Once again, Meridith Benson and Mario de la Nuez’s de la Dance Company brings the seasonal favorite The Nutcracker Jazzed Up! to the Aronoff. The innovative presentation opens in 1940s New York City and features dancers swinging and bopping to Duke Ellington’s jazzy The Nutcracker Suite score. In Act II the stage transforms into the traditional Kingdom of the Sweets, with a full cast of classical dancers, the exquisite Benson as The Sugar Plum Fairy and enchanting traditional choreography.
8 p.m. Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. $26.25-$40.25. 650 Walnut St., Downtown, cincinnatiarts.org.
