It isn’t Christmas without ‘The Nutcracker’

“The Nutcracker.” It’s as much a part of Christmas as stockings on the fireplace, stories about Rudolph and holiday cookies.

And there’s lots of these Tchaikovsky-backed ballets to choose from. We’re listing six productions right here. But how does one choose which “Nutcracker” to attend?

We’ll give you a brief description of each one and perhaps that will help you decide.

Starting with our local productions, Alderwood Dance Spectrum produces “A Child’s Storybook Nutcracker,” which is unique in that it is a narrated version of the ballet. The story about Clara’s dreamlike journey with her Nutcracker Prince to the land of Sugarplum Fairies is told charmingly by a narrator who sits at the edge of the stage as if he were reading the story from a big book. This version was created especially so children could understand the “Nutcracker” story.

At Northshore Performing Arts in Bothell, “The Nutcracker” is brought to life by Emerald Ballet Theatre and is made even more brilliant by artistic director Viktoria Titova, a former dancer with Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Grigorovich Company. Adding to that sparkle, the ballet is backed up by Rainier Symphony.

Olympic Ballet Theatre, which has produced a “Nutcracker” for more than 27 years for Snohomish County, has something new this year to add to its exotic sets and costumes: new and innovative choreography by Daniel Wilkins, including a sword fight and a daring “Arabian.” Also new this year are principal artists from Incolballet, a company in Cali, Colombia, as well as guest artists from Wilkins’ own company, DASSdance. Olympic has shows in Arlington, Everett (with the Everett Symphony) and Edmonds.

Our Skagit County neighbors are in their ninth season of “Nutcracker” shows, put on by Northwest Ballet at the stunning McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon. Director John Bishop says the production is all about the dancers who with “hard work, sweat and even tears have given testimony to this beautiful and adored performing art form.”

Finally, our southern neighbors at Pacific Northwest Ballet have spent 25 years creating a “Nutcracker” that has come to be synonymous with the Stowell and Sendak duo of choreographer Kent Stowell and children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, who designed the sets and costumes.

Stowell and Sendak are inspired by the original 1816 E.T.A. Hoffmann story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” and so have produced a larger-than-life show that includes a 27-foot mouse king and a Christmas tree that grows to 28 feet tall.