Oregon Ballet Theatre presents George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, a sparkling winter tale set to Tchaikovsky's festive score with the OBT Orchestra.
Oregon Ballet Theatre brings George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to Keller Auditorium on Saturday, December 19, 2026. It's a holiday tradition for a reason: Marie's mysterious godfather gives her a magical Nutcracker that comes to life, and she and her Nutcracker Prince set off on a Christmas Eve adventure to the Land of Sweets, complete with the battle with the Mouse King and the Sugar Plum Fairy. The music is by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose ballets, alongside Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, are among his best-known works.
The staging is by Oregon Ballet Theatre, the largest professional ballet company in the state. Their dancers put in thousands of hours of training, and their productions are known for meticulous attention to detail, from the choreography to the costumes and sets. The OBT Orchestra will be performing Tchaikovsky's score live, so you'll hear the music as it's played in the room rather than from a recording.
The choreography comes from George Balanchine, who was born in St. Petersburg and became a Georgian-American choreographer and one of the most influential of the 20th century. Often called the 'father of American ballet,' he co-founded the New York City Ballet and remained its Artistic Director for more than 35 years, during which he developed a signature neoclassical style.
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Tickets start at $63, and the performance is at Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay St, Portland, OR 97201.
