Winter magic proved to be the icing on the cake for Brazilian ballet dancer Yuri Marques with his brilliance leading to a top honour.
The fabulous Glasgow opening night of Scottish Ballet’s Snow Queen at the Theatre Royal was topped off with the on stage news that Yuri had been promoted to principal dancer, the highest honour which combines top tier technique with artistry.
Yuri has been with Scottish Ballet since 2022 and his fantastic brilliance on stage as Kai in the timeless classic was simply mesmerising.
The performance of The Snow Queen is inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson story, with the current outside temperature matching the sparkling show inside.
With dazzling expertise, the theatre is transformed with some technical wizardry from a winter’s market to a fairytale forest.
It stars Lexi the summer princess (Rishan Benjamin) running away from her sister The Snow Queen (Marlen Fuerte Castro) after she sees a mirror image of her true love, Kai (Yuri Marques).
Lexi is unaware that Kai is already in love with his fiancée Gerda (Urara Takata) and The Queen casts a spell on Kai, ordering him to worship Lexi in a bid to win her sister back.
But Gerda is determined to keep her love and heads to the ice palace to save him. Choreographed by Christopher Hampson and designed by the award-winning Lez Brotherston, it’s a story of love and friendship.
With clever lighting from Paul Pyant and musical arrangement from Richard Honner and the Scottish Ballet orchestra, staying true to the original score by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, with guest conductor, Robert Baxter, the performance is magical from the start.
Bright costumes and a stunning modern set help bring the story alive with a festive delight of cheerful fun, sibling rivalry and triumphant true love.
A twist from the original story sees Lexi disguise herself as a pick pocket to try to get close to Kai, who under the spell of The Queen, turns from a sweet and kind fiancé into a brusque and hostile one, before he vanishes into thin air.
Fun and laughter is provided through a travelling circus with a fortune teller (Melissa Parsons), ringmaster (Harvey Littlefield), acrobats (Gina Scott and Grace Horler), clowns (Charley Austin and Alfie McPherson), ballerina (Kayla-Maree Tarantola) and strong man (Thomas Edwards), who raises laughs with his muscle flexing.
Fabulous winter dancing from snow wolves (Claire Souet and Elizabeth Williams), snowflakes and Jack Frost give a real festive fun feel to the performance, with townspeople Sophie Passant, Madeline Newington, Lucie McLaughlin, Rowan Craske, Woody Freeman, Ryan McBride and musician Begona (Gillian Risi) adding to the sparkle.
And to the delight of the audience, there are sparkling performances from wee ones Ember Quinn, Kasim Jalil, Calla Adair and Piper Hay.
It’s a wonderful winter show which keeps the festive spirit well and truly alive!
The Snow Queen runs at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow until 17th January, before moving to His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen from 21st to 24th January and Eden Court, Inverness from 28th to 31st January 2026. For more information and ticket availability, please visit: www.scottishballet.co.uk and www.atgtickets.com.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Photographs courtesy of Andy Ross
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