The Nutcracker

With over 60 dancers, this production of The Nutcracker is performed to some of Tchaikovsky’s best loved musical compositions and is a feast of imagery, costumes and stage design. The audience will be transported through the power of a young girl’s dreams from a jolly family party on Christmas Eve to a fantastical world where dastardly rats battle toy soldiers, a nutcracker transforms into a handsome boy, and a selection of sweets from around the world dance in celebration.

Proudly presented by Northern Dance Academy Trust, sponsored by the Dalton Trust and orchestrated by Elizabeth Harvey, this Victorian-era production of Christmas favourite The Nutcracker is the first full-length ballet to be performed at the Turner Centre since 2018. Two recent graduates of the New Zealand School of Dance, Emma McWhinnie and Andrew Rushby, play the parts of the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier respectively. The guest principals are joined by local dancer Rayna Diaz Turner as the Dewdrop Fairy. The corps de ballet features students from Kerikeri’s Northern Dance Academy. First performed in Russia in 1892, this particular production is based on the New York City Ballet story line.