Photo Coverage: Nashville Ballet's 10th Year of NASHVILLE'S NUTCRACKER

Nashville Ballet celebrates 10 years of Nashville's Nutcracker through December 23, at Tennessee Performing Arts Center's Andrew Jackson Hall with all-new magical elements to mark the occasion. Since its world premiere in 2008, Nashville Ballet artistic director and CEO Paul Vasterling's original take on the holiday season classic has cemented its place as one of Music City's most beloved traditions and the 2017 staging had its opening night on Saturday, December 2.

Nashville Ballet premiered The Nutcracker in 1989, but the production was reinvented as Nashville's Nutcracker in 2008 with a unique concept incorporating Nashville's vibrant past along with new choreography, sets, costumes and on-stage magic tricks. Now entering its 10th year, Nashville's Nutcracker debuts additional elements to celebrate the milestone.

"I added a few surprises for this anniversary year as a special way of saying thank you to the community for making us a part of their holiday tradition," Vasterling said. "For the first time, it'll snow on the audience during the iconic snow scene. Another big addition is the debut of a new youth cast role, the Dancing Bear Cavalry, which allows us to welcome even more young dancers on stage with us."

Along with 54 members of Nashville Ballet's professional dance company and Second Company, Nashville's Nutcracker will feature a youth cast of 296 young dancers from School of Nashville Ballet and the community-the largest youth cast in the organization's history. The local dancers, along with 60 members of the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony performing Tchaikovsky's celebrated score, transports audiences into a holiday dreamland filled with clever nods to Music City's sparkly past, including well-known landmarks and characters.

Beginning at the 1897 Centennial Exposition in Nashville, Clara and her Uncle Drosselmeyer meet a colorful cast of characters from faraway lands. When Uncle Drosselmeyer gifts Clara with a wooden Nutcracker on Christmas Eve, the toy magically transforms to life as a handsome prince and leads her through a remarkable adventure. Clara visits everyone from the Snow Queen to the Sugar Plum Fairy, including the spellbinding characters she met at the Exposition. When Clara finally returns home, the audience is left to decide if it was all just a dream-or not.

Tickets for Nashville's Nutcracker start at $35 and can be purchased in person at the TPAC box office downtown, by phone at (615) 782-4040 or online at www.NashvilleBallet.com. A complete schedule of 2017 performances is available at www.NashvilleBallet.com/Nashvilles-Nutcracker-2017.

About Nashville Ballet
Nashville Ballet is the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee. Nashville Ballet presents a varied repertoire of classical ballet and contemporary works by noted choreographers, including original works by Artistic Director & CEO Paul Vasterling. Nashville Ballet and the Second Company, NB2 (a pre-professional training company), provide more than 70,000 arts experiences to adults and children annually through season performances and its Community Engagement programming. Curriculum-based Community Engagement programs bring dance education to community centers, colleges, public libraries and public elementary, middle and high schools across the state. School of Nashville Ballet brings world-class dance instruction to students age 2 to 70.

Nashville Ballet receives public funding from Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Contributions from local, regional and national institutional funders and community partners, as well as hundreds of generous individuals, provide ongoing support of Nashville Ballet's mission-critical programs.