Name: The Nutcracker
Start: 2024-12-21T19:00:00-08:00
Location: John Van Duzer Theatre

The 12th annual holiday classic, The Nutcracker, which will feature talent from local ballet company members and studio students. Three performances of this much-loved ballet classic come to Cal Poly Humboldt’s Van Duzer Theater on December 21st and 22nd.
The timeless music of Tchaikovsky weaves the story of Clara and her Nutcracker and features iconic dances like the Sugar Plum Fairy solo and the epic battle between the Nutcracker and Rat King. A cast of 80 dancers, including sixteen pre-professional Sundance Ballet Company members will perform the two hour, traditional version of the ballet.
Select students of the Dance Scene Studio will join the company members to present three performances of the Nutcracker at the Van Duzer Theater: Saturday, December 21st at 7:00 p.m., then two shows on Sunday, December 22nd at 2:00 p.m. and at 7:00 p.m. Company member Ruby Reid is a senior at St. Bernards High School and is dancing in the Nutcracker as Spanish Chocolate, Lead Snowflake, and Rose. She has been dancing at The Dance Scene Studio since she was six years old and has always loved being in the Nutcracker. This is her tenth and final Nutcracker before she goes to college next year.
One student who worked her way up through the years at the studio, Norah Souza, will dance the coveted role of Clara. Sundance Ballet Company Artistic Director Carrie Badeaux said, “I love the opening of the second act this year. The first act has so much excitement and thrill and then the second act really brings all the sweetness and grandeur of refined ballet. Our dancers perform very challenging and technical choreography.” Nutcracker excitement begins with the Party Scene with Clara and continues on a whimsical journey that the dancers have rehearsed hard to perfect.
Advance tickets for the performance are $15 for children ages twelve and under or $20 for adults. At the door ticket prices are $20 for children and $25 for adults. Tickets may be purchased online at DanceEureka.com, at Wildberries Marketplace in Arcata, or at The Dance Scene Studio in Eureka.