageant of national dances \u2013 Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, French, Russian \u2013 in a showcase with an amusingly competitive spirit, orchestrated with panache by Skoupas\u2019s Drosselmeyer. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Throughout, Nixon adorns Tchaikovsky\u2019s rousing score with the poetic eloquence of his elegant choreography, at once beauteous and charming, suffused with romance and drama, always up for mischievous comic interplay too in Puck style.<\/p>\n
The Nutcracker is on cracking good form, a winter warmer like no other in Yorkshire this season.<\/p>\n
Northern Ballet in The Nutcracker, Leeds Grand Theatre, until January 4 2026.\u00a0\u00a0Box office: 0113 243 0808\u00a0or leedsheritagetheatres.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Northern Ballet in The Nutcracker. Picture Sophie Beth Jones 2026 will see Leeds company Northern Ballet launch the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8814],"tags":[748,393,4884,1860,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-670378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leeds","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-leeds","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115829161806647528","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}