Nutcracker star Laurretta Summerscales voices ballet’s fears of arts cuts

Summerscales, who will play Clara in the upcoming Nutcracker at the Coliseum, said: 'Everybody feels a bit threatened that the money won’t come in'
David Ellis @dvh_ellis18 November 2016

The ballet community is aware of the impact the present political climate could have on the arts, according to one of the English National Ballet’s principal dancers.

Laurretta Summerscales, who will take the lead as Clara when the Nutcracker opens at Coliseum on December 14, told the Standard: “I think the whole ballet world is a bit scared that the arts are not looked at.

“With the politics and the whole world at the moment, everybody feels like the money spent on the arts is going to be cut back – not just in ballet. So I think everybody feels a bit threatened that the money won’t come in.”

Summerscales, however, dismissed the notion that ballet was in danger of being a forgotten art. “You might think classical ballet is old fashioned or whatever, and everyone has their own taste, but there is a purpose to it. It’s not a dying form, it’s very much alive."

You can watch Summerscales rehearse for the Nutcracker in the video above.

Stepping up: Laurretta Summerscales

Having danced with the ENB since 2009, Summerscales was promoted to principal this year. The Nutcracker has long been a staple for the company.

“If I’m being really honest, as soon as someone says ‘Nutcracker again’, everybody’s heart kind of goes, ‘oh yes, we do this every year’, but as soon as you put on the music, as soon as you do the show and you’re in it, you never get bored.”

She added: “With the preparations beforehand, you might feel ‘I’ve done this before’ but the magicalness inside, I don’t believe that ever goes.”

As with last year, the ENB will rival the Royal Ballet, who are staging the Nutcracker at the Royal Opera House. Summerscales attributes the ballet’s frequent stagings to its malleable plot and Tchaikovsky’s score.

“The basis is the music, it really takes you to another place. It’s very famous – people who don’t know the dancing know the music; it’s in the Christmas adverts. You just have an immediate connection to it.

“The storyline is not set in stone, so there’s a lot of companies and choreographers that would like to push it to its extremes. Everybody wants to do it with Swan Lake too, but it’s Nutcracker which people really want to put their stamp on.”

All about the music: Summerscales says the music is what keeps audiences coming back to see the Nutcracker

Though the ENB’s staging is largely traditional – Summerscales describes it as “heartwarming, the version you want to see for that family feeling” – they have subtly tweaked the original, with Clara becoming the Sugar Plum fairy. Usually the characters are separate parts, requiring different dancers.

Summerscales, who has been dancing since she was two, said she had recently gained a little perspective on her career.

“My sister has had a child that’s disabled. “It’s good to recognise those little things we take for granted. I’m a much happier person, a much more thankful person than I used to be. I really appreciate what I’ve got and how lucky I am. Before, I think I always moved on too quickly.

“I was grateful, but immediately the next goal had been set. Now that’s changed a little.”

The Nutcracker will be at the Coliseum from December 14 until January 7, eno.org

Follow David Ellis on Twitter @dvh_ellis

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESGoingOut

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in