What to Know
- The Inland Pacific Ballet's "The Nutcracker" is at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside on Dec. 11, 12, 18, and 19
- Los Angeles Ballet's "The Nutcracker" will enchant four theaters around our region, starting with the Alex Theatre in Glendale on Dec. 4
- The Long Beach Ballet will present "The Nutcracker" at the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention Center from Dec. 17-19
Finding fanciful fairies flitting around Southern California can be done throughout the calendar, if you know where to look.
There are the whimsical masquerade balls that unfurl around Halloween, and even in the summertime, too, which is a season that also sees plenty of outdoor Shakespeare productions (a playwright who was notably fond of enchanted characters and winged beings).
But fairydom is truly at its most regal and robust when December arrives, and "The Nutcracker" returns to our regional stages, delivering dance, music, and the ultra-iconic Sugar Plum Fairy.
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A number of productions will alight upon Southern California's snowy stages in the weeks ahead, giving fans of the Tchaikovsky ballet more choices than there are leaps in the legendary leap-laden show.
Los Angeles Ballet is known for twirling across the city throughout the final month, and so they shall again, with "Nutcracker"-tastic spectaculars headed for Glendale, Redondo Beach, UCLA Royce Hall, and The Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, where the troupe will dance to the music of a live orchestra.
The Inland Pacific Ballet will frolic at Riverside's grand Fox Performing Arts Center, a welcome homecoming, over several mid-December dates.
“The entire IPB team and the cast are so excited to return to the theater. The energy exchange between the audience and the performers is really what creates the magic," shared Zaylin Cano, Inland Pacific Ballet Executive Director.
"We hope our audiences will come out to see The Nutcracker this year to support keeping live performances possible in the Inland Empire region."
The American Ballet's take on the timeless tale will open at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa on Dec. 10, while The Long Beach Ballet presents the colorful whimsy over the third weekend of the month.
And if you're celebrating the season in the American Riviera? Enjoy the Santa Barbara Festival Ballet's interpretation of the treeful, oh-so-twinkly yarn at The Arlington.
