The Nutcracker with The Royal Ballet

By Margaret Willis, 11 December 2012

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Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 10 December 2012

The Nutcracker (Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Sir Peter Wright)

The Royal Ballet

Emma Maguire, Clara

Alexander Campbell, The Nutcracker

Yuhui Choe, Rose Fairy

Marianela Núñez, The Sugar Plum Fairy

Thiago Soares, The Prince

Christopher Saunders, Drosselmeyer

Dawid Trzensimiech, Dancer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Koen Kessels, Conductor

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Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

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Ivy Lin, 15th March

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****1

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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.

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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.

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Margaret Willis

Margaret studied ballet in Moscow for five years and later was a member of London City Ballet. A reviewer since 1978 for many newspapers and magazines including Dancing Times and Dance Magazine, Margaret is a specialist on Russian Ballet, and has written books on Russian Ballet and Carlos Acosta.