The Nutcracker

Choreographer George Balanchine's production of Petipa and Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet The Nutcracker is a broadly popular version of the ballet often performed in the United States. Created for the New York City Ballet, its premiere took place on February 2, 1954, at City Center, New York, with costumes by Karinska, sets by Horace Armistead, and lighting and production by Jean Rosenthal.

With the exception of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, it has been performed in New York every year since 1954, and many other productions throughout the United States either imitate it, or directly use its staging and choreography.