Pacific Northwest Ballet presents "Nutcracker"

The brilliant result of close collaboration between Pacific Northwest Ballet, Founding Artistic Director, Choreographer Kent Stowell and renowned children's book author/illustrator Maurice Sendak brought The Nutcracker premier to national acclaim in December 1983. Drawing on E.T.A. Hoffman's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, Stowell and Sendak delved deeply into the original story and infused the ballet with a drama and strength that fully complements Tchaikovsky's classic score. The following year saw the publication of Nutcracker, a new edition of the original Hoffman story, with illustrations by Sendak, that remained on the New York Times Best Seller List for eight weeks. In 1986, a feature-length film of the Stowell/Sendak Nutcracker was premiered in Seattle and released nationwide. In addition to annual Seattle performances, PNB has performed Nutcracker in Vancouver, Portland, and Minneapolis.