This week's new dance

Northern Ballet: The Nutcracker, On tour The annual Christmas Nutcracker takeover is well under way, but the various productions currently touring the UK differ wildly in what they offer. In the absence of a definitive choreographic text, directors can opt for a prettily old fashioned staging or for a dramatic, modern update. David Nixon's version for Northern Ballet finds a rare middle way, putting a fresh spin on what is still a very traditional-looking production. Casting Herr Drosselmeyer as a travelling adventurer who fascinates little Clara with his tales of the world, Nixon allows the ballet to travel to all the places in Drosselmeyer's mental scrapbook from an extravagantly blizzardy snow scene to an oriental Kingdom of Sweets, populated with a stylish international court. Palace Theatre, Manchester, Tue to 27 Nov Ballet Ireland: Romeo And Juliet, On tour Morgann Runacre-Temple's new version of Romeo & Juliet, touring Ireland until mid-December, updates Shakespeare's story of star-crossed lovers to the modern day. Constructed as a story within a story, the cast appear first as students, preparing to rehearse the production under the eye of a demanding teacher. Unimpressed at first by this ancient, apparently irrelevant tale, their defences come down when they discover its enduring passions. Runacre-Temple's production scales the action down to just 15 dancers with Irish-born Zoe Ashe-Browne making her debut as Juliet this season aged 21. Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Wed; Wexford Opera House, Thu; Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny, Fri Birmingham Royal Ballet: Cinderella, Birmingham David Bintley's Christmas present to Birmingham this year is a new staging of Cinderella, set to Prokofiev's 1943 score. In many ways Bintley's storytelling won't be departing from the fairytale, nor will John Macfarlane's designs fall short on tinsel, tutus and period detail. But in his determination to find his own take on the ballet and set it apart from Ashton's classic 1948 version Bintley is mining the story for a more profound subtext of suffering and redemption. His Cinderella opens the ballet as a prisoner and an orphan, abused by everyone around her, and what she finds at the end is not so much a rich husband as a transcendent form of true love. Birmingham Hippodrome, Wed to 12 Dec