Photos courtesy of the Long Beach Ballet.

One of the world’s most famous ballets will be performed, as is holiday tradition, in Long Beach this month, with six performances of The Nutcracker at the Long Beach Terrace Theater on December 13, 14, 20 and 21. A truly enchanting story and production, The Nutcracker is a tradition not to be missed.

The Long Beach Ballet is the only ballet company in Southern California that has a full symphony orchestra and is only one of two companies in the country that utilize two harps for The Nutcracker production, in an effort to ensure that the performance sounds just as Tchaikovsky intended it.

David Wilcox, the Long Beach Ballet’s Artistic Director and a former ballet virtuoso himself, says he is ecstatic to bring the power, strength, grace and artistry of production to this timeless classic.

“I like using the beauty of the classical art form of ballet, which has taken 500 years to develop to the level that it is today, to form a production that’s enticing and exciting,” said Wilcox in an earlier statement. “I have pyrotechnics, I have magic; I’ve got everything I can think of to make it thrilling. This production is not just for people who like ballet. You can hate ballet and you’ll still like this production.”

Born in Los Angeles, David Wilcox began studying dance at the age of eleven. He continued his studies in London and thus began his professional career in Germany at the age of nineteen. In 1981, he co-founded Long Beach Ballet which became Southern California’s most successful ballet company for 15 years. 

Show times are Saturdays, December 13 and 20, at 2:00PM and 7:30PM, and Sundays, December 14 and 21, at 2:00PM., at the Long Beach Terrace Theater. Tickets can be purchased through the Long Beach Ballet “Hotline” at (877) 852-3177, at all TicketMaster outlets, and the Long Beach Performing Arts Center Main Box Office. Family-friendly ticket prices start at $22.40 with choice seats only $65.00 for adults and $52.00 for children.