End of an era for Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker

It’s the end of an era for Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker, which has been a holiday tradition for local families for more than 50 years.  This is the final year that the company will perform choreographer John McFall’s version of the classic ballet, which means when the show returns next year, it will be in an entirely new production.

Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker is on-stage at the Fox Theatre Friday, December 8th through Thursday, December 28, featuring accompaniment by the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and the Georgia Youth Choir and the addition of hundreds of young local dancers.  The current production was staged by former Atlanta Ballet artistic director John McFall back in 1995, and utilizes eight tons of scenery and more than 20 pounds of snow to tell the tale of a young girl and her magical Christmas adventure. McFall’s production has been performed nearly 500 times over the past 22 years, but next year, Atlanta Ballet (under the direction of current artistic director Gennadi Nedvigin) will present an entirely new Nutcracker, choreographed by Yuri Possokhov of the San Francisco Ballet.  

Good Day Atlanta’s Paul Milliken spent the morning at the Fox Theatre, talking with Atlanta Ballet company members about this year’s historic and bittersweet engagement.