Leading Russian stage designer Dmitri Tcherbadzhi has come up with cool, quirky costumes for this charming traditional production from the Russian State Ballet of Siberia, now touring four ballets in the UK.
There's a cartoon feel to his clever masks and elaborate head-dresses and some ingenious inventions for the national divertissements. For the Arabic dance a big golden idol glides along on giant platform soles, while the Chinese soloist is like a human maypole, ankles and wrists linked with strings, under her coolie hat. Russian clowns leap in the Trepak, huge concertinas built into their sleeves. It's all great fun and appealing for children, with lots of monsters conjured up by Drosselmeyer, the magical doll maker, danced with flourish by Alexander Kuimov.
The Christmas classic has been re-worked by Henrich Mayorov and artistic director Sergei Bobrov, the former Bolshoi soloist. They focus on the Hoffman Fairytale of the Hard Nut, with the action centring on Drosselmeyer and the children invited to the Christmas party at his toy shop. Instead of Clara we have Marie, Hoffman's little heroine. In a new slant, mechanical dolls enact the tale of the magic nut and we meet the King and Queen of the Land of Fantasy and the naughty princess Pirlipat, turned ugly by the Queen of Mice. The royals are wonderfully bewigged with giant curls and crowns, the princess a cutesy vision in sugar-plum pink, her monstrous visage cleverly created on the back of her head.
Young dancer Anastasia Kuimova is charming as the child Marie, with Anastasia Tchumakova an elegant and expressive adult version. Attentively partnered by Nikolai Oliunin she took command of the Grand pas de Deux with strong musicality and light, fluid arms. Backed by the State Ballet Orchestra, this was a surprisingly different production performed with infectious enthusiasm by the company.
