2024 Nutcracker Lobby Experiences
Make your visit to George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® even more magical at your chosen performance with an extra-special lobby theme!
Behind-the-Scenes of The Nutcracker with PNB Production Stage Manager Sandy Barrack
Many people's favorite Nutcracker moment is an impressive feat of stagecraft, like the tree growing on stage or the snow falling on the dancers. Today on the blog, PNB Production Stage Manager Sandy Barrack takes us behind the scenes for some of these iconic moments. Click here to learn about the secret, backstage performance in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker®!
NEXT STEP: Choreographic conversation and interview with program coordinator Eva Stone
Company dancer and fellow choreographer, Leah Terada, sat down with Eva Stone in November of 2024 to scratch at the core of the NEXT STEP program and peek at Stone’s pedagogy for this admirable choreographic endeavor. Click here to read more!
PNB’s Resident Mouse King, Erik Andor: The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and Beyond
Erik Andor, and his eponymous Andor Studio, fabricated the mice costumes you see on stage during The Nutcracker. (And one giant, can’t-be-missed Mouse King costume.) The studio is also in the process of creating royal tiaras, mice puppets, and a large ogre body puppet (performed by two dancers) for PNB’s upcoming production of The Sleeping Beauty. Click here to learn more about building these dramatic elements.
Executive Director’s Notebook: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® 2024
Welcome to Marion Oliver McCaw Hall and Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®. Thank you, from all of us at PNB, for choosing to celebrate the season with us. We hear from many ballet-goers whose first experience with PNB and the artform of ballet is through The Nutcracker...
Artistic Director’s Notebook: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker® 2024
Welcome to George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®. We debuted this whimsical production, designed by children’s book author Ian Falconer, in 2015. After almost a decade, we are closing in on 400 performances. Perhaps this is your first time seeing the show, or maybe you have seen it often enough to know when the bunny pulls the Mouse King’s tail, or when Mother Ginger shows off her flock of dancing children, or when the pair of prancing reindeer take flight...
Paul Tazewell at PNB
Costume designer Paul Tazewell is at the top of his field. He has designed for all types of productions, from the silver screen to the opera, and he has received multiple prestigious awards for his work. PNB is a special fan of Paul, as he is the costume designer for our production of Swan Lake and the new The Sleeping Beauty. Read on to learn more about Paul and see beautiful behind-the-scenes images of his costume designs for PNB!
5 Reasons Why The Nutcracker is a Holiday Favorite
George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker© at Pacific Northwest Ballet is the Northwest’s favorite festive tradition! But what makes this ballet so beloved? Read on to learn five reasons why The Nutcracker is a holiday favorite!
Which Balanchine Ballet Are You? Quiz
PNB's current program, ALL BALANCHINE, highlights the range and creativity George Balanchine brought to all of his work. The three featured ballets (Prodigal Son, Square Dance, and Stravinsky Violin Concerto) are selected from different periods of Balanchine's career to showcase his full breadth and depth as a choreographer. But if you were a Balanchine ballet, which would you be? Answer the questions in this quick quiz to reveal your result!
Prodigal Son Through the Years at PNB
PNB first performed George Balanchine's Prodigal Son in 1984. Today on the PNB Blog, we celebrate Prodigal Son's 95th anniversary, as well as the beloved ballet's 40th anniversary here at PNB! Travel back in time with these archival photos of PNB's Prodigal Son performances through the years.