For the anniversary of the premiere of 'The Nutcracker,' a scene of the Moscow Ballet performing the popular dance

© Tytus Zmijewski/Epa/Shutterstoc

A holiday tradition is born. A hit ballet, long after its debut

Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’ is now an iconic holiday entertainment staple, performed by many companies around the world, including the Moscow Ballet, seen in our photo today. But when ‘The Nutcracker’ debuted this day in 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia, it was not a hit. It was revived and restaged in the early 20th century, but still didn’t make an impact. Then in 1954, choreographer George Balanchine staged the show with the New York City Ballet. His version caught on and inspired other dance companies to stage their own. It’s often such a draw that a staging of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas fantasy can help keep a ballet company financially stable.