Going nuts for ballet as the Theatre Royal gets back into action

Excitement is building as Nelson’s Theatre Royal looks to stage its first show in four months, with tickets being sold for the festive ballet The Nutcracker.

Dance students and other entertainers from Nelson are teaming up with professional dancers from outside the region for the ballet, which has a cast of about 100 people.

Lesley Bandy, artistic director of Nelson’s Primarily Dance, which is presenting The Nutcracker from December 17 to 19, said the ballet would be similar to last year’s show held in Nelson, but with several changes.

Because it was important that the ballet was entertaining she had incorporated acrobats, Indian and hip-hop dancing, Bandy said. The background, with images projected onto a screen, was also eye-catching.

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The Nutcracker, set to the music of Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, is a magical festive ballet about a Christmas gathering and a young girl’s dream about her gift of a nutcracker transforming into a handsome young man who takes her on a journey to the Kingdom of Sweets. There they are welcomed by the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Bandy, who is the director and choreographer for The Nutcracker, said she wanted people in the Nelson region to experience the wonderful ballet. She had danced the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy for nine years running while living and working in the United States of America.

“Every year the ballet companies would do The Nutcracker. It was sort of a family tradition that you always went to The Nutcracker at Christmas time.”

The professional dancers include Royal New Zealand Ballet dancer Leonora Voigtlander, choreographer and dancer Tabitha Dombroski, dancer Callum Phipps, and Rotorua dancer Taiaroa Royal, who is artistic director at Okareka Dance Company.

Among the talent from Nelson are Jade Talbot who performs the role of the young girl, Freddy Griffiths who is the Nutcracker prince, and actor Roger Sanders who performs the role of Drosselmeyer and “makes all the magic happen in the ballet”, Bandy said.

Various Nelson dance companies were involved in The Nutcracker, and there was also an acting coach from Wellington helping the performers with character development.

“It’s like a master class in acting for everyone.”

Bandy said it was exciting that the ballet was the first to be held at Theatre Royal Nelson for four months.

Last year’s performances of The Nutcracker in Nelson sold out, and Bandy was hopeful this year’s show would also be well supported.

Theatre Royal manager Eliane Polack said The Nutcracker was the first show to be held at the Theatre Royal since August 17 because of Covid-19 alert level restrictions. With the move to orange in the new Covid traffic light system the theatre was able to stage shows again, but everyone – both entertainers and audience – would need a Covid vaccination pass and identification which would be checked for entry, Polack said.

If there was a change because of the pandemic, and the ballet couldn’t go ahead, the price of tickets would be refunded. Tickets are available from the Theatre Royal.