Salt Creek Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” returns to the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) for five performances: 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 19 and at 1 and 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 20 and Sunday, Dec. 21. Ticket availability is limited.
New Philharmonic, under the baton of Maestro Kirk Muspratt, performs Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classic “Nutcracker” score live for this full-scale, lavish production with dazzling sets, 125 costumes, a Christmas tree can grow to a height of 58 feet and a company of 90 dancers including professional guest artists from across the country with student dancers from Salt Creek Ballet.
After her family’s Christmas Eve celebration draws to a close, Clara drifts into a dream that carries her into a magical world—one in which she becomes a Princess. Guided by the Nutcracker Prince, Princess Clara journeys through a shimmering kingdom of dancing snowflakes and is welcomed by the Sugar Plum Fairy, who presents an array of enchanting dances from faraway lands. The Chicago Tribune calls Salt Creek Ballet’s production “a real treat.”
Guest artists performing in principal roles include former member of the Cuban National Ballet and current Principal Guest Artist with Montana Ballet Company, Daynelis Muñoz (Sugar Plum Fairy), two-time winner of the American Dance Competition in Classical and Contemporary Wilhelm Josue Gomez Sarria (Cavalier) and former Giordano Dance Chicago company dancer and 2025 Palm Desert Choreography Festival Award Recipients Martin Ortiz Tapia (Nutcracker). Other guest artists include Ricardo Garcia (Dr. Drosselmeyer), Edson Cabera (Mouse King) and Norbert Nirewicz (Nutcracker Prince). Salt Creek Ballet’s Luis Caro, a guest artist with the company since 1998, reprises his role as Mother Ginger.
Featured Salt Creek Ballet Dancer in the role of Little Clara is Oak Brook’s Giavanna Fahmy and, alternating in the role of Princess Clara will be Indian Head Park’s Nicoletta Deckys, Park Ridge’s Alina Djordjevic and Frankfort’s Mia Meinkow. Salt Creek Company Dancers showcased in the Waltz of the Flowers as Dewdrop Faries are Western Spring’s Amelia Challacombe, Frankfort’s Mia Meinkow, Darien’s Sabrina Yanahan and Park Ridge’s Alina Djordjevic.
This production, staged and choreographed after Dace Dindonis and George Verdak and reworked by Salt Creek Ballet artistic directors Erica De La O and Kristopher Wojtera, is based on the classic story by Prussian author E.T.A. Hoffman. The Salt Creek Ballet design team includes Simon Pastukh (scenic design), Galina Solovyeva (costume design), Oleg Smirnov (production design and painter) and Charles Cooper (lighting design).
Salt Creek Ballet (SCB), now celebrating 40 years, was established in 1985 to present professional quality dance programming to west-suburban audiences, provide high-level performance opportunities for area dancers, and encourage appreciation and awareness of dance. The Company’s high standards and unique blend of major classical productions and artistically diverse and challenging repertory programs have brought critical acclaim, sold-out performances, and a loyal following. Salt Creek Ballet dancers are pre-professionals drawn from the best Chicago-area talent. Internationally known guest artists, choreographers, and designers regularly work with SCB to provide dancers and audiences alike with a level of performance usually associated with professional companies. For more information visit saltcreekballet.org.
Tickets
McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, presents Salt Creek Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” with New Philharmonic 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 and 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 and Sunday, Dec. 21. Tickets are $37 (Youth) and $47 (Adult).
Ticket availability is limited. For tickets, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000. Box Office is open Tuesday – Saturday, noon – 6 p.m. and two hours prior to performance. Box Office is closed Thanksgiving day.
Chicago's Home for Jazz, WDCB 90.9 FM is the Media Sponsor for these performances.
The MAC Giving Tree is accepting food donations for COD Student Food Pantry and People’s Resource Center. Please consider bringing a donation when attending a show Nov. 20 – Dec. 21. Visit People’s Resource Center or COD Student Food Pantry for each organization’s most in-demand items, but any donation is most appreciated.
About New Philharmonic
New Philharmonic, the only professional orchestra based in DuPage County, Ill., has inspired classical music enthusiasts in Chicago and the suburbs for nearly five decades It continues to thrive with the goal of giving innovative treatment to both classic compositions and modern works while striving to make the music accessible to new audiences and youth through a variety of educational efforts. New Philharmonic was recently honored with the Illinois Council of Orchestras’ 2020 ICO Award in the category Programming of the Year. Today, under the direction of Music Director/Conductor Kirk Muspratt, named 2018 Conductor of the Year (Professional Orchestra) by Illinois Council of Orchestras, and recipient of a 2025 honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Lethbridge, New Philharmonic consists of more than 60 professional musicians and typically performs more than a dozen concerts a year, reaching more than 7,500 from the greater Chicago area annually.
2025-2026 season support for New Philharmonic is provided in part by the DuPage Foundation, a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency, Brookdale Glen Ellyn; Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, Frank Modruson and Lynne Shigley, Anonymous, and the College of DuPage Foundation. Media sponsor is 90.9 FM WDCB Public Radio.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and a versatile black box Studio Theatre), outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or @AtTheMAC on Facebook and Instagram.
Support for the McAninch Arts Center is provided in part by Brookdale Senior Living Glen Ellyn, Anonymous, College of DuPage Foundation, Sullivan Taylor Family Trust, DuPage Foundation, Ball Horticultural, Frank Modruson & Lynne Shigley, Enjoy Illinois, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Media Sponsor is WDCB 90.9 FM, Hotel Sponsor is DoubleTree by Hilton Lisle/Naperville.
Established as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit www.foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.