The State Ballet of Georgia, the Tbilisi company whose 2025 Swan Lake season in Singapore sold out, is back at Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands with The Nutcracker from 26 to 29 November 2026. Prices are on the official ticket page, so this is one of the easier festive plans to pitch to a group chat that’s already arguing about Christmas.
There are six shows across four days. The story is the one most of us half-know from the music that floats around every December: a girl, an enchanted toy, a battle with some mice and a whole lot of sugar. If ballet has always felt like it belongs to other people, a fairy tale set to Tchaikovsky is about as friendly a first step as you’ll find!
Toys, Mice and a Sugar Rush
According to the organisers, the ballet follows young Clara, who receives a nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and slips into a dreamlike world where toys spring to life. The Nutcracker Prince takes on the Mouse King, and sparkling snowflakes then guide Clara through a winter kingdom. If you’ve never sat through a ballet, that’s a plot you can follow without reading a single programme note.
The second half heads to the Kingdom of Sweets, where Clara and the transformed Prince watch a series of dances drawn from cultures around the world. It all builds to the Sugar Plum Fairy. Odds are you’ll recognise the music within a few bars.
The organisers’ latest details put the running time at approximately 115 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission. That’s shorter than most movie marathons, and the break gives you time to queue for the toilet or debate which dance was best.
Its broad appeal is the real selling point. A ballet with toy soldiers and a mouse battle is an easy sell to a niece, while the Tchaikovsky score is enough to win over your parents.
A Christmas Eve With a Tbilisi Twist
The company is based at the Opera and Ballet State Theatre in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, and its production photos carry a nod to home. One shows two performers in period dress sharing a drink on a bench in front of a painted street backdrop with a Hotel Tbilisi sign. Most versions of this ballet never leave a generic snowy European town, so a hand-painted street with a Tbilisi sign on it is a nice change.
Expect a full stage of dancers in the group numbers rather than a pared-down touring cast, and that’s exactly what you want from the snowflake and flower scenes.
In 2008, the company won a Herald Angels award at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Prima Ballerina in Charge
The company’s director is Nina Ananiashvili, a former prima ballerina at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre from 1981 to 2004 and a guest Principal Dancer at American Ballet Theatre from 1993 to 2009. She has led the Tbilisi ballet company as artistic director since September 2004.
Her trophy shelf is heavy. She became the first dancer from the former Soviet Union to be invited to Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, where she danced lead roles in 1988.
She’s clearly kept Singapore on her mind since Swan Lake. “Bringing Swan Lake to this magnificent country has been an unforgettable experience, and we eagerly look forward to being warmly welcomed back with The Nutcracker,” Ananiashvili said.
Which Seat, Which Show
For current prices, check the official ticket page.
The boxes deserve a second look if you’re going as four. The Grand Circle Box (4 Seats) starts from S$632, or S$158 a seat. You pay single-seat money and get a box to yourselves, which makes it the smartest splurge on the chart.
The 15% Early Bird and the 20% UOB pre-sale offers closed on 12 April.
For timing, our pick for families is the Saturday 2pm or Sunday 1pm matinee, since young kids will be wide awake and home before dinner. Friends coming straight from work have the Thursday or Friday 7.30pm shows.
🗓️ Date: Thursday, 26 November to Sunday, 29 November 2026
⏰ Time: Thursday and Friday 7.30pm; Saturday 2pm and 7.30pm; Sunday 1pm and 5.30pm
📍 Location: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands
⏳ Duration: Approximately 115 minutes, including a 20-minute intermission
🎟️ Tickets: See the official ticket page for prices
💳 Deal: 15% off for UOB cardmembers at Marina Bay Sands until the end of the season, subject to conditions
🛒 Booking: Marina Bay Sands, SISTIC and Klook
Christmas plans fill up fast. A sold-out company and a story nobody needs explained make The Nutcracker an easy yes for anyone who has wanted an excuse to see ballet live. Pick your showtime and grab seats through Marina Bay Sands, SISTIC or Klook before the Mouse King gets there first!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of Base Entertainment Asia.
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