New English Ballet, Nutcracker - Valentino Zucchetti

"Though essentially faithful to the well-known Nutcracker story - Act I real life Christmas Eve party, where young Clara is given a nutcracker doll by the mysterious Drosselmeyer, followed by an Act II set in a dream land, where a series of divertissements culminate in the famous Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux - NEBT's The Nutcracker goes its own way."

"We set the party scene in the 1990s, so there's a lot of elements that are from the 1990s. A lot of the costume designs have been inspired by the celebrities of the time. One of the girls is wearing a Diana-style dress, for example. The teenagers look like normal teenagers. In the teenage dance I made them all do moves that were famous in the 90s."

Valentino Zucchetti choreographs a new, modern-day Nutcracker for New English Ballet Theatre that premiered at the end of October. The production preserves the classic two-act structure—Act I as a real-life Christmas Eve party and Act II as a dreamland of divertissements culminating in the Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux—while introducing contemporary narrative and aesthetic changes. The party scene is relocated to the 1990s with costumes and choreography referencing 1990s celebrities and dances. Drosselmeyer is reimagined as a party entertainer called Derren, an illusionist who hypnotises guests. The production tours small UK stages, visits the Bahamas, and returns to London just before Christmas.

Read at London Unattached