Houston Ballet Presents the Nutcracker

This performance was magical. We have seen other productions of The Nutcracker but this was amazing. The performances were wonderful and the costumes and sets were beautiful. The staff at the center were attentive and thoughtful. It was a wonderful Christmas gift to my girls.

My two year old granddaughter was mesmerized the whole time. Costumes were beautiful, lights and backgrounds were sharp and colorful. The ballerinas were amazing!!! A total thrill.

The Nutcracker was a great performance. The only downside is we had very close seats, but tall people sitting in the row right in front of us. The slope in the venue must not be that great, because it was hard to see over their heads the whole show!

I took my 5 yr old daughter, and ballerina, to see the Nutcracker for the first time this year. She loved it! My only tip for others is that its hard for kids this age to see. The seat cushions that are rented were not tall enough. We ended up folding up her coat and putting it on my lap and she sat on my lap, which was totally fine. We both had a great time!

We had a great time, the show was amazing. Definitely worthwhile.

Overall it was a good show. However, my 4 years old daughter was becoming restless, and I really expected it to be a little more fun for children.

it was beautiful!!!! I've always loved the nutrcracker :) had a great time!!

Very good , was a wonderful experience to have with my two little girls.

This was our first Nutcracker ballet and loved it - the dancing, set, and costumes were absolutely wonderful. Even my husband was fully awake throughout. There was a short power outage after intermission, possibly due to the heavy storm, but we along with the other patrons had no intention of leaving until the end. Very satisfied I chose Stanton Welch's production over the traditional looking Moscow ballet. I hope this will be the beginning of more ballet at the Smart Centre.

The talent is wonderful and the costumes and set design were amazing!!

This was my third year to see the performance. Everything about it was spectacular! I only have one regret; I chose the wrong seat. The Smart Centre in Sugar Land does not provide ample decline in each preceding seating row; therefore, obstructed views are common. There was a large man sitting in the seat directly before mine and I could not see the performance without leaning way to the left or right. The price paid for this performance should offer a much better experience. This location was more convenient for me but I would prefer going back to the Wortham Theatre downtown next time.

The ballet as always was great. The venue was nice, clean but just does not have the traditional feel of opera or a ballet experience. It feels like a basketball arena atmosphere.

I think the Smart Financial Center is a WONDERFUL venue - I wish I could say the same about this year's interpretation of The Nutcracker. The first half was very boring - the second half did have some spectacular dance numbers though.....

We have never been to a ballet before. My parents, son and i loved it. So glad this venue is here so we will be able to experience more first times

The Houston Ballet did an amazing job. Me and my grandchildren loved the performance very much. The scenery, costumes and music were simply beautiful!

The only complaint we had of the event was that it was a bit uncomfortably warm.

Performance was excellent. My daughter and I surprised my 14-year old grand daughter with tickets. Initially, she was doing her level best to decipher where we were going. Up to the last moment, she was demons anding to know. She was extremely excited and truly enjoyed the evening. We plan to make it an annual celebration.

Great performance and love the details. Will recommend to family and friends.

All points get 5 stars. Music, dance and sets. Equal balance of men and women dance. Don t miss it!

Wonderful production. Great dancing, music, costumes and sets! Unforgettable!

It was so much fun to watch and exciting to see all of the songs you hear as a child, performed in their original setting!

Houston Ballet was amazing and unforgettable. My 15 year old daughter and myself enjoyed the show. A must see!!!!

The Nutcracker at the Smart Financial Centre in Sugarland was wonderful. It's the place to go to see the ballet. They have neat things to see and buy and plenty to eat and drink before the show so go early to enjoy everything. The theater seats are comfortable and I don't think there is a bad seat in the whole theater. The orchestra played the music beautifully and just completed the total experience. I recommend the Nutcracker at the Smart Financial Centre and give it 5 stars!!

this was a wonderful production. I took my 9 year old granddaughter and she loved every minute as did I!

Took my 5 year old granddaughter. Our first ballet in Houston-we just moved here this summer. We both loved it! The dancers....outstanding! My only complaint is that i had to purchase seats on sight that were not very good. After hurricane Harvey the performance was moved and when I got the new tickets they were for a 7:30 performance and not the 2:00 we were there for an I had before-I will look at tickets more carefully in the future. I ended up with 200.00 spent on tickets!! PLUS we were at an upper far corner originally for wheelchairs and our view was not near as good as the original tickets I purchased.

Did not enjoy first half. Enjoyed second half very much.

As always, the Houston Ballet did not disappoint. The performance was exquisite, from the dancing to the music to the choreography to the settings to the lighting. It was a wonderful evening in a lovely venue.

Bravo! Beautiful, magical interpretation of the Nutcracker Ballet! The Smart Financial Center in Sugarland is a wonderful venue, easy parking, very comfortable seating and traffic moved quickly leaving after the Ballet! Don t miss and opportunity to see the Houston Ballet!

It is very fun ballet show and not so difficult to understand it. Good for both child and adults.

I absolutely loved this rendition of The Nutcracker. It was beautiful, magical, and captivating.

I ve been attending the Nutcracker for a long time. The performance was great, however some of the new costumes were less than desired, hard to see the ballerina s foot work. The new story line is horrible. I m not sure why they changed a classic. There was no story line. Very upsetting this changed the Nutcracker

I ve always wanted to watch it live. It was an early Christmas gift from my boyfriend and i loved every minute of it!

Venue was great, but that s the only positive. The show started 20-30 min late, intermission was 45 min long, story line had a lot missing and show was not 2 hours long as stated. Counting the late start, long intermission and early end time the show was only 1 hour and 25 min total vs the approximately 2 hours advertised. Definitely not what I would expect from opening day.

The entire experience was wonderful! The performers were outstanding and the costumes and sets were amazing - the best ever! My granddaughters sat at the edge of their seats the entire time and had the most wonderful look of amazement! It was priceles! Great venue. Please keep at Smart Financial Center.

Loved this show! Hope to see again next year and take my grandkids!

The Houston Ballet new Nutcracker production is beautiful, fast moving, and fun for the whole family. If you aren't already in the holiday spirit, you will be after seeing this.

They first half was ok and the second was more enjoyable. Overall it was good , different from the origianl

Absolutely loved it. I always enjoy th nutcracker, especially when performed by the Houston Ballet. The smart financial center was very open and easy to get to. The music is the best and choreographed well with the dances. Coming back next year to see it again.

the nutcracker played by the ballet of houston is amazing , beautiful show, the best scenarios, the best dancers! I loved it.

I always love watching the Nutcracker not only because it gets me in the mood for the Christmas season, but also because I love watching the fabulous dancing. As a dancer myself, it is very inspiring to see such amazing dancers speak to the audience from their hearts. They truly do show a unique passion for dance and performance. I will watch them every year!! :)

New as if I hadn t seen before! Great show, learn something new every time.

I took my daughter to see this show for the first time. I enjoyed the event but my daughter left with mixed feelings. The first part does not have much dancing and is more story telling. My daughter found it very boring. However, the second part of the show was more impressive. There was more dancing and my daughter was more engaged. I did leave a little disappointed with the sound system of the venue. This is the second time I attend an event there and I felt the sound was not impressive.

Couldn t see the dancers legs most of the time because they were wearing long billowy dresses. Very poor choices in costumes. Couldn t appreciate the dance moves and athleticism (because you couldn t see what their legs were doing...only feet) so it felt like you were watching a silent play. Boring. There were a few scenes with tutus\u2014-and the show came alive\u2014but not enough. Been to a lot of dance performances in my life and this was by far my least favorite for the aforementioned reasons.

