In the brief pause before the advent of what seems certain to be a tumultuous political era, dance offers a respite from anxiety, dread and depression.
The holiday season in particular is laden with performances that provide more than delight and diversion, tapping into memories of childhood, family outings, and magical worlds where even the fiercest conflicts evaporate upon waking.
The milestone hasn’t been widely noted, but 2024 is the 80th anniversary of the U.S. premiere of “The Nutcracker,” the ballet that has become a cultural touchstone and economic lifeline for hundreds of dance companies across the country. But what now seems like a fixed piece of the holiday landscape was hardly inevitable. The ballet’s introduction to American audiences wasn’t auspicious.
Looking to establish a dependable holiday hit in the midst of World War II, the fledging San Francisco Ballet Opera (as San Francisco Ballet was originally known) turned to “The Nutcracker” as a second choice in 1944, following a disappointing production of “Hansel and Gretel” the year before. The ballet slowly gained momentum, and with Balanchine’s iconic 1954 production, which has run annually in New York City ever since, “The Nutcracker” became a bona fide American institution.
Now there are nearly a dozen versions of “The Nutcracker” set to Tchaikovsky’s enchanting suite playing in the Bay Area alone, though the heroic piece of cutlery isn’t the only holiday dance star appearing on Bay Area stages.
Here’s a roundup of some of the many holiday dance productions.
San Francisco Ballet ‘Nutcracker’
Two decades after the premiere of Helgi Tomasson’s “Nutcracker,” the lavish production has become a Bay Area institution. Designed as a showcase for the company’s prodigious dancers, the ballet is set in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights in 1915. Employing Tchaikovsky’s complete score in the composer’s intended sequence, it’s an irresistible confection, with a steady flow of eye-popping décor, sets and costumes.
Details: Dec. 6-29; War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco; $19-$465; www.sfballet.org.
Dorrance Dance ‘The Nutcracker Suite’
The nation’s preeminent tap company presents the Bay Area premiere of its frothy production set to Duke Ellington’s and Billy Strayhorn’s classic jazz take on Tchaikovsky. Running 70 minutes, it’s a concise, contemporary and vividly hued show that riffs wildly on the source material.
Details: Dec. 14-15; Zellerbach Hall, Berkeley; $30-$150; calperformances.org
New Ballet ‘The San Jose Nutcracker’
A collaboration between San José’s New Ballet and Symphony San José conducted by Thomas Shoebotham, “The San Jose Nutcracker” is a bespoke South Bay production set in 1905 amidst a then-bucolic region known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight. Choreographed by Dalia Rawson, New Ballet’s founder and artistic director, the production features New Ballet professionals, students from New Ballet’s American Ballet Theatre certified training program, and dancers from Los Lupenos Juvenil.
Details: Dec. 14-23; California Theatre, San Jose; $31.50-$121.50; newballet.com
Smuin Contemporary Ballet ‘Christmas Ballet’
Since premiering in 1995, Michael Smuin’s bifurcated “Christmas Ballet” revue has maintained its winning formula, with its two-act nice-and-naughty structure and alluring blend of foundational favorites (like the crimson ballerina elf-surfing to Eartha Kitt purring “Santa Baby”) and fresh additions. As originally conceived by Smuin, the production showcases the company’s versatility with an array of ballet, tap, and jazz.
Details: Dec. 5-8; Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts; Dec. 13-24; Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA, San Francisco; $25-$119; www.smuinballet.org.
Ballet Nepantla ‘Nacimiento’
Based deep in South Texas at the Edinburg Theatre, Ballet Nepantla combines contemporary dance and folkloric Mexican styles in “Nacimiento,” a two-part production that portrays pre-Hispanic rituals and the impact of colonization on the Americas followed by a Posada celebration with Mexican Christmas traditions and a retelling of the Nativity.
Details: Dec. 14-15; Brava Theater Center, San Francisco; $23.25-$54.25; www.brava.org
Grand Kyiv Ballet “Nutcracker”
Founded by Ukrainian star Oleksandr Stoianov, who’s now based in the Seattle area with his wife, prima ballerina Kateryna Kukhar, Grand Kyiv Ballet has become the international face of Ukraine’s dazzling ballet scene. The “Nutcracker” production faithfully renders E.T.A. Hoffmann’s fantastical tale of Clara’s nocturnal adventures.
Details: 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Brava Theatre, San Francisco; $53.25; www.brava.org; Wednesday though Dec. 6 a65 Hammer Theatre Center, San Jose; $44-$130; hammertheatre.com; Dec. 30-31 at Palace of the Fine Arts Theatre, San Francisco; $39-$69; www.palaceoffinearts.org; Jan. 3 at Chabot College Performing Arts Center, Hayward; $29-$68; www.purplepass.com.
And more productions …
The Bay Area offers a wide variety of additional “Nutcracker” productions, including abbreviated versions aimed at young dance fans to a hip-hop take on the classic. Here are some of the productions.
ODC Dance, “The Velveteen Rabbit”: Adapted from the beloved kids book by Margery Williams, this annual favorite from ODC/Dance Theater returns for its 38th year; Saturday through Dec. 8; ODC Theater, San Francisco; $30-$129; odc.dance.
Mark Foehringer Dance Project: The popular company presents a roughly 1-hour “Nutcracker” with young viewers in mind, titled “Mark Foehringer’s Nutcracker Sweets”; Dec. 7-22; Cowell Theater, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, San Francisco; $23.50-$59.50; nutcrackersweets.org.
San Jose Dance Theatre “Original San Jose Nutcracker”: Dec. 6-15; San Jose Center for the Performing Arts; $39.50-$115; www.sjdt.org.
Oakland Ballet Company, “Graham Lustig’s The Nutcracker”: A longtime East Bay tradition, with accompaniment by Oakland Symphony and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir; 1 p.m. Dec. 21-22; Paramount Theatre, Oakland; $34.30-$116.60; oaklandballet.org.
Berkeley City Ballet “Nutcracker 2024”: 1 and 5 p.m. Dec. 21; Alan Harvey Theater, Piedmont; $35; berkeleycityballet.org.
Marin Ballet “Nutcracker”: Dec. 7-8; Novato High School Center for the Arts, Novato; $32.49-$55.59; marinballet.org.
Peninsula Ballet Theatre “Nutcracker”: 2 p.m. Dec. 21-22; San Mateo Performing Arts Center; $35-$70; www.peninsulalivelyarts.org.
“Hip-Hop Nutcracker”: 2 p.m. Dec. 21-22; Fox Theatre, Redwood City; $35-$70; www.peninsulalivelyarts.org.