PREVIEW: Varna International Ballet to perform classics Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker

They will perform four shows over three days at Royal & Derngate theatre in Guildhall Road from Thursday to Saturday, February 22 to 24, 2024 – for tickets and more information CLICK HERE.

Sleeping Beauty, the classic story of love and innocence, mystery and magic set to Tchaikovsky’s sublime score, will be performed on the first night, Thursday, February 22, at 7.30pm.

Swan Lake, regarded as the greatest romantic ballet of all time, will be performed on the second night, Friday, February 23, a 7.30pm.

The Nutcracker, this most famous of fantasy ballets for all the family, which begins as night falls on Christmas Eve, will be performed twice, with a matinee and evening show, to close the run on Saturday, February 23, at 2.30pm then 7.30pm.

Varna International Ballet are back in the UK following a hugely successful 2022 debut tour which celebrated the company’s 75th anniversary.

Sleeping Beauty is a favourite fairy tale, with stunning choreography, sumptuous costumes and wonderful sets to form a fantasy world in which the Lilac Fairy struggles against the evil Carabosse.

The production will be a classic version of the original.

Swan Lake will be a recreation of Tchaikovsky’s original production, a haunting and unforgettable score, that was created for the Bolshoi Ballet in 1877.

Modern audiences are more familiar with the 1895 version that included musical and choreographical changes to the original by Marius Petipa and Riccardo Drigo, which was presented at the Mariinsky Theatre two years after Tchaikovsky’s death.

The producers of Varna International Ballet went back into the archives in order to return to the original score, orchestration and libretto, above all to preserve the original meanings that were at the bottom of the musical dramaturgy of the ballet.

From the impressive splendour of the Palace ballroom to the moon-lit lake where swans glide in perfect formation, this compelling tale of tragic romance has it all. From Odile, the temptress in black tulle as she seduces the Prince by spinning with captivating precision to the spellbound purity of the swan queen, Odette, as she flutters with emotional intensity.

The dual role of Odette/Odile is one of ballet’s most unmissable technical challenges.

The Nutcracker is set as snowflakes fall outside and the warm glow of the open fire sends flickering shadows across the boughs of the Christmas tree and all the presents beneath.

When midnight strikes we are swept away to a fairy-tale world where nothing is quite as it seems, toy dolls spring to life, the Mouse-king and his mouse-army battle with the Nutcracker Prince and we travel through the Land of Snow to an enchanted place where the magic really begins…

Founded in 1947, the critically acclaimed Varna International Ballet is renowned for its award-winning soloists and magnificent corps de ballet.

The company has been delighting audiences for decades at home and abroad with its performances of the highest quality.

This tour sees Daniela Dimova as Artistic Director, with Peter Tuleshkov as Music Director and Chief Conductor.

‘We are thrilled to be bringing our highly talented company of dancers and musicians back to the UK. We can’t wait to perform for British audiences again and to bring these magical ballets to life on stage,” says Dimova.

Promoters are Raymond Gubbay Limited, founded in 1966 and recognised as being at the forefront of promoting and producing popular shows, illuminated trails, classical concerts, dance and special events.