As a frequenter of the Houston Ballet and the Nutcracker, I was very excited for a new rendition of the ballet that got me loving the ballet. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed. Let me begin by saying that I was expecting something to be different. I was expecting different costumes, sets, and even some fresh choreography while maintaining the signature pieces. What I received was a school play with a multi-million dollar set budget. That may sound cold but let me break the experience down. The first act could have been cut almost altogether. The dancers spent more time just meandering around the stage than dancing. The entire first half was confusing. When intermission started, I found myself asking what was going on? I KNOW the story of the nutcracker like the back of my hand and I was utterly confused by some parts. We re the toys being turned big in a magic box? It certainly seemed so... then Clara turned small (with the whole tree and presents growing- that effect was very cool, I must admit!) Also, there was supposed to be a very straight-forward progression of the toy nutcracker coming to life then becoming a prince. But the toy was brought to life before our eyes, then turned back into a toy, then to life, then to a prince (which happened when the rat army nearly killed him? How does that evolution work?) The Rat King s crown was obsessed over, which was weird. They edited many of the signature dances which are classic to the nutcracker ballet. I don t know if it was altered because the dancers couldn t pull them off or if it was intentional. Lastly, they added many child parts to the ballet. I like kids, I really do, but putting a half dozen tots in bumble bee costumes and having them run around the stage while dancers are trying to actually do ballet was juvenile and made me feel like I was watching a school play. What was with the slapstick comedy? Since when was the nutcracker a comedy ballet? In the end, I get that the intention was to appeal to kids and to a wider audience but I noticed that the kids in the seats around me didn t sit still and pay attention until the actual dancing would leave them in awe. Kids can appreciate genuine beauty and making it a watered-down version doesn t make it better.

For the price of the tickets, I missed the professionalism of more adult dancers. We enjoyed the 2nd act more than the first. First was a bit underwhelming. Lots of young dancers were given a wonderful opportunity to participate. However, that s a $50 ticket & not a $125 ticket. I can see that in our local ballet company s productions. The sets were gorgeous & definitely portrayed a dream world. But it seemed more Cirque du Soleil than ballet. Lots going on all of the time. The primary dancers were wonderful. If I d had grandchildren with me, I think they d have enjoyed watching all of the children. Not sure I wouldve paid that price, however. I did miss the exactness & jaw dropping Ben Stevenson production. It was just more commanding & crisp. Storyline was simpler & easy to follow. This had a lot of visual interest to keep children enthralled. We just weren t \u2018wowed ! I was also disappointed with the view from our seats in the Orchestra section, row P. I selected those with the idea that we d be far enough back to watch the dancers feet. Unfortunately, we couldn t see them & our view was further blocked by the stage lights along the front of the stage. I spent more time watching the large screens in either side. I could ve done that at home for free. We ran into friends who were a few rows in front & they commented that our seats were much better than theirs. It s so exciting to have these types of shows coming to our area since we live in Sugar Land. Perhaps there can be adjustments made to the stage to allow the audience to see all of the dancers & not just shin & up. It didn t seem to be a stage built for a ballet. Cut out some of the \u2018cuteness & give us a bit more precision & awe us again.

Very entertaining production of the Nutcracker, I. e. performers skill, children's participation,set design, costumes, music were outstanding.

Phenomenal Ballet! Talented performers! First Class venue!!! No seat is a bad seat.

It was amazing , last time I saw nutcracker it was two years ago when it wAs the original. Now, it s bigger and more beautiful!

This was my first time to the Houston Ballet. I enjoyed it immensely! The dancers, the costumes, and the music was fabulous! I will be going to more of their performances. Excellent job!

There really is not a bad seat at Smart Financial. The set was beautiful, the costumes were perfect, the orchestra spectacular. It is just a magical night to put you right in the holiday spirit.

The Nutcracker is beyond one of the most wonderful ballets ever!! After 13 years of seeing the show, the new rendition is phenomenal to include the set and costumes! I highly recommend attending The Nutcracker. BUT - the Smart Financial Centre is one of the worst places to see it. It is too big and they play it on the two screens during the entire show which is such a horrible distraction and it takes away from the essence of the show. Parking is horrible and unorganized. This was my second time to the SFC and I won't be back. I can't wait to see the Nutcracker again next year back at it's home at The Wortham Center!

