Varna International Ballet - Nutcracker Reviews

Liz Landor from London, England

FABULOUS, WE LOVED EVERY MINUTE

Wonderful costumes; sets and uplifting music. The dancing was excellent and our whole party loved every minute

Mairead Morrison-Wyse from Bathgate

THE NUTCRACKER BALLET

We were captivated from beginning to end of this fantastic performance, feeling as if we were swept into the heart of the story. Congratulations to the Varna International Ballet company for their creativity & professionalism. So much talent indeed!!! This was definitely a show suitable for the family to see & equally suitable for couples, friends, or for going solo. The performance was held in The Playhouse in Edinburgh - a lovely, central location which was easy to get to. We were situated in the stalls, row Y, where we had an excellent view & could hear very well. The seats were comfy enough for the amount of time spent sitting & refreshments were available. I would definitely recommend!

Peter from Wantage England

ENCHANTING PRODUCTION WITH A NOVEL CHRISTMASSY FLAVOUR.

Seen at Oxford New Theatre the small stage was a challenge to contain all the action. So much to take in including an animated backdrop. The costumes were stunning and imaginative. Gret performance from the percussionist who was also page turning for the keyboard nearby. Thoroughly enjoyable afternoon

Hannah from Oxford

A WONDERFUL AFTERNOON OUT

Saw the Nutcracker this afternoon and loved it. Orchestra were brilliant and some wonderful dances. Highlight was the snowflakes.

Polly from London, England

NO SUGAR PLUM FAIRY

Lovely ballet,costumes,and orchestra,but no sugar plum fairy. Try explaining that to a bunch of kids that you have just read the story to before going,then telling them that she was not in it? That’s the highlight of the nutcracker.

Ballet Fan from London, England

AMATEURISH

No scenery, just fuzzy images projected on a screen. Mediocre dancing, out of sync. It’s supposed to look effortless, but it looked like hard work, especially for the male principal during the lifts. No sugar plum fairy. Bizarre. The nutcracker is the easiest ballet for pleasing an audience but this was an embarrassing amateurish production. I pondered leaving in the interval and wish I had.

S. Wilson from Brighton,

NUTCRACKER

It was ok but a bit tired looking. Wasn’t sure when the beetle dancer fell off the stage into the orchestra if that was meant to happen turns out it wasn’t hopefully he wasn’t injured because he let out a loud scream. But the show went on!!!!! Well done

Zoe from Oxford

ODDEST JOYLESS PERFORMANCE

This was a horrid interpretation of the nutcracker with a cheap feel to the costumes & set. The blurry animations felt tired not nostalgic and some core parts of the ballet missing. Was telling the orchestra got a bigger applause than the principal dancers.

IT from Liverpool,

AMATEUR PERFORMANCES

Obviously no Russian / Moscow / Ukraine ballets at this time, so jumped at the chance to see The Nutcracker this year. Firstly, the good: the clever transitions from Nutcracker to Prince. That's it. Individual performances were at best, poor, at worst, shockingly embarrassing. Odd characters / creatures never before seen in this ballet. Orchestra barely audible in parts and poor. The Pas De Deux is, as the name suggests, two people so why on earth were so many dancers still on stage 30 seconds in to that section?! While the Ukraine invasion continues, it'll be the English National Ballet for us, or nothing at all. Did Raymond Gubbay just need the money?

Dianne Charlton from Brighton,

PANTOMIME

As previously stated by others this performance was poor and to put it mildly an interesting interpretation!! The lead was weak and watching his legs and arms shaking during the lifts was embarrassing. Poor quality projections onto a screen were very disappointing and smacked of a very limited budget. All around me laughed and giggled at the weird animals and it really felt like a pantomime when Widow Twanky appeared !! After watching Swan Lake yesterday I had hoped for an improvement but I m sorry to say it was even worse. The magic of the Nutcracker was lost at every turn. No physical tree, no snow falling, no magic sleigh ride, no sugar plum fairy, no Cossack dancers unless you want to count the 2 with liquorice allsorts imitation accordions, Flamenco negligible effort. All in all a shoestring production. Never again will I go to see this circus troop. If I want a pantomime I ll book to see one!!

Jo Roach from England

DO NOT GO AND SEE

This was the worst ballet I have ever watched & I am a ballet lover with 20 years classical ballet training now in musical theatre. What ON EARTH WAS THIS?! Orchestra not in tune & overture cut short. The story was NOT the Nutcracker. Where was Clara? The waltz of snowflakes was shortened? Where was the Kingdom of the Sweets & the Sugar Plum Fairy? The set was a cheap film. The magic of the growing Christmas tree was not there. No snowflakes fell. The vocal aahs in the snowflake semi waltz was a cheesy keyboard sound. What were the strange creatures that kept coming on? The soldiers did not fight the king rat with Clara knocking him out with her shoe. The unintelligible story in programme made no sense. There were grotesque masks throughout. I was treating my 4year old niece to her first ballet and she'd spent time reading the story before we went. She asked what was happening at times and I was at a loss to reply. I was appalled at this production. It was worse than amateur.

Becky from Bristol, England

POOR QUALITY

As previous reviews, I was very disappointed by this performance. No set furniture, just a cheesy screen projector playing a scene behind the dancers. When a dancer crossed the stage carrying a clock that looked like someone had made it with tin foil, it felt like a school production. The orchestra played well but it was so quiet, could hardly hear it at times. Dancing was ok, but out of sync and clumsy. The production suggested a low budget, and yet our seats were not cheap. Next time I'll wait for the English national ballet.

Alex from Liverpool,

DONT WASTE YOUR TIME

Honestly, I don’t really know what I’ve just watched. I felt like I was watching a local school performance it was that poor. No one stood out apart from most of the dancers being out of sync. Really disappointing that there is no props, th projector screen was poorer than poor, no snow, no tree no sugarplum fairy, which in all fairness would have saved this performance slightly. I actually feel sorry for the dancers having to perform such an obscure version. Such a waste of money and time. Almost insulted

Wyn from London, England

GIVE THIS COMPANY A MISS

Went to see Varna ballet performing Sleeping Beauty last night in Norwich and found it very disappointing. It was poorly rehearsed and some of the dancers on two occasions didn’t seem to know their steps. The standard of the dancers was on the whole very poor- certainly nowhere near Northern Ballet standard. The two lead female dancers alone were very good in their solos. Corps de ballet men and women looked like good students not top notch dancers. I left at the interval wishing I’d stayed at home and saved the ticket price. Never again! How I miss the Russians! Thank goodness we have The Royal Ballet -perfection on legs!!

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