The Nutcracker - Tchaikovsky`s perennial holiday ballet

Since 1995, The National Ballet of Canada has made a tradition out of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky`s beloved Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. Originally adapted from the E.T.A. Hoffmann story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”, The Nutcracker was first performed in 1892 and has been a holiday staple since the mid-twentieth century.

The Nutcracker follows the adventures of siblings Marie and Misha as they encounter a fantasy world with mice, gingerbread soldiers and the Sugar Plum Fairy, all in the company of a broken nutcracker that comes to life. Choreographer James Kudelka reinvents the story by setting it in Imperial Russia.