Tony Williams Dance Center presents the 16th year of the Boston holiday classic, Anthony Williams’ Urban Nutcracker,December 16-31 at John Hancock Hall (180 Berkeley St, Boston, MA 02116). This modern holiday classic has been praised as “a Nutcracker with real soul” by Boston Metro. This year includes three special performances: an Autism sensory-friendly performance (Dec. 17) and an LGBTQ Night (Dec. 29), both designed to be inclusive and spread the joy of dance; and a New Year’s Eve performance on December 31.

In 2001, local dance legend Tony Williams reimagined the classic holiday Nutcracker tale to become a Boston inner-city story with a neon-buzz, blending the rhythms of Duke Ellington with the classical music of Tchaikovsky. Annually, 150 performers – including professional ballet dancers – take the stage to showcase a broad diversity of dance forms starring the multicultural icons of Boston. Audiences will join heroine Clarice as she explores iconic Boston scenes such as Make Way for Ducklings, Top of the Hub, Chinatown, and the Boston Public Garden. The delightful story continues by following the magical journey of Clarice and her Nutcracker guide through classical ballet, tap, hip hop, jazz, flamenco, and more.

All performances of the Urban Nutcracker will take place at John Hancock Hall

180 Berkeley St, Boston, MA 02116

All performances are approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.

Ticket Prices: $25-$85; Discounts for groups of 15 or more

MBTA: Green Line to Arlington, Orange Line to Back Bay

More info: urbannutcracker.com, 888-596-1027

The Urban Nutcracker celebrates multicultural Boston through a broad range of diverse dance styles. Produced by the Tony Williams Dance Center, the Urban Nutcracker harnesses the power the arts to unite diverse communities to be a catalyst for positive social change.

Presenting sponsor of Urban Nutcracker is Adage Capital. Additional support is provided by Chobee Hoy Real Estate.

Tony Williams is a dance pioneer and retired international ballet star. Williams’ dance philosophy uses the arts to unite diverse communities in Boston, having had direct experience on how transformative the arts can be on young lives. As a young man, he gained access to Boston Ballet’s dance program and progressed to become their first African-American principal dancer. From there he danced with the Joffery Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and performed all over the world. When Williams retired, he returned to Jamaica Plain, where it all began, and opened a dance school. Not long after, he produced the beloved Urban Nutcracker which annually enjoys a successful run downtown. Widely respected as a progressive dance educator, Williams has won the Dance Teacher Magazine Award and Wheelock Family Theater’s Wheel Award. In 2014, he founded the Tony Williams Ballet and expanded his dance school to Concord, MA.