Olympic Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ staged in Everett, Edmonds

Without doubt, the Edmonds-based Olympic Ballet Theatre offers the best “Nutcracker” north of the King-Snohomish county line.

Led by artistic directors Mara Vinson and Oleg Gorboulev, a married team of former Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers, the nonprofit company has established an exciting version of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.”

The full-length traditional ballet will be performed in Everett this weekend: at 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 10; and 1 and 5 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave.

After the weekend in Everett, the company returns to Edmonds for performances at 7 p.m. Dec. 16, 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 17, and 5 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Edmonds Center for the Arts, 410 Fourth Ave. N.

For tickets, which range in price, go to www.olympicballet.com or phone 425-774-7570. Last year, most of the performances sold out, so don’t delay.

Company dancers with special roles in Olympic Ballet’s “Nutcracker” include Charles Gordon, Christine Hamstra, Arashi Kunita, Kyohel Masaoka, Miri Orido, Beatrix Paulay, Mana Sasaki, Riho Shimada and Mayuka Takamura.

As the ballet opens, preparations are being made at the home of Clara’s parents for their annual Christmas Eve party. After all the guests have arrived, Clara’s uncle, Herr Drosselmeyer arrives, bringing presents to all the children and entertaining with human-sized mechanical dolls. Drosselmeyer has a special gift for Clara, a nutcracker doll.

After the party, Clara curls up with her nutcracker doll and falls asleep. She dreams about a Christmas tree that grows, fighting armies of mice and toy soldiers, dancing snowflakes and her own transformation from a girl into a young woman who dances with the Nutcracker Prince. They journey to the Land of the Sweets, where Spanish, Arabian, Chinese and Russian dancers are joined by waltzing flowers and a larger-than-life Mother Ginger.