Phenomenal performance and a great venue. From where we sat the view was perfect and it looked like most areas at Smart Financial Centre had a great view of the stage as well. Well done all around by the Houston Ballet Company

This was my 12 year old daughters Christmas surprise this year and when we stopped to ask an employee how we got to our seats she upgraded our nosebleed section tickets to fourth row from the stage! Our experience was beautiful and unforgettable. Excellent performances!

Stunning! Costumes and sets were so beautiful. So much to see I need to go again.

So beautiful. The music was heavenly, the dancers floated on air, and the sets were breath taking. Brought tears to my eyes!

Great event we loved it! We will definitely would love to see this play next year.

I had always wanted to go to the Nutcracker, this year I asked my 2 daughters and their daughters to go with me as a girls day out. We had a wonderful time, the costumes and dancers did such a good job. We will definitely go back and hope to bring my husband next year. Thank you for a memorable time.

My family has been attending the Nutcracker Ballet for decades and had not seen one in Houston since around 2000. I m still not sure what I saw Saturday. In no way did it represent the beauty of the traditional ballet. It was an incoherent hodgepodge of movement and scenery. We were very disappointed.

What a delightful way to spend an afternoon. It has been years since we've seen The Nutcracker. The story is timeless, but the updated and refreshed version presented was still amazing. Love the venue....easy access, good seats and comfortable. Thrilled to have this venue so close to home.

When we saw this at the Hobby Center, it was a fabulous show. I would give this a mediocre rating. Too much time was spent on the family scene. There was no real transition showing Clara's shift to a dream. The dancing in the second half was not as good as I remember. Allowing food and drink around us inhibiting our ability to hear well with all the chomping and talking around us. It was not a pleasant experience this year.

Totally disappointed when I noticed that my Tickets on row F where too low so it was impossible to see actors feet. How come they don t realize that for a ballet show you want to see the dancers feet. Really frustrating

What a wonderful venue--easy parking, open spaces to mingle inside, and helpful customer service and food providers. The performance itself included fabulous dancers, amazing sets and costumes, and the symphony (and sound system) was amazingly lovely! We hope the ballet returns to Smart Financial every year!

Orchestra was superb, costumes were extravagant, dancing seemed an afterthought

I ve been to see the Nutcracker at least 10 years and its always a magical experience. This year I went to the Smart Financial Center in Sugarland and it is the worst Nutcracker I ve seen. Sadly, because of Harvey the Wortham Theatre was out of commission so I took that into consideration when I booked the show. I should have selected The Hobby Center instead. SFC may be new but not the caliber of a theater performance and the seating is not the best for viewing a ballet. The A/C kicked on and nearly froze the top half of the Gallery and it was 50 degrees outside. Even the ushers were not familiar with the seats go figure. The decorations were nice but the lighting especially for the fotos was terrible and all green lights in every picture. The performers were excellent even with the power interruption on Saturday s show. I had only been to SFC once before for a concert and wasn t impressed with this place now I definitely won t be seeing anything there again.

Great amazing experience- literally a lights out performance. ..

Having seen The Nutcracker several times in Houston over the years, I can say this was one of the best interpretations. Fun, beautiful and so enjoyable. Venue is very pricey.

Everything about the ballet was perfect! From the exquisite dancers to the most beautiful costumes and sets. It was an amazing show that made the young and old feel transported. Bravo!

This was our first Nutcracker ballet and loved it - the dancing, set, and costumes were absolutely wonderful. Even my husband was awake throughout. There was a short power outage after intermission, possibly due to the heavy storm, but we and other patrons had no intention of leaving until the end. So satisfied I chose Stanton Welch's production over the traditional looking Moscow ballet. I hope this will be the beginning of more ballet at the Smart Centre.