The Nutcracker

George Balanchine’s choreography masterfully brings to life one of the great 19th-century children's stories, E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Nutcracker and The Mouse King (1816), a tale that celebrates imagination, adventure, and courage.

The choreography is so wonderfully intricate and layered that you discover something new every time you see it. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s extraordinary music has been described as “both abundant and perfect” by The New York Times. From the very first note, the grandeur of the music raises goosebumps of anticipation.

In 2017, Isabel and Ruben Toledo re-imagined the original costume and set designs for Miami City Ballet, using the mood and feeling of South Florida to influence the vibrant colors and exciting stage effects.

While the sets and costumes have been re-imagined, it is Balanchine's choreography that endures; conveying the classic holiday tale of a brave little girl named Marie and her dashing Nutcracker journeying through a sparkling forest of dancing snowflakes, battling the ferocious Mouse King and befriending the Sugarplum Fairy and a host of colorful characters in the Land of Sweets.