Michael Corder’s 2007 ballet, The Snow Queen, has joined the Czech National Ballet’s repertoire. Originally commissioned by the English National Ballet it has since had success in many companies worldwide.

Julian Philips created the score arranging music from Sergey Prokofiev’s final stage work, The Tale of the Stone Flower, and the all British team is completed with Mark Bailey who created the sets and costumes, and Paul Pyant who designed the lighting.

The story is of a cruel queen who casts a spell on the boy, Kay, by means of a shard from her magic mirror and imprisons him in her realm, where there is no room for love.

Dasa Wharton went to photograph the Czech National Ballet’s début both in front of, and behind, the curtain…

Czech company Preciosa decorated the costumes and created the jewellry for the ballet; 30,000 crystals adorn the costume of The Snow Queen.

First performance, Czech National Ballet, Prague, 3 March 2016.

All photos by Dasa Wharton