Seiskaya’s quintessential magic man, Warren Camhi, returns for an 11th season as the eccentric and redoubtable Herr Drosselmeyer / Photos Courtesy: Dimitri Papadakos/Seiskaya Ballet
Concerts & Shows Events Seasonal 

Visions of sugar-plums dance before you in “The Nutcracker”

Jaclyn Gangi , ,

Every year during the holidays – between the shopping, gift wrapping and parties – I try and make time to see a childhood favorite of mine, “The Nutcracker.” After seeing it for the first time at 7-years-old, it has become a December staple for me. Well, I’m in luck (and so are you), since the ballet is coming to the Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University, Dec. 16-19.

Seiskaya Ballet has been bringing “The Nutcracker” to the Stony Brook stage since 1995. The two-act ballet begins on Christmas Eve and follows a young girl, Clara, who receives a nutcracker as a gift from her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer. She experiences the nutcracker as it grows to life-size to defeat an evil Mouse King, take her to The Land of Sweets and more.

Dancers Nick Coppula and Brianna Jimenez enchant you with their ballet performances in “The Nutracker.”

“The Nutcracker” is suitable for all ages. Though ballets use song and imagery to tell a story, children will be able to marvel at the falling snow or the excitement of the battle scene. When I first saw it as a child, I remember watching the dancers in awe; just as I still do now. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas until I’ve heard “Trepak” (The Russian Dance).

So if you plan to go, enjoy the classic songs and be whisked away to The Land of Sweets, readers!

Seiskaya Ballet’s “The Nutcracker”
Staller Center for the Arts at Stony Brook University
100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook
631-632-2787 · stallercenter.com