On Sunday Bea and I had a fabulously festive day in London

In the morning Bea attended a Nutcracker Masterclass
With International Ballet Intensives
Where she took class with Charlotte Tonkinson
First Artist with The Royal Ballet
And learned to work as a corps de ballet in the
Entrance of the Snowflakes

She came out buzzing with excitement and
Keen to show me all that she had learned
She was also super excited to head to
London Coliseum to see the
English National Ballet’s production of
The Nutcracker

This is a huge beautiful West End theatre
Just walking into the foyer makes you feel so special
We loved exploring the bars and cafes
Admiring the architecture and decor
Browsing the shop
And just soaking up the atmosphere
Of this magical place
Bea LOVED the Christmas tree
Made of pointe shoes

We took our seats in the stalls nice and early
So that we could people watch and
Listen to the orchestra warm up
We could not wait for the dancing to begin

English National Ballet’s Nutcracker at The Coliseum Theatre, London on December 10 2025. Photo: Amber Hunt

We loved the Edwardian opening
With a magical toy shop
Dancing chimney sweeps and suffragettes
Bea loved seeing so many children on the stage
And immediately turned to me and said
“Mummy, I want to do that!”

Delilah who danced Young Clara beautifully
Stole the first act
Her dancing was stunning and full of character
We could not take our eyes off her
She had a wonderful stage presence

English National Ballet’s Nutcracker at The Coliseum Theatre, London on December 10 2025. Photo: Amber Hunt

We loved the party scene and we loved
Seeing hints of the characters
That each dancer would become
In the second act of the ballet

The climax of Act 1
Was the famous dance of the snowflakes
In this production we had a striking ice queen
And a corps of icicles alongside the
Traditional corps of snowflakes
The Ice Realm or Land of Snow had
Breathtakingly beautiful staging
It was a real treat for the senses
With the sound of ice crystals falling
A children’s choir singing
The jagged edges of the icy stage
And grand theatrical lighting
It was a sight to behold and something
That Bea and I will remember forever
This scene was all the more special for Bea
After learning the entrance of the snowflakes
In her morning masterclass (lucky girl!)

English National Ballet’s Nutcracker at The Coliseum Theatre, London on December 10 2025. Photo: Amber Hunt

Act 2 was just as whacky and wonderful
As we hoped it would be
The waltz of the flowers
The stunning sugar plum fairy and her Cavalier
We loved all the different sweet treats
Brought to life in this magical land
With vibrant creative costumes
Striking set design and
Magnificent props
And of course fabulous dancing
Through the act we Clara and her prince
And so we, the audience, are invited to taste
Turrón – Spanish Nougat
Marzipan-Zwiebelflöten – German marzipan flutes
Makivnyk – Ukrainian poppyseed rolls (replacing the usual Russian Dance)
Sahlab – Egyptian hot orchid root milk with cinnamon
Tanghulu – Chinese candied hawthorn berries
Liquorice Allsorts and
Buttercream roses
The dancing was wonderful and
So inspiring for my little ballerina
She loved the contemporary style of the Sahlab
The leaps and jumps of the poppyseed rolls
The cute characters of the tiny liquorice allsorts dancers
Who had perhaps the loudest applause of the show
Again, Bea made it known to me, that she would LOVE to do that
Watching Nutcracker solidified for Bea her dreams
Of dancing again on stage
Of performing in a ballet
When she is older she longs to dance
The Sugar Plum Fairy
Emma Hawes was an absolute joy to watch
And a huge inspiration for Bea

English National Ballet’s Nutcracker at The Coliseum Theatre, London on December 10 2025. Photo: Amber Hunt

This English National Ballet production
Is an absolute joy to watch
It filled our hearts with Christmas magic
And our imaginations with awe and wonder
For tiny dancers
For theatre lovers
For musicians and storytellers
For dreamers of dreams
For young and for old
This is a true Christmas treat
And we loved every moment of it
Bea and I have always watched The Nutcracker
Together at Christmas
In different theatres and different forms
But this was her first time at The London Coliseum
She is absolutely certain she will be back
In the audience and hopefully one day on the stage

Thank you so much to English National Ballet
For our press tickets
You have made one tiny dancer’s Christmas
Extra specially magical this year
A Christmas she will never forget x