Year after year, The Nutcracker is Project Ballet’s biggest annual event, normally featuring more than one hundred local children and bringing in thousands of spectators. The classic production is a traditional Christmas time favorite, but last year’s performances were unable to be staged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Things are now opening up enough for us to witness some very special presentations. Postponed for five months, The Nutcracker in May will now take place on May 13-16 on the stage of the historic Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne. 

It will feature a modified production in order to meet pandemic protocols. The cast size has been reduced by 40 percent and the choreography has been altered. Rehearsals were often conducted remotely and musical interludes have been added to aid in safety behind-the-scenes, but all the magic remains. 

Follow along with this magnificent tale as a little girl falls asleep on Christmas Eve after a party at her home and dreams herself into a fantastic world where toys become larger than life. Her beloved Nutcracker comes to life and defends her from the Mouse King. 

Project Ballet is a Fort Wayne-based not-for-profit organization offering a full youth ballet curriculum for 3- to 18-year-old dancers. It is often recognized as one of the finest ballet schools in the country with accolades from some of the top ballet companies, universities, choreographers, and master teachers in the field.