More than 13,000 tickets have been sold, reflecting unusually high sales, said Ballet West artistic director Adam Sklute.

After taking a year off for live performances last year, when Salt Lake County art venues were closed due to the pandemic, Ballet West is resuming its traditional holiday production of “The Nutcracker.” .

The first performances will be on Friday, November 26 at Ogden at 7 p.m. and Saturday, November 27 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Val A. Browning Center at Weber State University, 3750 Harrison Blvd.

“The Nutcracker” will then run for 23 morning and evening performances, December 4-26, at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. Most evening performances start at 7:00 p.m., with mornings at 2:00 p.m., and there will be a special party matinee on Christmas Eve at noon.

At a recent rehearsal, dancers, ballet students and children wore masks as they practiced the movements of the ballet, choreographed by Ballet West founder Willam Christensen.

Hundreds of children from across Intermountain West audition for roles, and being selected and performing in the annual production “has become a tradition for generations of families,” said Adam Sklute, artistic director of Ballet West .

Ticket prices range from $ 25 to $ 125 and are available on BalletWest.org or by calling 801-869-6900.

Over 13,000 tickets have been sold, meaning Ballet West is on track to reach its highest level of sales in 25 years, Sklute said in a press release. “We encourage all ‘The Nutcracker ‘ fans buy tickets in advance so that they have a seat and don’t miss a thing.

Based on ETA Hoffmann’s fairy tale, the $ 3 million production is set to Tchaikovsky’s score and presented in two acts. The presentation of Christensen’s version in 1944 is considered America’s first complete production and is potentially the world’s oldest “Nutcracker”, according to Ballet West.

It tells the story of young Clara, who receives a nutcracker as a gift from her uncle, Herr Drosselmeyer, at a Christmas party.

“After the party, she falls asleep and dreams that her nutcracker has turned into a handsome prince,” Sklute said in the statement. “Together, they travel to the land of sweets, where they are entertained by dances from all over the world”, on the score performed by the Ballet West Orchestra.

The sponsors of Ballet West’s 2021-2022 season are the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation and the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts and Parks program, which distributes tax revenues to arts and recreation programs. La George S. and Dolores Doré The Eccles Foundation and Intermountain Healthcare, the official medical supplier of Ballet West, are the sponsors of the production of “The Nutcracker”.