Nutcracker ballet a sell-out success
The Northern Dance Academy’s third full-length ballet, The Nutcracker, has been wowing crowds at Kerikeri’s Turner Centre this week with sell-outs at the last three shows on Friday and Saturday. It featured all 65 of the academy’s students — the youngest just four years old — as well as spectacular sets, special effects and 176 costumes. The star is Whangarei teen Charlotte Gleeson as the Snow Queen, now a student at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington. Charlotte had to pull out of the show due to a stress fracture but returned when she made a better than expected recovery and her replacement had to go to Australia at short notice. The fantasy ballet, first performed in Russia in 1892, revolves around a young girl’s dreams on Christmas Eve. Photos by Peter de Graaf.
Image 1 of 25:
