Welcome from the Artistic Director

Welcome

Dear Friends,

Welcome back to the theater! I am delighted you are here to enjoy the holidays at The Nutcracker. This ballet is a quintessential celebration of the season, and it’s wonderful to have it back onstage after a year away.

If this is your first time seeing our Company, you are in for a treat. This is an incredibly talented and passionate group of dancers and I am proud of their resilience over the past two years. If you are a longtime patron, I am so glad to see you again. I hope you are captivated by the magic of this classic story.

The Nutcracker is one of the most beloved ballets of all time, but did you know that wasn’t always the case? The ballet premiered in Russia in 1892 and initially received mixed reviews. It debuted in the United States 52 years later, in 1944 at San Francisco Ballet. It wasn’t until George Balanchine premiered his reworked version in 1954 that the ballet gained its unparalleled popularity. Today, thousands of people around the world enjoy The Nutcracker as part of their holiday traditions.

Thank you for joining us for our Nutcracker tradition, and I invite you to make it a tradition of your own. Enjoy the show, and I hope to see you in the theater again very soon.

Happy Holidays,

Ben Stevenson, O.B.E. Artistic Director