- Xiomara Reyes and Eric Tamm will lead the opening night cast of American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on Friday, December 7, 2012 at 7:30 P.M. Choreographed by ABT Artist in Residence Alexei Ratmansky, the holiday classic will be given 12 performances through December 16 at BAM.

Hee Seo will make her debut as Clara, the Princess at the matinee on Saturday, December 8, dancing opposite Cory Stearns as the Nutcracker Prince. James Whiteside will dance the role of the Nutcracker Prince for the first time with ABT, opposite Paloma Herrera on Sunday evening, December 9. Additional casts will be led by Veronika Part and Alexandre Hammoudi, Yuriko Kajiya and Joseph Gorak and Sarah Lane and Daniil Simkin.

The Nutcracker, set to a score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, features choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, scenery and costumes by Richard Hudson and lighting by Jennifer Tipton. This production was given its World Premiere at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House on December 23, 2010, led by Gillian Murphy as Clara, the Princess and David Hallberg as the Nutcracker Prince.

Tickets for American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker, beginning at $25, can be purchased in person at the BAM box office, by phone at 718-636-4100 or online at www.bam.org. The BAM box office is located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, New York. For more information, please visit ABT's website at www.abt.org.

David H. Koch is the Lead Underwriter of American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker.

Linda Allard is the Original Underwriting Sponsor of costumes for The Nutcracker.

Joan Taub Ades and Alan M. Ades, the Susan and Leonard Feinstein Foundation, and Brian and Darlene Heidtke are Co-Underwriting Sponsors of The Nutcracker.

A gift as Co-Underwriting Sponsor of costumes for The Nutcracker has been provided in loving memory of Ellen Everett Kimiatek.

Lisa and Dick Cashin, Linda and Martin Fell, and Ruth and Harold Newman are Co-Underwriting Partners of The Nutcracker.

ABT's The Nutcracker is generously supported through an endowed gift from The Toni and Martin Sosnoff New Works Fund.

Additional support has been provided by Ed Fox, Theresa Khawly, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund and The National Endowment for the Arts.

American Airlines is the Official Airline of American Ballet Theatre.

Northern Trust is the Leading Corporate Sponsor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at American Ballet Theatre.

MasterCard is the Official Card of American Ballet Theatre.

ABT is supported, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council.