Marie and Franz have a new guest at their Christmas Eve party this year. Emma Lookatch and Larke Johnson, both dancers in the Adaptive Dance Program at Joffrey Academy of Dance: Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, are alternating in the new role of Worker Girl. It is a permanent part created specifically for students […]

The holiday season is coming our way, and with it good cheer, a giving spirit and, of course, The Nutcracker. Our favorite photography duo, Dancers & Dogs, has found a way to garner that energy for a good cause: pet adoption. Pratt + Kreidich Photography, Courtesy Dancers & Dogs Kelly Pratt and Ian Kreidich, the […]

There are Nutcracker socks, Nutcracker ugly sweaters and even Nutcracker LEGO sets. And now, for that moment when you want even more Nutcracker in your life, there’s Nutcracker beer. Ohio’s local Taft’s Brewery Company is collaborating with Cincinnati Ballet to create a Nutcracker Ale that seems to be taken straight out of the Land of […]

With Halloween behind us, it’s officially that time of year. No, we don’t mean the holidays. People who say the holidays are the busiest season don’t know what it’s like to be a ballet dancer. Because nothing beats the craziness of Nutcracker time. Fortunately, Dance Magazine has gathered all kinds of tips over the years […]

It’s Nutcracker time again: the season of sweet delights and a sparkling good time—if we’re able to ignore the sour taste left behind by the outdated racial stereotypes so often portrayed in the second act. In 2017, as a result of a growing list of letters from audience members, to New York City Ballet’s ballet […]

This year I expected to be cast in a solo role in Nutcracker after adding private lessons and Pilates to my schedule. Yet I only landed a demi-solo part. How should I deal with this setback? —Wannabe Sugar Plum, Bethpage, NY Celebrate it! After all, you are moving in the right direction. There are only […]

Jennifer Garner wants the world to know that she takes game day seriously—and she’s not talking about football. For ballet dancers during December, there’s obviously only one type of “game day.” Nutcracker, of course. Garner is a highly documented ballet lover, and, this time, she went the extra mile to show her dedication. Thankfully, she […]

As conversations in the ballet world about race and representation have opened up in the past few years, its most beloved holiday tradition, The Nutcracker, has come under scrutiny as well. Last year New York City Ballet made changes to its second act Chinese Tea variation, removing elements of racial caricature from both the costume […]