Live From Lincoln Center: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker

Live from Lincoln Center returns to the New York City Ballet for "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker," live from David H. Koch Theater.

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Scene from "The Nutcracker" with New York City Ballet company.

Courtesy of ©Paul Kolnik

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Scene from "The Nutcracker" with New York City Ballet company.

Courtesy of ©Erin Baiano/Paul Kolnik Studio

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Scene from "The Nutcracker" with New York City Ballet company.

Courtesy of ©Erin Baiano/Paul Kolnik Studio

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New York City Ballet dancer as The Nutcracker.

Courtesy of ©Paul Kolnik

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New York City Ballet dancer Tom Gold.

Courtesy of ©Erin Baiano/Paul Kolnik Studio

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Jenifer Ringer as the Sugarplum Fairy.

Courtesy of ©Erin Baiano/Paul Kolnik Studio

Set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score, "Balanchine’s Nutcracker" features New York City Ballet’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as two alternating casts of 50 children from the School of American Ballet, the New York City Ballet’s official school.

In addition to Balanchine’s choreography, the seminal work features scenery by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, costumes by Karinska and lighting by Mark Stanley, after the original design by Ronald Bates.

The live television broadcast will be hosted by School of American Ballet board member Chelsea Clinton, who danced several roles in the ballet with Ballet Arkansas from 1985-1992 and then the Washington Ballet from 1993-1996.

In a Lincoln Center first, the program will also bring the holiday classic to service men and women around the world via a Christmas Eve re-broadcast on the American Forces Network.

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