The Nutcracker®
The Nutcracker leaps from the stage with prize-fighting mice, gallant toy soldiers, dancing candy canes, and waltzing flowers. Tchaikovsky’s glorious score guides young Marie and her Prince through a fantastical dreamworld in this beloved holiday tradition.
Recommended for ages 4 and older.
2:15 total, includes a 15 minute intermission
The Nutcracker is a beloved show, for both dancers and audiences alike.
“We’re very excited to be able to bring it every season,” says Angel Corella, Artistic Director for Philadelphia Ballet. “It’s turned into the number one holiday tradition.”
Performances By Date
** Sensory Friendly Performance
◊ School matinee
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It is difficult to overstate the depth and breadth of the artistry and influence of choreographer, George Balanchine. Called the ‘Father of American Ballet,’ he combined a reverence for the classical training he received as a boy in St. Petersburg with ferocious originality and commitment to modernism. He and his many brilliant collaborators, including Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky, Georges Rouault, and Karinska, among many, many others, transformed ballet into a 20th century artform. Balanchine’s influence as a teacher is every bit as paradigm-changing as the repertoire he created. When our own founder, Barbara Weisberger (herself a protégée of Balanchine) conceived of Philadelphia Ballet, Balanchine insisted, “But first, a school.”
The music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky constitutes one of the pillars of the orchestral repertoire and the very foundation of classical ballet. Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable melodies, inventive harmonies, and ground-breaking orchestrations make his music both loveable and eternal. Ballet audiences are fortunate to hear not only the works he intended for dance, such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, but also a wide variety of orchestral pieces that have been choreographed by great dance-makers, such as George Balanchine.