Photo credit: Midland Festival Ballet

What to watch: Midland Festival Ballet (MFB) lights up the Wagner Noël stage with The Nutcracker on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 21, at 2 p.m. Over 100 local dancers join world-class guest artists and the West Texas Symphony for two hours of swirling snow, epic battles, and pure holiday magic.

MFB, founded in 1993 as a pre-professional ensemble of student dancers, has made The Nutcracker a celebrated community tradition for over 30 years.

The big picture: MFB launched its inaugural Nutcracker in December 1994 at the Allison Fine Arts Center. The company aimed to create performance opportunities for students while bringing world-class ballet to West Texas. The debut featured over 50 local students from two Permian Basin dance schools. By 1995, the production expanded to include three guest-soloists from New York City Ballet, accompanied by the West Texas Symphony.

In 2011, MFB moved to the newly opened Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center, boosting production values with its 1,800-seat hall and superior acoustics, allowing for a full orchestra. The 2020 pandemic prompted ‘The Nutcracker Reimagined’, a filmed retelling narrated by local talent and broadcast via Basin PBS. The 2024 show marked the 30th anniversary.

For 2025, guest professionals from the New Jersey Ballet and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, New York, will fill the principal roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Cavalier, Snow Queen and King, Soldier Doll, and Arabian Coffee. Nutcracker preparations begin long before December, with auditions held at the end of August, rehearsals starting in early fall, and costume fittings in September and October.

MFB’s Nutcracker has performed for over 100,000 attendees since 1994, raising funds for scholarships and outreach while instilling a passion for ballet in West Texas youth.

Go deeper: This classic story is adapted from Hoffmann’s 1816 story ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’ and choreographed for the 1892 premiere at Russia’s Mariinsky Theatre, all set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score.

The story begins on Christmas Eve, when Young Clara receives a mysterious, maybe magical, Nutcracker from her godfather, Drosselmeyer. As midnight strikes, Clara starts to shrink, the Christmas tree grows sky-high, toys spring to life, and the Nutcracker leads a toy army against the Mouse King. They claim victory as the Nutcracker transforms into a prince and whisks Clara through a glittering Land of Snow to the Kingdom of Sweets.

There, the Sugar Plum Fairy commands a parade of delights, Spanish chocolate, Arabian coffee, Chinese tea, candy canes, and Mother Ginger’s tumbling children. A breathtaking grand performance by the Sugar Plum Fairy sends Clara home, Nutcracker in her arms, dream or reality left to the imagination.

What’s next: Prices range from $32-79. Tickets are on sale now for purchase online via the Wagner Noël website. Grab seats for Dec. 20 or 21 at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center – 1310 N. FM 1788.