Public on-sale begins on August 11, 2026.
Ticket price to be announced. Student tickets always $11. Eligible for CLE Credit.
“Explosive tap dance meets your favorite holiday classic.” – The Kennedy Center
Holiday traditions have a way of bringing people together. The best ones feel familiar and fresh at the same time.
Dorrance Dance‘s The Nutcracker Suite is set to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s extraordinary 1960 reinterpretation of the Tchaikovsky score. Part seasonal concert, part tap ballet, the production transforms the Sugar Plum Fairy into a slinky Sugar Rum Cherry, turns the “March of the Toy Soldiers” into a swinging brass “Peanut Brittle Brigade,” and gives the original ballet’s pageant of national dances a fresh 21st-century twist.
Drawing on the rich traditions of tap dance to tell the story of one of the most beloved works in the holiday canon, The Nutcracker Suite is filled with rhythm, virtuosity, humor, and heart. The result is a performance that celebrates the joy of tradition while reminding us that the stories we return to year after year still evolve.
Why We’re Presenting This
Dorrance Dance’s The Nutcracker Suite demonstrates how beloved traditions can stay alive while also being reimagined for new audiences and generations. By bringing together Tchaikovsky’s beloved holiday classic, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s groundbreaking jazz interpretation, and the artistry of contemporary tap dance, the work celebrates the many artistic traditions that continue to shape American culture.
The performance reflects something central to the holiday season itself: the power of gathering. Families, friends, longtime arts lovers, and first-time audiences come together around a shared experience that feels both familiar and new, creating memories while revisiting traditions they thought they already knew.
Holidays are all about homecoming, and this is especially strong for this work. Michelle Dorrance grew up here, trained at the Ballet School of Chapel Hill and the North Carolina Youth Tap Ensemble, and has gone on to become one of the most celebrated artists working in dance today. As Carolina Performing Arts‘ inaugural Wyndham Robertson Artist-in-Residence, her return reflects a relationship built over time between an artist, a community, and a place.
Event Details
- Runtime: approximately 1 hour, with no intermission
- Late seating policy: to be announced
- Additional information: visit our FAQ page
About the Artists
Dorrance Dance was founded in 2011 as a tap dance company, passionately committed to sharing the complex history, powerful legacy, and infinite possibilities of tap dance on a musical, conceptual, and emotional level. After 15 years of being the world’s preeminent tap dance company, Dorrance Dance’s mission has expanded. As a producing entity, the organization seeks after creating new work that continues to contextualize tap dance’s history and its diaspora in a culturally significant way. The company aspires to support the development and touring of new works and artists that continue to deepen the relationship between tap dance and the forms that have a direct relationship to its lineage.
Discount Information
We offer several discounts for CPA series performances only. Partner and rental events are not eligible.
Important Notes
- Discounts must be applied at the time of purchase and cannot be added retroactively.
- Only one discount can be used per order.
- Enter discount code before adding tickets to cart.*
UNC-Chapel Hill Students
$11 ticketsZones 3, 4 & 5
UNC-Chapel Hill Faculty & Staff
25% offUNCRET2627 Retired faculty/staff
UNC Health Staff
25% offCarolina Alumni Members
15% offSeniors (65+)
15% offNon-UNC Students
K–College, statewide
$11 ticketsZones 3, 4 & 5
Military & First Responders
15% off*We reserve the right to cancel tickets that do not follow these guidelines.