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A Brand-New Holiday Wonder: A magical peek at Alberta Ballet's reimagined, reinvented and reinvigorated production of The Nutcracker.

The auditorium of the Jubilee is dark on November 20th, except for the sprawling stage where ballet master Edmund Stripe is bathed in light, directing a cluster of young dancers in mice costumes."This is the game plan, guys," he says in his crisp British accent. "We're going to do the transformation and we're only going to do it once."

It's the first time the 100-plus members of Alberta Ballet's reimagined and revitalized production of The Nutcracker have been able to test drive the new sets and costumes imagined by New York-based Zack Brown, widely dubbed the Bob Mackie of costume design. The lights dim and the children whisper excitedly backstage. "I want you all right back in the wings," he insists with a grand sweep of his arms. "People can see right into the wings."

After a few moments, the dancers emerge, hitting their marks without incident. Stripe is pleased. "That was pretty damned good for the first time. We're like Formula One-ers," he quips.

With one segment down, the company moves on to the next scene. Artistic director Jean Grand-Maître's voice booms over the sound system, giving a note to company soloist Yukichi Hattori, who plays the Nutcracker. "Stay a bit closer to the centre or else we'll lose you." The bounding horses canter onto the stage; Stripe stops one, kneels down and makes adjustments. "We need to check the aprons of the hobby horse," he calls into the darkness.

Brown makes a note of this from his perch behind a light table in the seats, before the group breaks for dinner. The dress rehearsal and road trip to Victoria and Spokane loom large-the company's new production hits the road for its first three performances, before coming back to Calgary on Dec. 17- yet there's no anxiety on the group's faces; everyone is moving with purpose, not panic.

Once all the numbers are crunched, Grand-Maître estimates this version of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker will be the most lavish production Alberta Ballet has ever mounted. "It will be a hard one to beat," he says, excitement rising in his voice. "I think it's going to be like unwrapping a new gift at Christmas."

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