About This Event
The world-famous ballet Nutcracker performed by Ukrainian ballet stars will be a magical Christmas gift for the whole family! Recommended for ages 5 and up. A beautiful fairy tale about the adventures of young Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, full of exciting stories, was transformed in 1892 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky into the world's most popular classical ballet. Today, the Nutcracker has become a global Christmas tradition, and this performance is staged annually on theater and opera stages around the world. The universal language of dance is understood without translation by every audience - the stage will present a coming-of-age story about children, revealing a young girl's fragile dream and the struggle between good and evil, where love ultimately triumphs. Dancing snowflakes, the Nutcracker Prince, toy soldiers and the Sugar Plum Fairy come to life in this magical family classic. Experience a fantastic adventure with the little girl Clara, who falls asleep on Christmas Eve. She meets her prince, faces a battle with enormous mice and rats, and is taken to the lush Sugar Land. The story is much more than just a Christmas adventure. It is a story about growing up, which is also reflected in the dance. Now is the time to immerse yourself in this magical world, forget about worries and stress, remember childhood dreams and fill your soul with inspiration, warmth and new dreams. The perfect ballet for children The Nutcracker is an ideal ballet for children to experience for the first time. If you are going to the ballet with a child, we recommend that you read Hoffman's Nutcracker and The Rat King together. You can also read the libretto at https://www.kulturforfolket.com/performance/the-nutcracker, where you will find descriptions of each ballet scene that can help you answer your child's questions. In addition, this ballet will bring a sense of wonder and beauty to both young and adult spectators, and fill everyone with the Christmas spirit! Authentic Classical Ballet The performance of Marius Petipa's classical choreography is performed by Etoile Production -- a company organized in Kyiv by soloists of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre of Ukraine, Irina and Anatoly Khandazhevsky. The performers include professional ballet dancers of the highest level -- winners of international ballet competitions, Honored Artists of Ukraine, soloists of Ukrainian, and from February 2022, European theatres. The company uses authentic, handmade theatre costumes and decor in its productions. The costumes are genuine professional ballet costumes, carefully designed so that they do not constrain the dancers' movements and allow them to fully demonstrate their skill on stage. A professional theatre lighting designer accompanies the ballet performance, creating an unforgettable atmosphere during the show. There are no cheap decorations or flashy decorations -- just genuine high-salon professional theatre performance. The ballet is accompanied by a live string quartet, which gives the performance an intimate and warm Christmas atmosphere. The quartet performs on stage as part of the production and plays during key scenes, creating a close connection between music and dance. In addition, the performance uses a high-quality recording of the Kharkiv Opera Orchestra, which is combined with the live quartet to support the action on stage. This is a unique opportunity to see genuine classical ballet of the highest level, performed by world ballet stars, with live music on stage. Ballet soloists: Irina Khandazhevskaya, prima ballerina, Honored Artist of Ukraine, soloist of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater, choreographer, diploma winner of the International Ballet Competition "Premio Roma". Honorary Prize "People's Appreciation 2010" in the artist category. Awarded the "P. Virsky Prize" in the choreography category in 2007. @irinakhandazhevskaya Anatoly Khandazhevsky, soloist of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater (Ukraine), choreographer, 2nd prize winner of the international competition in Tallinn. @anatoliikhandazhevskii Maria Shupilova, soloist of the Kyiv Opera. @shupilova_maria Kristina Kadashevich, first soloist of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre, laureate of international ballet competitions. Katerina Andrenko, soloist of the Odessa National Opera, Hamburg Kammerballett, Opera Poznan. @andrenko_kate Dmitry Lazovik, soloist of the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre, laureate of international ballet competitions. Vsevolod Maievskyi, soloist of the Dutch National Ballet, former soloist of the English National Ballet, Ukrainian-born former dancer of the Mariinsky Ballet. @vsevolod_maievskyi Larisa Hrytsay, soloist of the Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ukraine), soloist of the Odessa National Opera. @lorikeets89 Audience reviews: Birgitta: A fantastic break from everyday life! Beautiful costumes, skillful dancing, beautiful music and everything took me to a dream world for a while. Ami: Fantastic! The Grand Pas de deux was so beautiful that I started to cry! Ingrid: Fantastically beautiful dance and music, and beautiful costumes! The tour is presented by the Norwegian organization Kultur for Folket, a company that focuses on delivering high-quality cultural events. More information about the ballet and the artists can be found on the website https://www.kulturfolket.com. We support Ukrainian classical ballet art and high-level Ukrainian artists who do not have the opportunity to perform in their homeland.