Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker

Boston Ballet performs Mikko Nissinen's The Nutcracker, with the Boston Ballet Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's score under Music Director Mischa Santora. Clara Silberhaus travels on Christmas Eve to the Kingdom of the Sweets, by way of a dancing bear, a growing Christmas tree and the battle with the mice. The company calls it some of the most technically demanding choreography in classical ballet, from the snow scene and grand pas de deux to the high-flying Russian Troika, and 83 Boston Ballet School students join the cast. The Boston Herald called it a grand piece of art, complex and compelling.

Our take: Dress in layers; the company keeps the theater warm for the dancers during the roughly two-hour show.