Until the day after Thanksgiving, Seattlest hadn't seen The Nutcracker -- probably the world's most famous ballet -- in years. But we had a solid image in our head of what it looked like because when Seattlest was a little kid, our mom made an annual birthday tradition to see it every year on opening night. For much of our childhood, this meant getting all spiffed up and walking a few blocks to Lincoln Center to see the New York City Ballet's Balanchine-choreographed version of this classic and utterly accessible, yet still mesmerizing dream-like ballet.

But for a few years, mom had a relationship with a man living on the Hood Canal. It was during that time that the Pacific Northwest Ballet premiered its version of The Nutcracker. To this day, it is PNB's Nutcracker and not New York's that we see in our mind's eye when the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies is played. So it was with memories of childhood dancing in our heads that we and the wife went to McCaw Hall for opening night of The Nutcracker this weekend.

Included with the primping and preening and piles of rejected dress clothes strewn on the floor before we left the house were maybe a few silent prayers on our part that re-visiting this important piece of our childhood wouldn't ruin it. In fact, we hoped it might even inspire us to replace dark visions of holiday shoppers lining up outside Alderwood Mall for its Black Friday midnight opening with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads this December.

Happily, we were not disappointed. From the gallantry of the crowd -- most of whom understood that the ballet is not a place for jeans and a t-shirt -- to the music, which is still as beautiful and catchy as it ever was, The Nutcracker helped us touch down gently into a season which for too many years now has been steeped in more commercialism than magic.

Though the entire PNB production really is phenomenal and worth a visit whether or not you have kids in tow, every part of it, from the choreography to the costumes, exists to highlight the set which is grounded in reality in the same way that dreams are.

Designed by Maurice Sendak of Where the Wild Things Are fame, this set is one of the few that does actually transport viewers into another place. We fell into The Nutcracker's dream world right after the Prologue as the screen rose to reveal a grand ballroom decked out for a fabulous 19th century Christmas party. Suddenly, we felt warm, rich and comfortable watching the crème de la crème of society wish each other all the best of the season in a magnificent structure punctuated by an even more magnificent Christmas tree.

As the story progressed and Clara drifted off into the dream that dominates the rest of the story, we slipped right along with her and again, it was the set that took us there. This time specifically, it was the Christmas tree that took us with it as it grew into monstrous proportions right in front of our very eyes and struck a gleeful terror into the hearts of young children all over McCaw Hall, just like it used to do for us.

This Seattlest isn't necessarily a fan of live theater, classical ballet or even of getting dressed up. We're certainly not a fan of what the holiday season has become in this day and age and tend to sit it out as much as we can. But as we walked out of McCaw Hall Friday night, surrounded by ridiculously cute little girls dressed in shiny red taffeta and adorable little boys proudly wearing jackets and ties, all of them beaming from ear to ear, dreaming of what surprises may lay in wait for them under their Christmas trees, we caught ourselves able to find the joy in this time of year again.

The Nutcracker runs through Dec. 29 at McCaw Hall. Put on some fancy duds (jeans are not appropriate for the ballet no matter what anyone says) and get yourself some tickets.

Image courtesy Pacific Northwest Ballet. copyright Angela Sterling