Balanchine's beloved production, which premiered on February 2, 1954 at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York, helped to establish The Nutcracker and its score as perennial favorites in the United States, evident by the now countless versions of the ballet performed all over the country.  NYCB's acclaimed production is seen by more than 100,000 people annually and has been performed more than 2,300 times. 

Set to Tschaikovsky's glorious score, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ features choreography by Balanchine, scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska, and lighting by Mark Stanley, after the original designs by Ronald Bates.  The production includes the Company's entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as more than 125 children, in two alternating casts, from the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet.