George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at Academy of Music

Get ready to welcome the holiday season with George Balanchine’s must-see classic! Watch The Nutcracker as it leaps from the stage with fighting mice, toy soldiers, dancing candy canes, and waltzing flowers. Set to Tchaikovsky’s enchanting score, this production is one of the most treasured holiday treats, and the Philadelphia Ballet’s sparkling production is one of the best! Returning for 2025, join Marie and the Nutcracker Prince as they transport audience members on an unforgettable journey across the world. Tchaikovsky’s music and Philadelphia Ballet will guide theatergoers through glimmering fields of snow, into the middle of grueling battles, and to the kingdom of the Sugar Plum Fairy. Expect to be immersed in spectacular sets and George Balanchine’s timeless choreography. Book your tickets now to experience this beloved holiday treat!

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker Tickets

“Two hours’ worth of sheer theatrical magic, something no one should ever feel too old, or too serious, to enjoy!” – Philly.com

“‘The Nutcracker’ is the dose of magic you need this holiday season” – Inquirer

Synopsis 

George Balanchine’s rendition of the Nutcracker is similar to the original Petipa libretto. Set on Christmas Eve in the Stahlbaum house, there’s lots of music, presents, and holiday cheer. The story follows the three Stahlbaum children as they’re excited and happy about the holidays. That is until the mysterious magician Drosselmeyer arrives with special gifts, including a wooden nutcracker. What starts as a simple gift turns into an amazing adventure which leads the children through a battle between mice and gingerbread men and into the magical Land of Sweets.

“You shouldn’t miss the wonderful holiday tradition” – Travel Blurbs

“Balanchine’s Nutcracker makes you believe in Christmas” – Backtrack

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at Academy of Music

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker is playing at the Academy of Music from 5th-31st December 2025. Located in Philadelphia, the venue is one of the oldest performance halls in the U.S. – the perfect location for a timeless and staple holiday event like George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. The Academy of Music opened its doors in 1857. Ever since, it has been stunning audiences with some of the world’s best artists and performers. Today, the venue hosts a variety of performances and seats up to 2,600 guests. Lovingly known as the “Grand Old Lady of Locust Street,” the Academy of Music is the home of the talented Philadelphia Ballet and Opera Philadelphia. The hall is so amazing that it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. And now you get to experience George Balanchine’s beloved Nutcracker against this beautiful backdrop! 

“Especially poignant and engaging” – The Wall Street Journal 

“chock full of gasp-worthy moments that stay with us forever” – Broad Street Review

Creative Team and Cast

The mastermind behind this version of the Nutcracker is George Balanchine. Lovingly known as the father of American ballet, George Balanchine combined the techniques which he learned at the Imperial Ballet in Moscow with the styles of dance seen in Broadway shows and movies of the forties and fifties. Created in 1955, his version of The Nutcracker is the most popular for American audiences. It’s performed every year by The Philadelphia Ballet (formerly known as the Pennsylvania Ballet).

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the Academy of Music features the principal artists of the Philadelphia Ballet. Principal dancers at the Philadelphia Ballet include Sterling Baca, Sydney Dolan, Yuka Iseda, Zecheng Liang, Nayara Lopes, Oksana Maslova, Mayara Pineiro, Ashton Roxander, So Jung Shin, Arian Molina Soca, Jack Thomas, and Dayesi Torriente. Students from the School of Philadelphia Ballet also perform in the production. Artistic staff at the ballet include artistic director Angel Corella, rehearsal director Charles Askegard, music director and conductor Beatrice Jona Affron, rehearsal director Laura Bowman Goldstein, and resident choreographer Juliano Nunes. Show after show, the brilliant creative team wins praise. “The opening phrases of Tchaikovsky’s familiar tunes, played by the impeccable Philadelphia Ballet Orchestra, conducted by Na’Zir McFadden and Beatrice Jona Affron, began as the stage lights came up and the gorgeous backdrop of the lush Stahlbaum home appeared. The scenic design by Peter Horne was simply exquisite,” cheers Critical Dance. 

History and Awards

George Balanchine was one of the most important ballet choreographers of the 1900s. He helped create the New York City Ballet. His version of The Nutcracker first premiered in 1954 in New York and became the most famous American version of the ballet. It is known and loved around the world for its beautiful sets, child dancers, and the magical growing Christmas tree.

The Philadelphia Ballet (then known as the Pennsylvania Ballet) began performing Balanchine’s Nutcracker at the Academy of Music in 1968. It quickly became a beloved holiday family tradition. In 2018, the company celebrated an impressive 50 years of performances. Fast forward to 2022 and over a whopping 35,000 people attended its return after the pandemic.

George Balanchine is no stranger to the spotlight. He’s received a number of awards for his amazing work, including the Kennedy Center Honor in 1978, the French Légion d’Honneur in 1975, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. 

Review

“There really is no more iconic Christmas dance tradition than The Nutcracker and when the Philadelphia Ballet stages it, fans from all over the area fill the seats at The Academy of Music. Whether it is to relive their youth or pass on a holiday tradition, ballet lovers, and some who barely know ballet, make the pilgrimage to Center City for the ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa that originiated in 1892.

Filled with lavish costumes and backdrops, the Philadelphia Ballet, under the artistic direction of Angel Corella, delivers the same rich George Balanchine choreography audiences have been mesmerized by since the 1950s. As entertaining as the original works the ballet performs can be, it is Corella’s precise mastery of Balanchine that is imbued into performances year after year that seemingly can transport grandparents to their youth and children into the Nutcracker tapestry simultaneously.”

– Scott Serio for Broadway World