2024

KOMA Ballet - Denmark

With the advent of digital technology, old traditions are transformed and new ones are born. The original classic Christmas story The Nutcracker, with the musical masterpiece by Tchaikovsky, has found its starting point in the digital era and late modern society with this new and modern dance performance.
With the advent of digital technology, old traditions are transformed and new ones are born. The original classic Christmas story The Nutcracker, with the musical masterpiece by Tchaikovsky, has found its starting point in the digital era and late modern society with this new and contemporary dance performance.
In a new interpretation of Clara's dream of Christmas, love and family, digital screens cast long shadows into our homes, families and everyday lives.

The performance follows the young girl, and as the story progresses, the audience will experience Clara's new ways of interacting with her world, and what this means for her anticipation and excitement for Christmas Eve.

This late-modern Nutcracker is more than a dance performance – it is a mirror of our own times. It reflects our relationship with the digital media that both enriches and complicates our lives. It is a tale of balance in a digital age, a fairy tale that reminds us that even in this screen-filled world, it is human relationships that bind us together – says Inge Fjord, director of KOMA BALLET.

​

The performance's choreography was created by the acclaimed Brazilian choreographer Alex Soares. "For me, it is a dystopian future that could even be NOW." says Alex Soares.

In Alex’s version of The Nutcracker, the overall dramaturgy is maintained. The first act is a very linear narrative, with a clear historical arc, and as the curtain falls on Christmas Eve, the audience is left with a sense of wonder – and perhaps a little unease.

​

The choreographer transforms the second act's divertissement into a talent show, similar to reality shows, the formula of which has been replicated in several countries. Hence the subtitle: ‘The Nuts Talent Show’. The metaphor that reflects on the 'franchise' that The Nutcracker itself has become.
The choreographer invites us on an exciting and innovative journey, where a high level of dance is the way to interpret one of the greatest Christmas classics of all time. With more than 40 dancers on stage, the show's two acts are a work that brings together humor, criticism and emotion to pay tribute to classical music and contemporary dance.