Ballet competition is a real cracker (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Ballet competition is a real cracker

ELLEN Kent and Ballet International return to the Bristol Hippodrome with one of the masterpieces of Russian ballet - an internationally-famous version of the quintessential Christmas fantasy - Grigorovich's Nutcracker.

Premired in Moscow by the Bolshoi Ballet in 1966, it has been a legendary favourite in the traditional ballet repertoire ever since.

This spectacular production, staged in its entirety, returns to the Bristol Hippodrome from Monday, January 26 until Saturday, January 31, after its critically acclaimed and very successful visit in 2003

Yuri Grigorovich, one of the most influential twentieth-century Russian choreographers, originally created his sensational reworking of the Nutcracker in 1966, for the Bolshoi Ballet, where he was director for more than 20 years.

The production had not been seen in the UK since the early seventies until Ellen Kent first brought it back to this country in 2001, in the updated and revised version rehearsed by Grigorovich himself, for the Chisinau National Ballet.

This story, of the little girl who is swept away to a magical dream world, includes memorable music such as the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Waltz of the Flowers, the Russian Dance and the Decoration of the Christmas Tree March.

The production boasts spectacular scenery with flying boats, special effects and astonishing wizardry.

The designer Simon Virsaladze is a leading Russian artist, also responsible for the startling designs of two widely-acclaimed Russian Shakespeare films, Hamlet and King Lear.

The company's leading dancers Nadezhda Schepachiova, Maria Poliudova, Egor Schepachiov, Andrei Litvinov and Ghenadii Badika will be back, after winning praise from the British press on earlier tours.

The 2004 Nutcracker tour promises to be a major event and a delight for ballet lovers of all ages.

As fresh and original as the day it was first presented, Grigorovich's Nutcracker has been one of the Soviet Union's best kept secrets - until now.

Standard readers are being offered a selection of superb prizes by Ellen Kent and Ballet International if they enter the Nutcracker Competition.

The first prize is a family ticket for four to see the Nutcracker at the Bristol Hippodrome on Monday, January 26 at 7.30pm PLUS a Nutcracker doll, a bottle of Russian Methode champagne and a glossy souvenir programme.

The second prize is a pair of tickets to see the Nutcracker on the same day, plus a bottle of champagne and a glossy souvenir programme and there are three additional pairs of tickets for the three runners up.

All you have to do is to answer the following questions and send your answers, with your name and telephone number, plus a stamped, self-addressed envelope, to Kellie Ashford, Opera & Ballet International, The Admiral's Offices, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TZ to reach her no later than next Monday, January 19.

You haven't got long but it's worth the rush to win one of these super prizes.

Question 1: In which year did Yuri Grigorovich create his sensational reworking of the Nutcracker? Question 2: Which ballet company performed the updated version of Grigorovich's Nutcracker in this country in 2001?

To book tickets for the Nutcracker please call Bristol Hippodrome 24Hr Booking line on 0870 607 7500.

As well as evening performances at 7.30pm, there are two matinees, on Wednesday, January 28 at 2pm and on Saturday, January 31 at 2.30pm.