THE NUTCRACKER SCHOOL SHOWS

Sponsored by H-E-B and the Powell Foundation. Endowed by Edie Rogat & Cotter Cunningham through the Ballet Austin Foundation.

As we approach our celebration of the 60th anniversary of Ballet Austin’s production of The Nutcracker, we are excited to once again welcome elementary school students to the Long Center for school shows of this beloved ballet.  For the past two years, we protected the health and safety of students, teachers, and our artists by serving campuses digitally, with recordings of the production, rather than in-person performances. This process revealed to us the immense value of digital delivery as a tool for increasing access, equity, and service capacity. Campuses that had not previously been able to sustain even the nominal cost of our in-person performances, and campuses whose geographic location made travel to the Long Center impossible, were able to experience this production for the first time. In an effort to honor and deepen the connections we’ve made with new campuses over the past two seasons (while also serving campuses who prefer to attend in-person), we are expanding our offerings to include both live and digital performances.

For our 60th anniversary of The Nutcracker, our school show options will now include two days of in-person performances at the Long Center, plus five additional days of virtual performances (recorded in a livestream format on December 1, 2022) for campuses unable to attend at the theater.

The Nutcracker School Shows in-person performances will take place December 7-8, 2022 at the Long Center for the Performing Arts

• Admission is limited to Kindergarten through 5th Grade students and their teachers and chaperones. No children younger than Kindergarten or older than 5th Grade are allowed to attend. Chaperones must be 18 years of age or older.
• A minimum of 10 students and one teacher per school is required for registration.
• We invite schools to register for either Act I or Act II. For groups wanting to attend both acts, please contact our Box Office at boxoffice@balletaustin.org or 512.476.2163 to purchase tickets for one of our public performances.
• For student safety, all teachers and chaperones attending in-person must have been registered and paid for by the school before November 4, 2022. All school employees must wear official school identification. Any adults who are not employees of the school must be included on a list of approved chaperones from the school, have a school ID or ID sticker from the school for the day of the school show, and be present to help escort students to and from the theater. All other adults will not be allowed to enter the theater.
• Individual tickets will not be sold for these performances. All tickets must be purchased through the school and all individuals must be included in the school’s attendance numbers. No tickets will be sold at the theater on performance days.
• All reservations must be confirmed by Ballet Austin. After you submit your registration information, you will receive an order confirmation via email signaling that your reservation is confirmed.
• All payment must be received before your campus attends The Nutcracker School Shows.

Students (minimum group size is 10 elementary-aged students):

In-Person Performances – Registration & Payment Schedule

Please enter the following dates in your calendar now to insure you meet all registration and payment deadlines.

In-Person Performances – Dates for Receiving Materials

• Monday,  November 14: All schools that have paid in full receive the link to The Nutcracker Docent Presentation videos and supplemental materials. All other schools receive these materials upon completion of payment.
• Week of November 14: All schools that have paid in full receive theater seating assignments and teacher information packets.

In-Person School Shows registration closed on Friday, November 4.

Please check back here in the spring for information about 2023 School Shows!

Each year Ballet Austin offers The Nutcracker docent program free to campuses that register for The Nutcracker School Shows to engage students in educational content and help contextualize their experience. This year’s presentation will be delivered virtually and includes fun elements such as video excerpts and simple dance activities. Learn more about the program here.