A world-class performance by Etoile Production
The world-famous ballet The Nutcracker performed by Ukrainian ballet stars will be a magical Christmas present for the whole family!
A beautiful fairy tale about the adventures of young Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, full of exciting stories, was turned by Pyotr Tchaikovsky into the world's most popular classical ballet in 1892. Today, The Nutcracker has become a worldwide Christmas tradition, and this performance is staged annually on theatre and opera stages across the globe.
The universal language of dance is understandable without translation to any audience—the stage will present a coming-of-age story of children, revealing a young girl’s fragile dream and the struggle between good and evil, where love ultimately prevails.
Dancing snowflakes, the Nutcracker Prince, toy soldiers, and the Sugar Plum Fairy come to life in this magical family classic. Experience a fantastical adventure with a little girl called Clara, as she drifts off to sleep on Christmas Eve. She meets her Prince, is confronted by a battle of huge mice and rats, and is whisked into the luscious Land of Sweets. The story is much more than just a Christmas tale. 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 your 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're attending the ballet with a child, we recommend reading Hoffmann's "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" together. You can also read the libretto at https://www.kulturforfolket.com/performance/the-nutcracker, where you'll find descriptions of each ballet scene to help answer your child's questions.
In addition, this ballet will offer a sense of wonder and beauty to both young and adult audience members, filling everyone with the Christmas spirit!
Viewer 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, the artists can be found on the website https://www.kulturforfolket.com/to
We support Ukrainian classical ballet art and high-level Ukrainian artists who do not have the opportunity to perform in their homeland.
Authentic Classical Ballet Excellence
The production of classical choreography by Marius Petipa will be performed by Etoile Production - a company organized by soloists of the Ukrainian Kharkiv Opera and Ballet Theater 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 theaters.
The company uses authentic, hand‑made theatrical costumes and scenery in its productions. The costumes are real professional ballet outfits, carefully designed so that they do not restrict 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 is no cheap frippery or flashy decorations — only genuine high art in professional theatrical performance.
The ballet is accompanied live by a string quartet, giving the performance an intimate and warm Christmas atmosphere. The quartet appears 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 by the Kharkiv Opera Orchestra, which is combined with the live quartet to support the action on stage.
This is a unique opportunity to see real classical ballet of the highest level, performed by the stars of the world of ballet, 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 award "People's Recognition 2010" in the nomination of an artist. Awarded "P. Virsky Prize" in the choreography nomination 2007. @irinakhandazhevskaya
- Anatoly Khandazhevsky, soloist of the Kharkov Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ukraine), choreographer, Winner of 2nd prize in the International competition in Tallinn. @anatoliikhandazhevskii
- Maria Shupilova, soloist of the Kyiv Opera. @shupilova_maria
- Kristina Kadashevich, leading soloist of the Kharkov 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 English National Ballet, Ukrainian-born former dancer of Mariinsky Ballet. @vsevolod_maievskyi
- Larisa Hrytsay, soloist of the Kharkov Opera and Ballet Theatre (Ukraine), soloist of the Odessa National Opera. @lorikeets89
Irina Khandazhevska, Anatoly Khandazhevskyi:
“We want to preserve the creative heritage of the great masters of world ballet. We would like to give an unforgettable experience and see our audience in Scandinavia.”
Website: https://artetoileproduction.com/
Akt én
Festscene
Julaften hos familien Stahlbaum. Et stort og staselig hus med det vakreste juletreet man kan tenke seg. Barna, Clara og Fritz, danser, leker og hilser på vennene sine. Festen blir livlig med musikk og dans når gudfaren Drosselmeyer ankommer. Han er en ur- og leketøyprodusent, den mystiske og glade Drosselmeyer er alltid full av overraskelser. Barna begynner å åpne gaver, og Drosselmeyer gir Clara en uvanlig nøtteknekkerdukke. Clara blir overlykkelig. Men Fritz er sjalu og river nøtteknekkeren fra Clara, og den går straks i stykker. Clara er knust, men Drosselmeyer fikser raskt nøtteknekkeren og straffer den slemme Fritz. Sent på kvelden sprer de glade og fornøyde gjestene seg, og familien Stahlbaum trekker seg tilbake for kvelden. Clara, bekymret for sin elskede nøtteknekker, sniker seg tilbake til juletreet for å se til ham og sovner ved siden av ham.
Kampscene
Når klokken slår midnatt begynner rare ting å skje. Clara begynner å krympe, hennes vakre juletre reiser seg høyt over henne. Leketøyene rundt juletreet kommer til liv, og rommet fylles med en hær av mus ledet av den voldsomme Musekongen. Men Nøtteknekkeren leder sin hær av leketøyssoldater i kamp med musene. Dessverre vinner de utspekulerte musene over Nøtteknekkeren og hæren hans. Men så samler Clara mot og, i et desperat forsøk på å redde sin elskede dukke, kaster en pute på Musekongen og treffer ham midt i hodet. Musekongen faller til gulvet, og de beseirede musene løper avgårde, bærende sin leder.
Snøskogen
Og plutselig skjedde et mirakel, magiske trylleformler, oppriktig tro og Claras kjærlighet, forvandler Nøtteknekkeren til en stilig Prins. Clara innser at hun har blitt voksen. Og deres reise begynner – et magisk skogsunderland, der de møtes av dansende snøfnugg som eskorterer dem til Godterilandet.
Akt to
Godterilandet
Prinsen eskorterer Clara til Godterilandet, der de møtes av Drosselmeyer og sagnrepresentanter for søtsaker fra forskjellige land. Plutselig dukker Musekongen opp, Prinsen er klar til å slåss mot fienden, men plutselig tar Musekongen av seg masken, og under den finnes Drosselmeyer, som bestemte seg for å spøke litt. Ballen begynner i godt humør.
Spansk dans
Arabisk dans
Ukrainsk dans
Drømmen tar slutt
Clara våkner fra sin drøm og befinner seg ved juletreet med sin elskede nøtteknekker.