Christmas is coming and that can only mean BRECON FESTIVAL BALLET, a charity Ballet Company based in Brecon will present another full scale production of THE NUTCRACKER at the newly refurbished Theatr Brycheiniog in rural Brecon, for five performances. They have presented this before and audiences loved it.

It welcomes back the wonderful Welsh Chamber Orchestra, Welsh and British based dancers, supported by the local community and a talented team of volunteers for scenery, costumes, props and acting roles etc. All organised by former professional dancer KATY SINNADURAI BEM, Artistic Director of BFB and LESLEY WALKER, company secretary.

There really couldn’t be anything more festive than the combination of ballet and The Nutcracker.

​I think it’s fair to say it’s probably the world’s most popular ballet – performed to packed houses all over the globe each Christmas.

On Christmas Day the delightfully horrible Sugar and Fritz open their presents in front of the other children. Plenty of sweets and toys but not an ounce of festive spirit as they refuse to share them. There is a token gesture to Christmas with streamers hung, a manky old Christmas tree and the children given party hats to wear, all for the benefit of the Governors who are expected at the orphanage

When they arrive they come armed with presents for everyone. As the children line-up they each take a gift, by the time Clara gets to the basket, there’s nothing left. As the visitors leave she takes one more look in the seemingly empty basket and there, hidden under a cover, is a colourful nutcracker doll.

Clara loves it and celebrates by dancing with it, but of course this makes Sugar jealous as she wants Clara’s doll. Her and Fritz try to wrestle it from Clara only to break the doll in the struggle. Sugar gives up and leaves Clara to nurse the broken toy.

The ballet is a winning combination of Tchaikovsky’s beautiful music featuring famous and very familiar tunes, and a magical story involving a Christmas party, a journey through the Christmas Wood and a feast of iconic dances in the Kingdom of Sweets, ruled over by the Sugar Plum Fairy.

The WELSH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA are something special too. Founded to fill the gap in the music making life of Wales between the performances of small chamber music ensembles and those of the symphony orchestra. Since its inception in 1986 it has performed with many of the world’s greatest soloists, and undertaken several European concert tours as well as performing throughout the UK. For many years it was resident chamber orchestra in the Swansea International Concert Series where its innovative policy of giving second performances of works by Welsh composers was highly regarded.

They have recorded numerous television programmes including a New York Film Festival prize-winning Opera series. The orchestra’s first commercial recordings were of works by William Mathias and Alun Hoddinott. A second disc of works by Alun Hoddinott has since been released, and a further one of Michael Tippett’s works will be issued shortly.

The whole collaboration which relies heavily on donations and voluntary support brings The Nutcracker to life for Christmas 2022 with Tchaikovsky’s beautiful score set alongside the magical Kingdom of sweets.

Following the disruption of the Covid pandemic, which saw the cancellation of the 2020 Christmas performances, they were understandably delighted to be back on stage last December, with the adapted performances of “Christmas Treats from the Nutcracker”, which featured highlights from the famous ballet together with excerpts from other ballets and a few surprises!

​Talented local children and apprentices again took part, performing alongside 15 professional dancers, and the performance also featured the new, short ballet “Plea”, which was created by artistic director, Katy Sinnadurai, in 2020, to express the frustration and loneliness of the lockdowns.

​It has been a challenge for arts organisations such as BFB to keep going during the last two years, so they are relieved and delighted to be bringing back the full-scale production with a live orchestra this Christmas!

THE NUTCRACKER takes to the stage on Friday 16th December and runs through to Sunday 18th, you can get your tickets HERE or give the box office a call on 01874 611622.