NYCBallet's George Balanchine's Presented THE NUTCRACKER On Marquee TV

For the upcoming holiday season New York City Ballet and Marquee TV will once again bring viewers around the world NYCB's acclaimed production of the beloved masterpiece George Balanchine's The Nutcracker in a special streaming event that will be available from November 26, 2021 through January 2, 2022 on Marquee TV.

Tickets will be available for purchase starting November 26 at 12pm EST at welcome.marquee.tv/nutcracker and will be priced at $20 in the United States. (Prices will vary internationally.)

NYCB's landmark version of the Balanchine favorite, which The New York Times has called "the gold standard" Nutcracker, premiered on February 2, 1954 and helped to establish The Nutcracker and its score as perennial favorites in the United States. A signature event of the holiday season in New York City, with the exception of the 2020 season when performances were cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the treasured classic had been performed by NYCB every year since its premiere more than 65 years ago.

Filmed during the Company's 2019 season at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center, the Marquee TV broadcast features recently retired NYCB Principal Dancer Maria Kowroski as the Sugarplum Fairy, Tyler Angle as Her Cavalier, Megan Fairchild as Dewdrop, and more than 50 other dancers from NYCB, the largest dance organization in America and one of the world's greatest ballet companies. The production also features the 62-piece New York City Ballet Orchestra under the direction of NYCB Music Director Andrew Litton, and more than 60 children from the School of American Ballet, the official school of NYCB.

This film of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker was captured in 2019 for use in "On Pointe," an original six-part docu-series produced by Imagine Documentaries and DCTV that followed the lives of several SAB students during the 2019-20 school year, including the children who perform the roles of Marie and the Nutcracker prince in the film. The "On Pointe" docu-series is currently streaming on Disney+.

"New York City Ballet and George Balanchine's The Nutcracker are essential parts of the holiday season in New York City and we are thrilled that through our partnership with Marquee TV audiences everywhere will once again have the opportunity to experience the beauty and magic of this treasured classic," said Jonathan Stafford, the Artistic Director of NYCB and SAB.

"We are thrilled to partner again with New York City Ballet to bring the magic and marvel of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to viewers around the world. This iconic production is a beloved holiday tradition to many and we look forward to sharing it with families again this holiday season," said Kathleya Afanador, co-founder of Marquee TV and Head of Content.

Set to Peter Ilyitch 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 design by Ronald Bates. Highlights of this world-renowned holiday production include a one-ton Christmas tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, an onstage snowstorm, and hundreds of elaborate costumes, including one for Mother Ginger that measures 9 feet wide and weighs 85 pounds. The production's grand finale involves one million watts of lighting, the most used in any New York City Ballet production. In addition to the Marquee TV streaming event, this year New York City Ballet will once again perform the production live from November 26 through January 2 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center.

For tickets and further information visit nycballet.com/nutcracker.