'tis the season to go on a magical journey with Queensland Ballet and be dazzled by the beauty of Christmas.
Ben Stevenson’s 'The Nutcracker' has fast become a seasonal tradition in Brisbane. With a festively stunning set, glorious costumes and graceful dance combined with Tchaikovsky’s evocative score, 'The Nutcracker' awakens the Christmas spirit (and child) in everyone.
Vanessa Morelli far right © Simon LekiasThe dance follows little Clara, who wakes at midnight on Christmas Eve to embark on an adventure with the Nutcracker Prince. Her wondrous world of toys come to life and while King Rat and his giant mice try to stifle the spirit, the delicate dancing snowflakes, Snow Queen and beautiful Sugar Plum Fairy (who reigns over the Kingdom Of Sweets) keep it alive.
Keeping the spirite alive, QB company dancers share their favourite Christmas memories:
Joel Woellner
We have very close family friends who live in Colarado, America. I remember one year we went to visit them in the Christmas holidays. We had travelled for 15 hours from Sydney to Los Angeles and upon our arrival at the airport, we learnt there had been a huge snow storm and our flight to Colarado had been cancelled. It was the 23rd of December and we were worried we’d end up spending Christmas in the airport... Dad somehow managed to get the second flight out of LAX and we landed in Colarado the next day. We were exhausted from our travels and went straight to bed. We woke up on Christmas morning to discover there had been another huge snowstorm and there was four feet of snow on the ground! It was my first white Christmas!
Eleanor Freeman © Simon LekiasSophie Zoricic
My fondest Christmas memory is one that was a tradition when I was child. My family and I would sleep at my dearest Poppy's house on Christmas Eve and every year it would storm and we would always wonder if Santa would make it through the rain. Lo and behold we would wake up with stockings overflowing at the end of our bed and we would open them straight away before our parents would wake up. My sister and I made a habit of this and we still do it to this day!Rian Thompson
My earliest Christmas memories always start with Aunty Marg’s Brandy Alexanders at 10am... Followed by eating a huge, hot cooked lunch in the North Queensland heat, then lazing about in the blow-up pool in an attempt to cool down.
Rian Thompson and Sophie Zoricic © Simon LekiasVanessa Morelli
My favourite Christmas memory is of one year, waking up on Christmas morning with my three siblings. We crept out to the Christmas tree to find three strings leading from the tree to the garage. We opened the garage to find three new bikes!Eleanor Freeman
As a young girl I'll always remember my brothers and I leaving out milk and cookies for Santa and waking up so early to see if the reindeers had eaten the carrots we'd left out for them. Now Christmas is all about the family getting together, reminiscing about the past year and looking forward to the next. It's always a time for sharing and enjoying the company of those you love.'The Nutcracker' performs Queensland Performing Arts Centre 11-23 December.
