Toer van Schayk

English National Ballet has been performing a version of Nutcracker every year since 1950. In 2020, the tradition lives on. Join Clara and her enchanted Nutcracker on a hot air balloon ride to the Land of Snow, and enjoy iconic scenes featuring the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snowflakes, Flowers and more. As London moved into Tier 4 COVID-19 restrictions with the subsequent cancellation of all scheduled performances of Nutcracker Delights, the Company decided to film and share a recording of this specially-adapted production with its audience as a thank you at the close of its 70th Anniversary year. Nutcracker Delights was filmed on 18 and 19 December at the London Coliseum by Michael Nunn and William Trevitt.

This short movie takes us through beautiful landscapes and oppressive spaces. A dream sequence that leads to liberation, on the border between imagination and reality. We travel with a boy who matures. He dreams, he dances, he is the conductor. The only.

Going to see Nutcracker with the whole family has been a tradition in other countries for many years. Now it is a tradition in the Netherlands as well. It became apparent that the Netherlands had also adopted this tradition in 1996, when the Dutch National Ballet presented its own version of the famous fairytale ballet. It is a magical production that has won the hearts of more than 250,000 people to date. Choreographers Toer van Schayk and Wayne Eagling created a Nutcracker for the children and adults of today. It is more dynamic and exciting, and less sweet than usual. They also chose to give a Dutch twist to their interpretation of the story, with skaters on the canals and a living room that transforms into a snowy forest. Unlike the original story, the production by Eagling and Van Schayk (who also designed the delightful sets and costumes) does not take place on Christmas Eve in a German town, but during St. Nicholas celebrations in Amsterdam, around 1810.

Recording of a Dutch performance of the musical Elisabeth. It portrays the life and death of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as "Sisi", the wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I, from her engagement and marriage in 1854 to her murder in 1898 at the hands of the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni; it focuses on her growing obsession with death, as her marriage and the empire crumble around her just before the turn of the 20th century.

The story of Giselle tells of the shattered love of a young peasant girl who believes she has found the man of her dreams in Albrecht, only to discover he is promised to another. This betrayal causes her downfall, but even beyond death, her love remains unbroken… Through her forgiveness, Giselle transcends betrayal and restores a form of peace, as powerful as the love she has lost. This version from the Dutch National Ballet, directed by Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamante, revisits Giselle while staying true to the essence of the iconic choreography by Marius Petipa, after Perrot and Coralli. The production combines precise and expressive choreography with sets and costumes that elegantly support the narrative: a perfect setting for stars Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi, who bring the doomed couple to life with masterful intensity.