“Our cast is the most diverse group of dancers in all of greater Tucson,” said Joseph Rodgers, DITSAZ’s Founder/Artistic Director. It’s the most colorful Nutcracker in Tucson. I am constantly amazed at the immense talent we have found here in South Tucson.”

The original Nutcracker is a fairytale ballet set to music composed in 1891-1892 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Marius Petipa choreographed the first ballet based on Alexandre Dumas adaptation of the story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The inaugural performance was held in December 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Since then, the ballet has become a holiday tradition and one of the most popular ballets of all time. Its universal appeal has been attributed to its timeless characters and the beautifully intricate choreography, costumes, and set design. Writing in the Seattle Times in 2006, Mary Murfin Bailey described it perfectly: Experiencing the joy of Nutcracker can fortify you for the hectic demands of the holiday. It slows it all down for a minute (but not slow enough to lose the attention of the younger children in the audience), and leaves you tuned to what is genuine and beautiful in this season.

Typically, the DITSAZ performance plays to a sold-out house. According to DITSAZ president Marian Lupu, “I believe our rendition of the performance is as successful as it is because of Joseph Rodgers’ amazing ability to work with all his dancers from age 3 to adults in a way that brings out their individual abilities and strengths as dancers, fine tuning each scene with humor in order to provide a captivating experience for the audience.”