The best dance and ballet shows in December 2024

Matthew Bourne's now-classic 'Swan Lake' with male swans returns for a Christmas season in a new revival with dancers of the next generation. It's a clever conceit, turning the traditional flock of swan maidens into wild and muscular swan men, and it also fleshes out the role of the Prince, turning what can be a shallow character into a troubled young royal. Bourne's quirky humour is in evidence, but unlike some of his more recent shows, it's balanced by a real depth of emotion and lots of dancing.

English National Ballet presents a brand new production of ‘Nutcracker’ this winter. Choreographed by ENB’s artistic director Aaron S. Watkin, and Olivier Award-winner Arielle Smith, this show opens in a sweet shop in Edwardian London. Clara will be played by a number of different ENB principals, including Erina Takahashi and Ivana Bueno. 

It's a fairytale that everyone knows: one for ballet beginners and seasoned goers alike, Cinderella, choreographed by ROH founder Frederick Ashton in 1948, is back on the London stage this Christmas. The ballet first returned to the capital in 2023 after an entire decade, and now it’s back again. What a treat. This isn't an austere and sombre performance like some ballets, this is a fun ballet, filled with over-the-top costumes, glitzy sets and jaunty tongue-in-cheek choreography. It's guaranteed to be a good time. 

Over 25 years since it first premiered, Sir Peter Wright's sumptuous, classical version of 'The Nutcracker' is still delighting festive audiences. It's danced to Tchaikovsky's masterful score, and shines for its emphasis on the story's magic and for the beautiful, romantic backdrops that transport Clara to exotic lands.

Christopher Wheeldon's 2012 ‘Alice’ was the first new full-length ballet to be commissioned by the Royal Ballet for 16 years, and the first with a new score (by Joby Talbot) for 20 years. So it's safe to say it's a big deal. The result is visually stunning, thanks to designer Bob Crowley's OTT imagination. The show returns with Francesca Hayward in the lead, along with a host of other promising dancers. The episodic nature of of the book makes creating a full-length arc nigh-on impossible and the show is full of frenetic scene changing and busy stage business and not so much actual dancing. It’s very enjoyable nonetheless, and worth a visit for the costumes alone.