Hong Kong Ballet reels in the fans every Christmas for The Nutcracker
Government-subsidised group kicks off 13 performances up until Christmas in a tradition that goes back more than three decades
If Christmas was not Christmas without The Nutcracker, then the city’s flagship ballet troupe would hardly be the same without an annual run of the ballet masterpiece.
Hong Kong Ballet, one of the nine major performing arts companies subsidised by the government, has now counted on The Nutcracker for its box office income and attendance for more than three decades.
“It’s such a great tradition the world over, with glittering choreography, brilliant dancing, gorgeous sets and costumes, and of course Tchaikovsky’s famous score,” said the ballet’s executive director Paul Tam Siu-man on the eve of this year’s 13 performances from Friday until Christmas Day.
“On average, it is about 45 per cent of our annual attendance and contributes to almost half of our annual box office revenue, figures quite on a par with ballet companies in other parts of the world,” he said.
“The Swedish Royal Ballet was founded in 1773 and that’s 120 years before Nutcracker, so we have our own traditions, such as opera,” said Onne, whose first Nutcracker performance was at the tender age of nine.
