SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — No matter how many times it’s been told, or how old the story is, The Nutcracker is still the most performed ballet in the country.
For both the audience and the dancers, it never really gets old. Miranda Giles, who's been dancing ballet since the age of three, can't even remember how many Nutcracker performances she's been a part of.
“I've done so many! The only year I didn't do Nutcracker was 2020," Giles says.
She's one of nearly 80 dancers in Golden State Ballet’s production, taking on one of the most iconic roles of all; the Sugar Plum Fairy.
She’s been rehearsing since October, eight hours a day, five days a week. That’s more than 450 hours of practice for just a two-hour performance, but there's nothing else Giles would want to do with her life.
"The amount of happiness that I receive, but I also love to give to others while I'm dancing and through my dancing,” Giles says.
All of that work leads to one moment, opening night, when the curtain goes up and the music starts. To paint a picture of what the dancers have to look at while performing if the Civic Center Theater has a full house, that’s almost 3 thousand pairs of eyes staring back at them.
"Does that make you nervous?" ABC 10 News Reporter Olivia Gonzalez-Britt asked Giles.
"Yes and no," she responded. "Of course I just wanna do a good job, the way that I think about it is that there's 3000 people that get to see me have fun on stage and when I think about it like that it helps take away some of the nerves."
The final performance wouldn’t be possible without dozens of crew members, waiting in the wings, moving sets, managing lights, all while the San Diego Symphony performs live below the stage.
And this year, The Golden State Ballet has added something completely new.
Saturday night’s 7:30 performance will feature a surprise appearance by San Diego icon Tony Hawk.
And according to CEO and director of Golden State Ballet, Raul Salamanca, ballet and skateboarding may have more in common than you think. Both develop their own artistic styles, defy gravity and of course need to know how to balance.
But Salamanca says the heart of The Nutcracker stays the same.
“They're still gonna come and see The Nutcracker. He's just gonna go ahead and added a little bit more of a San Diego flair to it," Salamanca says.
Sunday marks the final performance of this year’s show. But once the curtain falls the countdown to The Nutcracker 2026 quietly begins.
To get tickets and experience their last performances this weekend, click here.
