Ballet Classic 'The Nutcracker' Comes To Rockville Cinema Sunday

ROCKVILLE, MD — The world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet returns to the silver screen Sunday with its version of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's beloved fairytale, "The Nutcracker."

The timeless holiday classic will be hitting more than 350 theaters in the U.S. and Canada — including those in Rockville and Germantown. Moviegoers can get their tickets at participating cinemas and at www.BolshoiBalletinCinema.com.

"The Nutcracker" will play at Regal Cinemas at Regal Cinemas at 199 East Montgomery Ave. in Rockville. Audiences can also see the show at Regal Cinemas at 20000 Century Blvd. in Germantown.

The ballet masterpiece was commissioned in 1891 and premiered a week before Christmas the next year. Since arriving in the U.S. in 1940s, this ballet has become one of the most popular productions around the holidays.

Choreographed by Yuri Grigorovich, "The Nutcracker" tells a story about a young girl's Christmas Eve and her awakening to romance, the world, and other aspects of adulthood.

This rendition of "Nutcracker" stars the first soloist Margarita Shrainer as Marie and the principal dancer Semyon Chudin as the Nutcracker Prince.

Dianna Mesion works for BY Experience, the North American distributor of the Bolshoi Ballet in Cinema series. She said it's rare to see a Bolshoi Ballet performance in the U.S.

"This will be the first time in four years that the Bolshoi is doing a live broadcast of "The Nutcracker." The last time was in 2014. The rarity lies in that the Bolshoi hardly travels to the U.S., so this is a fantastic opportunity to see one of the world's most revered ballet companies," Mesion said. "Every year we are continuing to see the growing impact of these performances in cinemas, with audiences of all ages attending."

The Bolshoi Theatre of Russia was founded in 1776. To this day, it remains a fixture of Russian culture. With more than 250 dancers, the Bolshoi Ballet is one of the largest and most respected ballet companies in the world.

Patch's Sue Wood contributed to this report.

Images via BY Experience