The Nutcracker

A perennial yuletide favorite, "The Nutcracker" is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's classic ballet. It tells the story of Clara (the appealing Alexandra Farber) who is given a nutcracker toy at her parents' Christmas party. The nutcracker comes to life as a handsome prince and escorts Clara into an extraordinary dream visit to the Kingdom of Sweets.

"The Nutcracker" contains some of the most popular and beautiful musical suites of all time. Even if you're not a ballet or classical music aficionado you would recognize much of the music in "The Nutcracker."

But by the time the curtain rose on Texas Ballet Theater's production of "The Nutcracker," which opened Friday night at the Bass Performance Hall, this reviewer was in no mood for the show's beginning party scene.

Our usual 45-minute jaunt from Dallas to downtown Fort Worth turned into a 95-minute road trip in an ultra busy Friday night rush hour. The long journey across the metroplex turned a planned leisurely dinner in Sundance Square into a hurried grab and eat. And after a quick trot to the Bass we were exhausted as we took our seats.

But my crankiness only intensified when more than a dozen theater patrons arrived and were seated late. Apparently their tickets indicated an 8:15 curtain. And I was tempted to go Patti LuPone on one of the tardy patrons when she started to film the production on her iPad.

Much to my surprise, the early distractions that kept me from enjoying the start of "The Nutcracker" turned to intrigue when the party scene transformed into a ballet battle between the nutcracker and his toy soldiers versus the King Rat and his army of mice.

The costumes were captivating and the artists and students of Texas Ballet Theater were impressive especially considering the elaborateness of their headpieces. And as we saw earlier this season with his "Dracula," Choreographer Ben Stevenson is a master of staging action sequences seamlessly blending traditional ballet steps with moves naturally associated with the characters.

When the battle scene dissolved into the sparkly wintry wonderland, all my earlier rancor evaporated and I became thoroughly enchanted with this wondrous production. As the Snow Queen and Snow Prince, Carolyn Judson and Jiyan Dai were spectacular. Beyond great technique the pair have the unteachable ability to sell their performances. Despite a late Indian Summer day in the metroplex it felt as if the audience was transported to the north. The snow that fell inside the Bass as the curtain fell was a delightful bonus.

As the curtain rose on the second act I sat eager waiting for the enchantment to continue. But Stevenson shook things up for this international dreamy act choreographing a string of electric high-wattage performances.

Three pair of flamenco dancers kicked off the round the world tour in the Kingdom of Sweets. A crowd-pleasing pair of Chinese acrobats (Drake Humphreys and Joamanuel Velazquez) followed.

The big wow moment of the evening was the arrival of the Arabian dancers (Katelyn Clenaghan and Alexander Kotelenets) on a flying carpet. But the pure exotic athleticism of Clenaghan and Kotelenets was more impressive than the aerial effect. And Clenaghan's eyes alone could inspire their own ballet.

David Schrenk leaped to thunderous applause as the Russian Gopak while Paige Nyman and Brett Young were charming in the Waltz of the Flowers. But it was Texas Ballet Theater vets Leticia Oliveira and Andre Silva, playing the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince, who stopped the show with their magnificent Grand Pas de Deux.

If "The Nutcracker" isn't already part of your holiday traditions then this production is a game-changer. This magical ballet made a believer out of this harried reviewer. "The Nutcracker" will make you feel like Christmas has arrived.

"The Nutcracker," presented by Texas Ballet Theater, runs through Dec. 27 at Bass Performance Hall, 525 Commerce St., Fort Worth, Texas 76102. For information or tickets, call 817-212-4200 or visit www.basshall.com