Scottish Ballet’s festive favourite The Nutcracker returns to stages this winter, with its sumptuous sets, sparkling costumes, newly inspired dance from a host of choreographers, and that famous, fabulous Tchaikovsky score, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra. 

10 years on since the revival of Peter Darrell’s The Nutcracker, the ballet continues to evolve in 2024, with more choreography from Artistic Director Christopher Hampson embedded throughout the production – including the Party, the Snowflakes and the Waltz of the Flowers – as well as four newly choreographed moments in The Land of Sweets, created by Scottish Ballet’s inhouse choreographers and dancers – all inspired by Peter Darrell’s original. The ‘Russian’ dance will be created by in-house choreographer Sophie Laplane, ‘English’ (and the Battle scene) by Associate Choreographer Nicholas Shoesmith, ‘Spanish’ by Soloist Javier Andreu and ‘French’ by Principal Jessica Fyfe, presented alongside the ‘Chinese’ dance choreographed by Annie Au, which was introduced in 2021.

Our beloved production of The Nutcracker premiered a decade ago, reviving Peter Darrell’s choreography.  We’re taking inspiration from our founder’s spirit of innovation as we revisit this classic. You’ll see more new choreography throughout, including some exciting new moments from our Resident and Associate Choreographers and two of our dancers.

This is an incredible opportunity and an important next step for them to help create a winter narrative ballet of this scale. I know they will all bring something special to the stage.

Christopher Hampson, CEO/Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet

I have a lot of experience with the English solo as a dancer, so to reinvent it came as a welcome challenge. I took inspiration from the incredibly energetic music, and, of course, the sailor costume. I wanted to lean into some of the more traditional hornpipe movements, and then include some classical elements to tie it all together.

As a dancer, it was always a demanding but fun solo to perform, so I was keen to maintain that exciting quality for the dancers performing it on future tours.

Nicholas Shoesmith, Scottish Ballet Associate Choreographer and choreographer of the ‘English’ solo

I have drawn inspiration from pure French classical technique, rich in footwork, and have also been inspired by the ballerinas in Edgar Degas’ paintings, which were exhibited in Glasgow this year.

This is such an amazing opportunity for me as a choreographer, but it will be a strange feeling standing in the wings ready to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy, whilst watching my own choreography on stage, which will be the most nerve-wracking part! My hope is the audience simply enjoys.

Jessica Fyfe, Scottish Ballet Principal and choreographer of the ‘French’ trio

I want to reflect Spanish culture, so while I haven’t challenged the dancers with doing flamenco – as this requires the same years of training as ballet – the piece is influenced by the principles of traditional Spanish styles.

Even though every cast will execute the same steps, each will tell a different story. That for me in ballet, is thrilling to watch.

Javier Andreu, Scottish Ballet Soloist and choreographer of the ‘Spanish’ quartet 

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