‘Tis The Nutcracker season in Atlanta.
The holidays, bowl games and The Nutcracker are just around the corner. For dancers and ballet fans, The Nutcracker is a revered ritual; for others, it’s the one time of year they’ll venture to the ballet. Ironically, when the ballet was first performed in 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia, it was neither a holiday ballet nor a success. It wasn’t until the 1960s in the United States that the ballet became the popular holiday classic audiences enjoy today.
Whatever your experience with The Nutcracker, the greater Atlanta area has many versions to offer this season, from professional productions to quality school shows shining the spotlight on student dancers. (And if you’re looking for non-Nutcracker seasonal dance shows, never fear, they’re here too.)
Listings are alphabetical by city or neighborhood.
Atlanta
Ballethnic Dance Company’s Urban Nutcracker: December 9-11, Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College
Now in its 29th season, Ballethnic’s Urban Nutcracker brings its Auburn Avenue-themed version to the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel, where it premiered in 1991. It’s the first full-fledged production of this ballet since the pandemic. Set to the Tchaikovsky score with an additional drum piece composed by L. Gerard Reid, the story is set in the 1940s and features beloved characters such as the Coca Cola pas de six, Black Russians and Brown Sugar (performed by longtime company member Carla Tyson) and her Chocolatier.
Cumberland/Galleria
Atlanta Ballet’s The Nutcracker: December 9-26, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Yuri Possokhov created this technologically sophisticated production for Atlanta Ballet in 2018. ArtsATL editor-at-large Cynthia Bond Perry praised the production, writing that “Possokhov’s choreography draws out the lyricism of Tchaikovsky’s music while merging classical aesthetics with a contemporary drive and momentum as visual elements evoke E.T.A. Hoffmann’s era with crisp luminosity.” The production will include live music, as the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra plays the familiar score. The December 23 performance will feature Jacob Bush as Drosselmeyer in his final performance with Atlanta Ballet — he is leaving to explore musical theater and other dancing opportunities, having already been a dancing cast member in Out Front Theatre’s Kinky Boots.
Druid Hills/Virginia Highlands
Callanwolde School of Dance’s One More Light: December 8-10, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center
The Callanwolde School of Dance teams up with the Ebenezer Baptist Church Gospel Choir and local actor JR MCall to present an original dance and theater production based on a 1970s telethon. A post-show conversation will follow the December 9 performance featuring members of Ebenezer Baptist Church Gospel Choir of Atlanta and Choir Director, Dr. Patrice Turner.
Contemporary dance company Kit Modus will also bring dance to Callanwolde this season. Scion, choreographed by artistic director Jillian Mitchell, will be performed in the indoor courtyard on December 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Marietta
Georgia Ballet’s The Nutcracker: December 2-4, Jennie T. Anderson Theater; one sensory-friendly show on December 1
Company artists of the Georgia Ballet as well as students will take the stage accompanied by The Georgia Ballet Orchestra. The Marietta-based company ,whose repertory is focused on story ballets from Peter Pan to Coppelia, has been under the direction of Daet Rodriguez since 2015. The company will also present one sensory-friendly performance, designed for audiences with different sensory needs, shortened to one hour and featuring recorded music.
Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre and Terminus Student Company
A Christmas Carol Told Again: Marley Was Dead, To Begin With: December 9-10, Kennesaw State University Dance Theater
Applauded as a “sugar-free holiday classic that rings true on every level” by ArtsATL dance editor Gillian Anne Renault, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre melds movement, music and spoken word to retell Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a coldhearted soul’s transformation on a supernatural Christmas Eve. One crucial departure from the Dickens’ tale is that Marley here is a woman, Miss Marley.
On December 11, the Terminus Student Company will perform The Nutcracker Suite at the same venue.
Midtown
The Hip-Hop Nutcracker: December 13, The Fox Theatre
Classical ballet isn’t the only way to dance the holiday classic. The Hip-Hop Nutcracker, now in its 10th season, returns to the Fox Theatre with its unique spin on the ballet — literally, as break dancers perform head spins and other dazzling acrobatic moves. Choreographed by the busy Broadway dance-maker and director Jennifer Weber, it is set in New York City on New Year’s Eve. A powerhouse cast of a dozen all-star dancers, a DJ and a violinist bring the story to life in a whole new way. M.C. Kurtis Blow, one of hip hop’s founding fathers, with perform a brief opening set.
Roswell
Metropolitan Ballet Theatre, The Nutcracker: December 16-18, Blessed Trinity Catholic High School
Metropolitan Ballet Theatre’s Nutcracker bourrées back to Roswell for its 21st year. Performers are cast from the Alpharetta-based ballet school under the direction of former Atlanta Ballet dancer Maniya Barredo. As in past years, the production will offer a limited number of tickets to “Sugarplum Storytime” for young patrons before matinees. Attendees will hear the Sugarplum Fairy tell the story of the Nutcracker, meet the dancers, and enjoy sweets, punch and a souvenir.
Serenbe/Chattahoochee Hills
The Nutcracker Suite (Terminus Student Company): December 17-18 at The Pavilion at Serenbe Inn
The Terminus Student Company’s shorter version of Tchaikovsky’s ballet includes highlights such as the snow scene and dance of the sugar plum fairy.
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