Sparkle and glamour in The Royal Ballet's Nutcracker

By Graham Watts, 25 November 2016

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“the inherent sparkle and glamour of it all remains as warming as a mug of fine mulled wine”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 23 November 2016

The Nutcracker (Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov)

The Royal Ballet

Boris Gruzin, Conductor

Lauren Cuthbertson, Dancer

Federico Bonelli, Dancer

Francesca Hayward, Dancer

Gary Avis, Dancer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Marcelino Sambé, Dancer

Luca Acri, Dancer

American Ballet Theatre's double bill is short and sweet in New York

Ivy Lin, 15th March

American Ballet Theatre presents Balanchine's Raymonda: Grand Pas Hongrois and Ratmansky's Firebird which showcases the company well and provides a strong contrast.

****1

Mejia debuts in a sumptuous Sleeping Beauty at New York City Ballet

Carla Escoda, 12th February

Roman Mejia and a raft of soloist debuts galvanized Peter Martins' Sleeping Beauty. An elegant production with some incidental messiness and the structural liability of a princess' dependence on a kiss.

****1

Dutch National Ballet brings much needed heat to this winter season

Mark Vicente, 10th February

The Dutch National Ballet helped shake off those winter blues with a mixed programme that highlighted ballet’s love affair with Latin rhythms and movement.

****1

NYCB: Balanchine + Ratmansky program warms the audience

Ivy Lin, 20th January

NYCB has a winning triple bill with its Balanchine + Ratmansky program. Excellent dancing and contrasting works sends the audience home in buoyant mood.

*****

Ballet Nights, The New Year’s Day Concert: a win on all fronts

Deborah Weiss, 1st January

Jamiel Devernay-Laurence’s winning formula for his Ballet Nights series has brought in new and old works, concert and dance, and continues to push the boundaries into 2026.

****1

NEBT’s Nutcracker: pared down, efficient and exuberant

Deborah Weiss, 18th December

Valentino Zucchetti's Nutcracker for New English Ballet Theatre's may be economical on numbers but the cast make up for it in commitment.

***11

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.

Sparkle and glamour: The Royal Ballet's Nutcracker heralds the festive season