Northern Ballet Will Launch New NUTCRACKER Experience

This December, a Northern Ballet, 4Pi Productions, and Schwarzman Centre production Clara & The Nutcracker will premiere at the newly built Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford. Inspired by David Nixon's The Nutcracker, a cornerstone of Northern Ballet's repertoire, this fulldome experience will be a world-first immersive presentation of an interpretation of the company's iconic ballet, with former Northern Ballet dancer Gavin McCaig as movement director.

A 360-degree film captured on stage, in the studio and behind the scenes, Clara & The Nutcracker will feature Northern Ballet's world-class dancers alongside richly animated fantasy scenes created by 4Pi and Tchaikovsky's iconic score, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and delivered in surround audio.

Since 2020, Northern Ballet has invested in digital content and experimentation, including full-length captures and short films as well as research and development in immersive technologies. Through this partnership with 4Pi and the Schwarzman Centre, the company takes this to the next level in a theatrical event which will allow audiences to explore dance in a whole new way: up close, all around and beyond the stage. In the fulldome experience, shaped by humanities research at the University of Oxford with Professor Joanna Neilly and Professor Phillip Bullock, audiences will be seated in reclining chairs to enjoy a 30-minute 360-degree experience.