Varna International Ballet's The Nutcracker at Bristol Hippodrome feels like being lost in a sweet dream

The critically acclaimed ballet is kicking off the 2025 season with performances of Romeo & Juliet, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, spread across three nights.

We watched The Nutcracker and were absolutely blown away by the quality of the performance.

It is just phenomenal and made us almost feel like being lost in a trance as the dancers flew effortlessly across the stage.

I often found myself drawn to the dancers’ movements, just wondering how they manage to move so gracefully.

Alongside this, there is a brilliant live orchestra, conducted by Peter Tuleshkov, whose renditions of pieces such as Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy truly bring the show to life.

As well as stunning costumes and choreography, the ballet features magical special effects, which take the whole thing up a notch.

It also seems a fitting time of year to watch The Nutcracker, with snow falling slightly outside as it did on the screen on stage.

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The story, from the Nutcracker coming to life to the girl and the Prince travelling to Fairyland, is beautifully told.

There’s the fantastic scene of the army of mice taking on the tin soldiers, and the whole thing is a wonderful story told through the art of dance.

Of course at the end, we learn that the story is in fact a dream, and we left the theatre feeling like we had just awoken from a sweet dream ourselves after our minds were lost in ballet and dance.

Varna International Ballet’s performances at Bristol Hippodrome conclude tonight (Thursday, January 9) with Swan Lake. For tickets, click here.