The Royal Ballet's The Nutcracker glitters onscreen at VIFF Centre on December 23, 24, and 26

The sumptuous spectacle draws Londoners in droves each holiday

VIFF presents The Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker at the Vancity Theatre on December 23 at 2:30 pm, December 24 at 12:30 pm, and December 26 at 3:30 pm

FOR THOSE WHO like their Nutcrackers as classical as possible, Peter Wright’s glittering production for London’s The Royal Ballet fits the bill to tutu perfection.

And without a traditional live rendition of the ballet playing in Vancouver this Christmas, the VIFF screening may be as close as you can get to the holiday ritual—with some of the world’s top dancers in the solo roles.

Wright modelled his version on Lev Ivanov’s 1892 ballet, and it’s a sumptuous spectacle, the snowy 19th-century designs replete with a towering tannenbaum, vintage toys, and a glimmering palace. Tchaikovsky’s score is just the icing on a beautifully crafted Christmas cake.

In short, you'll see why Londoners clamber to see this ornate holiday gift each year—and it will at least provide enough warmth to help get you through to the time when the ballet spectacle returns here.

Articles

Dance review: Coregulation and calm, as Action at a Distance’s WAIL sculpts vocal sound and movement

In this PuSh Fest, Music on Main, and Dance Centre premiere, humming songs, whispered words, and hypnotic movement bring a sense of serenity and connection to a chaotic world

In The Brutal Joy, Justine A. Chambers channels the overwhelming beauty of Black living

With staging that evokes a Chicago jazz bar, the Dance Centre and PuSh Festival co-presentation draws on matrilineal fashion and line dancing

Ballet BC highlights masterful choreographers Crystal Pite and Jiří Kylián with INFINITY, February 26 to 28

Program features Pite’s Frontier, a deep dive into the unknown, and Kylián’s 27’52”, an exploration of theoretical elements

Dance review: JEZEBEL challenges the stereotype of the booty-poppin’ backup dancer

In a riveting PuSh Festival and New Works copresentation, Belgium’s Cherish Menzo plays with repetition, chopped-and-screwed music, and flashing dental grillz

Review: Liquid limbs and mesmerizing visual magic at Recirquel’s Paradisum

In DanceHouse and The Cultch co-presentation, the Hungarian company is full of flowing bodies and rippling fabric

At PuSh, Alan Lake Factori(e)’s mythologically driven Orpheus paints a visceral picture of loss

In the deeply moving production, dancers embody the ancient tale of death and longing by tapping into their own experiences of tragedy

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 shows to startle and spellbind at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival

Productions that “push” forms include dance works that play with props and stereotypes, as well as ethereal odes to nature and the northern lights

Recirquel’s postapocalyptic Paradisum conjures visual worlds out of fabric and light

Producer Natália Fábics says the Hungarian work, co-presented by DanceHouse and The Cultch, is as much a contemporary artwork and philosophical epic as a fusion of circus and dance