WORDS KAYLA MARIE WALSH

The lights slowly dim. A hush falls over the audience as Tchaikovsky’s immortal music reverberates around the room. The velvet curtain rises, revealing a glittering Christmas tree sheltering beautifully wrapped presents. Waiflike ballerinas glide onto the stage and the wondrous production unfolds.

The story of The Nutcracker is a simple one. It is Christmas Eve, and Clara, a young and imaginative girl, is given a painted nutcracker in the shape of a man by her mysterious uncle, Drosselmeyer. She adores the present and longs to stay up late to play with it, but is ordered to bed. After everyone else has fallen asleep, Clara creeps back to the parlour to check on the toy. Suddenly, the Christmas tree begins to grow and grow, and human-sized rats storm the room. The nutcracker also becomes life-sized, and is joined by an army of soldiers who wage war on the mice. When the battle is over the nutcracker, now a dashing prince, leads Clara to a moonlit forest, where they meet numerous exotic characters, such as the Russian candy-cane dancers and the famous Sugar Plum Fairy. After dancing the night away, Clara waves goodbye to her new friends and wakes up on the floor in her house. It seems it was all a dream.

Ballet Ireland’s production of The Nutcracker in The Gaiety is an absolute delight. The score is performed live by the faultless RTÉ Concert Orchestra, who capture the magic of much-loved pieces such as The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Waltz of the Flowers wonderfully.

The large cast is made up of dancers from as far away as Japan and Australia, as well as much homegrown talent. I was particularly impressed by the younger performers. Draped in a white dress, Clara floats across the stage lighter than air. Her skill is breathtaking. However, the dancing is of an extremely high quality across the board. Slow, graceful numbers are contrasted with more energetic ones, so although the show is two hours long, I never felt bored.

The set is simple yet stunning, restricted mainly to sparkling backdrops which leave room for dancing. The women’s costumes are a mix of long, elegant gowns and the more classic pink tutus. Watching these fantastic creatures swirl around, captivating everyone in the room, I remembered why so many little girls dream of being ballerinas.

The production is full of surprises, such the choir of small children who emerge halfway through, adding their ethereal voices to the instrumental music. At the end of one of the scenes a shower of fake snowflakes drifts onto the dancers, making everyone smile. It’s a perfect Christmas fantasy.