Musical Globe

Every year, the Nutcracker ballet is performed by hundreds of ballet companies in cities all over the world. This is a behind-the-scenes look at one production. We follow students at the Los Angeles based Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, led by the former Kirov star, from auditions to the final performance. Go backstage and see the Herculean effort involved in gathering the resources, assembling the volunteers, casting the dancers and staging this classic ballet. The dancers, boys and girls aged between 3 and 18, have all made incredible sacrifices and put themselves through rigorous hours of rehearsals to dance, many hoping that this will be a stepping stone to a professional career. But only a lucky few can land a principal role.