Philadelphia Ballet brings the holiday magic back to the Academy of Music with another season of ‘George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker’

It’s hard not to be charmed by The Nutcracker, even after multiple viewings year after year. Maybe especially after multiple viewings year after year. It’s like watching a favorite movie and enjoying every familiar line.

It’s far from a perfect ballet. The two acts have almost nothing to do with each other. The rows of tutu-clad corps dancers don’t appear until about the halfway mark. Most of the first-act characters are never heard from again. Act 1 is heavily children and Act 2 is heavily professional dancers.

But it doesn’t matter. There’s so much to enjoy.

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When Philadelphia Ballet opened George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker Friday night at the Academy of Music, Marie was danced by the very expressive Melanyia Ramsay. Emerson Lomba was a very polished Nutcracker Prince. Lily Benecchi was delightful as Marie’s bratty little brother, Fritz. (Ballet classes almost always have more girls than boys, but this year most of the boys roles on opening night were danced by girls.)

Seeing the ballet multiple times doesn’t take away from the magic, like when the empty boxes are suddenly filled with life-sized wind-up dolls who come out and dance. When the tree grows and Marie’s entire house grows with it, including the toy soldiers who are now child-sized. And of course when it snows on stage.

The snow scene might be the most enchanting. The rows of pointe-shod ballerinas in a blue-white setting (which was designed in 2007 after an etching of the east bank of the Schuylkill looking up to East Falls). Normally the Philadelphia Boys Choir sings on opening night during this scene, but they had a gig this week with the Philadelphia Orchestra. So on Friday, the equally beautiful Philadelphia Girls Choir sang. And of course it snows on stage. It’s not only enjoyable to watch the scene but also to see the many children in the audience in awe looking from dancers to the singers to the snow.

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On Friday night, some snow continued to fall throughout the ballet, but it just added to the amusement.

In the Land of Sweets, many of the dancers seemed especially good Friday night. Mayara Pineiro as Dewdrop, dancing in the Flower scene, was especially springy and light.

Ashton Roxander was an impressive jumper as the lead Tea, as was Isaac Hollis as the lead Candy Cane. And Lucia Erickson breezed through the tricky lead Marzipan steps.

Yuka Iseda was the Sugar Plum Fairy and Zecheng Liang was her Cavalier. Both danced well alone (although Iseda had problems with a few pirouettes), but their partnering was especially strong. Liang didn’t just lift Iseda near the end of their pas de deux but threw her in the air, catching her capably.

Also worth noting is the Angels scene, because it is so beautiful that there were gasps when the curtain went up on Act 2 Friday night. But I always wish the dresses were a bit longer or their steps a bit smaller and quicker. At New York City Ballet, where this Nutcracker originated, the Angels always look like some mechanism is zooming them across the stage automatically. Here, we can see their feet (at least from the orchestra seats), so it’s slightly less otherworldly.

Not only does the Nutcracker offer low-tech holiday magic, but it’s also a very accessible first ballet if you’re not sure you or your child would like it. And it’s on all month.

Philadelphia Ballet in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.” Through Dec. 31, Academy of Music. $28-$282, 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org