Nutcracker Ballets Around the North

Get Crackin'

By Lynda Wheatley | Dec. 4, 2021

Would it, could it, should it be Christmas without a performance of The Nutcracker Ballet? We think not. Luckily, you and your little mouse soldiers have options all over the region:

• The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts has three performances left: two 8pm performances Friday, Dec. 10 and Saturday, Dec. 11, and one 2pm performance Sunday, Dec. 12.  Dancers from Manistee, Mason, and Benzie counties will perform.
Something special to note: The original ballet, scored by Pytor Tchaikovsky and staged by Russian choreographer Marius Petipa, premiered in 1892, nearly the same time the Ramsdell was built. Even cooler, the "Dance of the SugarPlum Fairy" solo that audiences will see on the Ramsdell stage is the original Marius Petipa choreography. It was gifted to the current production’s director, Ingrid Bond, through Carol Greenaway, a Frankfort native and former professional ballerina, who learned it from the legendary Alexandra Danilova. ramsdelltheatre.org.

• Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet’s presentation of the ballet (pictured above; photo by Dave Harrell) will feature all-original choreography; you can see the school’s performances at 3pm or 6pm Dec. 11 and 3pm Dec. 12 at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts in Bay Harbor.  www.greatlakescfa.org

• Interlochen Arts Academy Dance Division will present their performances at 7:30pm Dec. 9, 10, and 11, plus two 2pm performances Dec. 11 and 12. www.interlochen.org/concerts-and-events