Illinois Youth Dance Theatre is pleased to present our 18th annual production of, "The Nutcracker," a full length holiday ballet by Tchaikovsky, which tells the heartwarming story of a young girl named Clara, who receives a magical gift from her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer on Christmas Eve. The Nutcracker toy turns into a Prince after a battle with the Mouse King. The Nutcracker Prince takes Clara on an adventure into The Land of Snow and The Kingdom of Sweets, where snowflakes sparkle, gingerbreads play, and enchanted flowers dazzle the stage with color and movement. Highly regarded as one of the best Chicagoland interpretations of "The Nutcracker," this magical performance by over 50 local dancers and professional male guest artists from across the country will inspire a holiday tradition for years to come.

Illinois Youth Dance Theatre is made up of pre-professional junior and senior company members, who range in age from 3-18.  Our dancers all train at Illinois Dance Conservatory in Wauconda under the direction of Alyce Keaggy Brinkmann "and Sasha Kozadayev, both of whom have had successful careers in professional ballet, working and performing both nationally, and internationally.