'Magic' Nutcracker starts its annual Royal Winnipeg Ballet run Thursday night

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet's run of the Christmas classic TheNutcrackeris pirouetting into the holiday season starting Thursday night.

The RWB's show is a Canadian take on the more than century-old ballet, featuring Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's famous score. Ittells the story of Claraa little girlwho, in theRWB'sversion, lives in a Winnipeghome in 1913and is transported into a magical world by a Christmas gift.

The RWB performs the show every year, but artistic directorAndr Lewis says the spell it casts never gets old.

"The magic is kept by the dancers, ultimately," Lewis said. "Yes, of course, we take care of the sets, the costumes, the props, the lighting, and all of those things that are important. But ultimately, it's the dancers that bring it to life."

Royal Winnipeg Ballet's The Nutcracker

7 years ago

Duration 0:45

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet presents The Nutcracker Dec. 21 to 30, 2017.

The show features several Canadian touches, he said, including a hockey game, a Hudson's Bay blanket, mounted police officers and more. In years gone by it has featured some Winnipeg athletes in walk-on roles.

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Even those who have seen the show in years past,Lewis said, haven't necessarilyseen it all before.

"Each performance is different. You can come and see eight shows and you'll see eight different ways of interpretation from an artist," he said.

"You can't say, 'Well, I've seen this Nutcracker once, so I've seen it all.' You haven't. You haven't even touched a little bit."

The show will run at theCentennial Concert Hall from Dec. 21 to Dec. 30. Tickets are available online. You can also calltheRWBBox Office at204-956-2792.

The ballet issued a news release Thursday, though, warning about fraudulent websitesand online ads advertising tickets to the show, and cautioning patrons to buy through the RWB itself.

"These websites are a scam and frequently charge significantly more for tickets," the release said.