At the launch of the Irish National Youth Ballet’s 2022 winter season performances of The Nutcracker, taking place at The Helix, Dublin, December 8-10, was Kian Newcombe (blue waistcoat), age 11, from Mullingar, who is playing Fritz, with cast members from other counties. Photos: Marc O’Sullivan

Mullingar dancer selected for Irish National Youth Ballet Christmas production of The Nutcracker

Published: Wed 19 Oct 2022, 3:19 PM

A young male dancer from Mullingar is part of an elite cast of Ireland’s most talented ballet performers who will stage the Christmas favourite The Nutcracker as part of the Irish National Youth Ballet’s (INYB) winter programme.

The show run on December 8-10 at The Helix, Dublin.

Eleven-year-old Kian Newcombe is part of an all-island troupe of 45 dancers, 11 of whom are male, ranging in age from nine to 18, who will recreate the winter wonderland of The Nutcracker on the stage of Mahony Hall at The Helix.

The professionally trained young dancers were chosen from 142 who auditioned for the INYB 2022 season from across Ireland.

Kian is trained by Energy Plus School of Dance in Mullingar and he is playing the role of Fritz in the INYB performance of The Nutcracker.

This will be the first unrestricted run of winter shows for the INYB since before the pandemic.

Audiences can expect to see Ireland’s best young dancers, including Kian, bring many of ballet’s most-loved characters and set-pieces to life, from wooden soldiers, dancing mice, a ‘Land of Sweets’ and the Sugar Plum Fairy, to the highly anticipated pas de deux between the Snow Queen and the Prince amid falling moonlit snowflakes, all set to The Nutcracker’s famous score by Tchaikovsky.

Announcing the winter season performances, the artistic director of Irish National Youth Ballet Lindsay Ashe-Browne, said: “We are so excited to be coming back before a full live audience this winter season in The Helix and to be performing one of the most-loved ballets of all.

“To dance with Irish National Youth Ballet, you really do need to be in the best dancing talent on the whole island. The performance level is akin to elite athletics. The audition process is strict and competitive, and our dancers are highly trained.

“Many of our dancers have gone on to become full-time professional career ballet dancers worldwide, a remarkable achievement given the level of competition. So, people are really in for a treat this December!

“We are grateful for the support we receive from Arts Council Strategic Funding, ‘Friends of the Company’, RTÉ Supporting the Arts and Dance World, who help us in our work in developing and promoting the best of dance talent on the island of Ireland and in bringing it to audiences.”

Performance Times and Tickets

A matinee and evening performance will take place each day as follows:

Thursday December 8: matinee performance, 11am; evening performance, 8pm.

Friday December 9: matinee performance, 2pm; evening performance, 8pm.

Saturday December 10: matinee performance, 1.30pm; evening performance, 8pm.

Tickets for the Irish National Youth Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Mahony Hall, The Helix, Dublin 9, are on sale at www.thehelix.ie (prices €10-€25).