The Nutcracker, English National Ballet, until 4 Jan ***
The Little Match Girl, Lilian Baylis Studio, until 4 Jan *****
Edward Scissorhands, Sadler’s Wells, until 11 Jan ***
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Royal Ballet, until 16 Jan **
The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, Linbury Studio Theatre, until 17 Jan **
Amazing, the change in the dance weather this Christmas. Where usually there is snow, fairies, tinkly celestas, a glut of Nutcrackers, traditions have turned topsy-turvy. At the Royal Ballet the sun has broken out (if mildly) in its Don Quixote, as I reported last week, and only the dependable English National Ballet is serving up a trad Nutcracker over Christmas, at the Coliseum. Yet I can’t remember a Christmas when there was so much real traditional inspiration to be found in the dance shows, from music-hall to children’s classic tales. After years of meh experiences, I have less patience these days. I want shows of high emotion just now, the flat-out theatrical skills to whip up magic and dreams, the daring to provoke our fears of grief and then catch us safely back into happiness.
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