The International Classic Ballet Theatre are visiting Bath this week, bringing both The Nutcracker and Swan Lake as part of their UK tour.
The Nutcracker presented by International Classic Ballet Theatre | Photo © PMB Presentations
The company consists of dancers from across the world and is directed by Marina Medvetskaya.
Based on the Dumas novella from the original by Hoffmann, this classic Christmas Eve tale follows Clara and her Nutcracker Prince through a magical world, journeying to Spain, Russia Asia and Arabia and of the unmissable land of the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Whilst audiences may have become more accustomed to contemporary retellings of the classics, often with a modern twist; this is very much rooted in its original style of classical ballet with costumes to match.
The live orchestra feel underpowered without a sound system buried in the orchestra pit in the large house, the staging also feels sparse and rather bare against the hardworking company.
Whilst the central roles of Clara (Arissa Hashimoto) and the Prince (Azamat Askarov) are outstanding, there are times when the corps seem out of time and without the uniform precision that might be expected of the classical style.
There was a large audience for the opening night, some audience members were caught out by the early start of 7pm but overall the younger members around seemed engaged and excited to see the story come to life.
The company perform The Nutcracker until 26th January then Swan Lake for the remainder of the week.
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Reviewer: Petra Schofield
