After arriving at a glamorous party in Candyland, the lead, Clara, catches the eye of the ‘Nutcracker Prince’, and the pair begin to dance flirtatiously. However, the ‘Mouse King’ also has his eyes set on Clara, and leaps from the balcony to make himself known. The atmosphere darkens, and a thrilling dance sequence begins as the men fight over Clara. The excitement intensifies to a create a monumental crescendo, but after coming to the rescue of the ‘Nutcracker Prince’, Clara rejoins her group of girlfriends to party the night away.

When assembling the cast for the Baileys Nutcracker spot, we had to find the best principal Ballerinas but also bring to life the iconic characters from The Nutcracker on screen. So performance and look were just as important as balletic ability.

Whilst Benjamin Millepied was working on the choreography in Los Angeles, we were casting in London. With the help of the Royal Ballet we found the best ballerinas in the company - bringing them together to workshop and rehearse with Benjamin and Ringan for a week before the shoot.

In our principal characters, we were keen to find dancers that embodied the characters they would play but would also work well together in look and style. Steven McRae and Thiago Soares stood out as perfect matches for the role of the mouse king and the Nutcracker Prince not only for their striking looks and incredible talent but having worked together in the past they quickly relaxed into the choreography and bought the drama and intensity needed for their roles.

To find our Clara we were looking for a particularly special dancer, a first rate principal ballerina but also a woman that the modern audience could identify with. Iana Salenko from the Berlin State Ballet was the perfect fit. Over from Germany for a season in the Royal Ballet, she was the epitomy of the spirited modern woman to lead our Baileys Nutcracker.