Nutcracker Ballet - St. Petersburg (FL)

The beloved family tradition is back: NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet! Gather your loved ones for the warm-glow-nostalgia of America’s favorite Christmas celebration. Experience the extraordinary international cast and Ukrainian Principal Artists performing at the peak of classical European Ballet. Be transported by the magic of jaw-dropping acrobatics, larger than life puppets and stunning hand-crafted sets and costumes. Don’t miss this chance to experience the wonder of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet. Get tickets now!

Welcome to the home of NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet in St. Petersburg:The Mahaffey Theater. The theater at the Duke Energy Center for the Arts first opened as part of the Bayfront Center entertainment complex in 1965. It is a 2,031-seat venue that also features European box-style seating as well as a ballroom space. The theater has hosted various performances, such as the Florida Orchestra, Riverdance, and several traveling Broadway tours, and is a supporter of the Class Acts program, which allows St. Petersburg-area children to experience the performing arts through in-theater performances and in-school programs. The Mahaffey will soon present Kenny Rogers, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Martina McBride, among others.

Nutcracker wouldn’t be Nutcracker without the local Children’s cast! Dancing alongside the full international professional cast are local Florida children from Pinellas Studio of Dance. Pinellas Studio of Dance is the longest continuously operating studio in St. Petersburg and is one of the longest operating and best-known dance schools in Central Florida with more than 40 years of guiding scores of dancers into America's most prestigious ballet companies. Former students have danced with many ballet companies including three dancers invited to the New York City Ballet, and others to Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and many others. Founder Judith Lee Johnson studied as a child with one of St. Petersburg's few dance teachers, Lois Eborn who took Judith for her first audition at NYC Ballet where she was invited to return every summer thereafter. She also went to Cuba and studied at the world-renowned Alicia Alonso School in Havana. She was one of 60 teachers nationwide to be invited by NYC Ballet to attend a week-long teacher's seminar with George Balanchine. Daniel Ulbricht was Judith’s first student to be accepted into New York City Ballet where he is now a Principal dancer. Wendy Selleck and Lisa Walker took over the studio rather than see it close when Ms. Judy retired in 2016 and they have increased classes offered in the city Recreation centers of St. Petersburg and Gulfport each year since that time.