UNCSA’s “The Nutcracker” presented by Flow Automotive opens Dec. 6 at the Tanger Center in Greensboro

A beloved holiday tradition will return to the Piedmont Triad shortly after Thanksgiving when the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) stages its 2024 production of “The Nutcracker” at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro. Beginning Friday, Dec. 6, through Sunday, Dec. 8, UNCSA will present five performances of “The Nutcracker” at the Tanger Center for a second year, while its home theater, the Stevens Center in Winston-Salem, undergoes a comprehensive renovation.

Performances are Friday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 7, at noon and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 8, at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Ticket prices begin at $39 and can be purchased at TangerCenter.com/Nutcracker. Optional upgrades include on-site VIP parking, Lee & Wrangler Lounge access and the Tanger Center’s pre-event Prelude Dining experience for select performances. More information about “The Nutcracker” can be found at uncsa.edu/nutcracker.

Proceeds from “The Nutcracker” support student scholarships at UNCSA.

This year’s production will feature exciting choreography by talented UNCSA School of Dance faculty member Ilya Kozadayev, an international, award-winning dancer and choreographer. More than 100 ballet, contemporary and Preparatory Dance students will perform.

“Last year’s performances at the Tanger Center were magical for our students and audiences alike,” said Endalyn T. Outlaw, dean of the School of Dance and executive director of “The Nutcracker.” “We’re thrilled to return for a second year and invite guests from across the Piedmont Triad to experience the wonder of ‘The Nutcracker’ once again. There’s truly nothing like it to inspire the holiday spirit!”

An accomplished conductor, Chancellor Brian Cole will conduct the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra for all performances, as he did in 2023. Cole, who joined UNCSA as dean of the School of Music in 2016, has led orchestras and operas throughout the United States, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

“In 2023, we set records for attendance and gross ticket sales at the Tanger Center,” said UNCSA Chancellor Brian Cole. “Nearly 17,000 tickets were distributed across all performances, including tickets for more than 2,500 schoolchildren from Forsyth and Guilford counties. With a capacity more than twice that of the Stevens Center, the Tanger Center allowed us to reach a larger audience, and both matinees nearly sold out. We look forward to welcoming audiences back to this beautiful venue to experience the magic of ‘The Nutcracker’ again this year.”

Guest artist Penny Jacobus returns as guest lighting designer.

The UNCSA schools of Dance, Design & Production and Music collaborate annually to produce “The Nutcracker.” 

Temporarily staging “The Nutcracker” at the nearby Tanger Center offers students the unique opportunity to tour, set up and perform in a state-of-the-art, 3,000-seat venue just a short distance from UNCSA.

Presented for the first time on Dec. 10, 1966, in Reynolds Auditorium in Winston-Salem, the UNCSA “Nutcracker” production has since been reimagined, recreated and refreshed numerous times.

Flow Automotive is the presenting sponsor of “The Nutcracker.”

Photos for download available here.

About UNCSA

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is a top-ranked arts conservatory and America’s first state-supported arts school. The nation’s only public university of five arts disciplines on one campus, UNCSA prepares emerging artists for careers in dance, design and production, drama, filmmaking and music at the undergraduate through post-graduate levels, as well as through a specialized high school with free tuition for in-state residents. UNCSA provides industry-leading instruction in an inclusive environment where students are encouraged to leverage the arts as a mechanism for change. Interdisciplinary opportunities arising from the unique arts ecosystem on campus at UNCSA prepare artists to enter an evolving global arts and entertainment industry. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, the School of the Arts opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina System when it was formed in 1972. For more information, visit uncsa.edu.