A new spin on a classic
A new version of The Nutcracker is set to delight audiences this Christmas
Sky Arts
- Laura Rutkowski
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English National Ballet has performed a version of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker every year since the company was established in August 1950, with ten different variations staged to date. It has been set in 19th-century Germany, Tchaikovsky’s Russia and 1990s Britain, with the festive favourite usually selling out in the run-up to Christmas. Choreographer Arielle Smith and artistic director Aaron S Watkin were tasked with creating a completely new, eleventh production of the beloved tale – a process that’s explored in the new Sky Arts documentary The Nutcracker: Backstage with English National Ballet.
“It’s about respecting tradition, but also taking a fresh new look at it,” Watkin explains. “Our returning audiences will still enjoy it, but 60 per cent of our audience for The Nutcracker are coming to the ballet for the first time, so it’s about how we attract them.”
This version took a year and a half to bring to life, with over 100 dancers and musicians and more than 150 workshops and artisans all over the UK creating costumes and sets. The story begins on Christmas Eve in Edwardian London and is told through the eyes of Clara, a young girl, as she comes across a special nutcracker in Drosselmeyer’s Sweets and Delights Emporium.
“I tried to delete any version of The Nutcracker I knew and imagined Tchaikovsky’s music had been composed for this production,” says Smith. “We’ve tried to connect the characters and places in Act One to Act Two more to build a through line, and Clara is the person we follow throughout. It will hopefully have a really long future and become a new staple Nutcracker that lasts for years and years to come."
Clara and The Nutcracker
Ivana Bueno and Francesco Gabriele Frola. Sky Arts
Ivana Bueno and Francesco Gabriele Frola
“The Nutcracker represents everything Clara wants to be — powerful, strong and fearless, but don’t underestimate her! She actually comes to his rescue during the battle with the Rat King,” Smith says. “In a lot of productions, Clara might throw her slipper and then run and hide because she’s scared, but we’re in a very different time now to when The Nutcracker premiered. Why does Clara need someone to protect her? She’s a young woman full of agency,” Watkin adds.
Ice Queen
Emily Suzuki Sky Arts
Emily Suzuki
“We have a mix of people for the parts, who play them very differently,” Smith says. “We want to champion that and empower them. They don’t need to be carbon copies of one another.” As the ballet is so physically demanding, up to eight different dancers play each character, some of them playing different characters across the production. “The personalities of our dancers and finding their special qualities is very important,” Watkin adds.
Sugar Plum Fairy
Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta Sky Arts
Emma Hawes
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“In the Edwardian era, women didn’t have the right to vote, but if you’re a child growing up in that period, you’re surrounded by Sufragettes,” explains Smith. “That was important when we were evolving Clara as a character, because she is inspired by strong women like her mother. In our version, the Sugar Plum Fairy in Clara’s dream in Act Two is her mother.” “We liked the idea that the people she’s surrounded by manifest in her dreams,” says Watkin.
Authors
Laura Rutkowski
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