SeeCalifornia.com

Pictured: Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker appears in Redding, Calif. Nov.5, and in Bakersfield, Cupertino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Rosa in December 2017.

To simplify the story behind the famed holiday ballet, The Nutcracker, it’s about dreams, say many who spend their lives dancing, teaching ballet, orchestrating and choreographing this famous fairy tale. Beyond the storyline about a young girl’s dream at Christmas, dancers who participate in The Nutcracker dream of getting key roles. Instructors and show producers dream of community involvement, financial success, accolades and helping instill a sense of accomplishment in dancers they’ve prepared for this holiday extravaganza.

The Nutcracker offers a great opportunity to support the dance community and maybe help fulfill your dreams, as well. For instance, many of California’s dance studios that present The Nutcracker to the community, also offer drop-in classes for adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. The best known program, Dance for PD (danceforparkinsons.org), is offered in dozens of cities throughout California. Yes, you can dance!