We all know The Nutcracker, right? Wrong! In this episode of Classical Classroom, Shelly Power (director, Houston Ballet Academy) and Michael Remson (executive director, American Festival of the Arts) blow your minds with the history of the ballet and a behind-the-scenes look at the massive undertaking that putting on the show entails every year.

Audio production by Todd "Pas de Todd" Hulslander with sugarplum fairies dancing in her head by Dacia Clay.

The Nutcracker:

– Score by Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky

– Original choreography by Marius Petipas and Lev Ivanov

– Libretto adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

For more about the Houston Ballet, go to www.houstonballet.org.

For more about American Festival for the Arts, go to www.afatexas.org.