Ballet Academy of Missouri: The Nutcracker

Ballet Academy of Missouri: The Nutcracker at Folly Theater

A wooden nutcracker doll turns into the doorway to an entire world. That's the kind of Christmas gift every child dreams about, and Clara’s encounter with a mysterious gift sets off one of ballet's most beloved adventures when the Ballet Academy of Missouri brings The Nutcracker to Kansas City's Folly Theater. Drosselmeyer's party trick opens onto toy soldiers in battle formation, scurrying mice, and realms where snow falls and confections rule.

Tchaikovsky’s music makes snow and sweets into two wonderfully different ballet worlds. The enchanted Snow and Kingdom of Sweets sequences carry Clara—and you—from icy elegance to pure sugarcoated whimsy. The Snow Queen, Sugar Plum Fairy and Dew Drop Fairy give the fantasy different personalities to anticipate. For a child, meeting those characters is part of the fun; for ballet lovers, the familiar score is an attraction of its own. Each world brings its own flavor, its own rhythm, and Tchaikovsky knew exactly how to make a waltz feel like falling snowflakes or a dance of the reed flutes sound like spun sugar.

Folly's setting promises the colorful costumes and special effects that turn a familiar fairy tale into theatrical spectacle. The battle between toy soldiers and mice gives the adventure a playful danger before Clara’s journey opens into snow and sweets. The Ballet Academy of Missouri's dancers bring the fantasy to life, and the Folly frames it all in the kind of historic elegance Kansas City does well.

Grab your tickets and join Clara's adventure this November.