SF Ballet’s Nutcracker on PBS: Yuan Yuan Tan as Snow Queen & Hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi

Since this is Christmas, something that always puts me in the holiday mood is the Nutcracker ballet. This year there is a special treat, as the San Francisco Ballet Nutcracker will be re-broadcast on PBS this Sunday. (That’s on KQED in the Bay Area; check local listings for your region.) As a bonus, the PBS broadcast is hosted by Bay Area local Kristi Yamaguchi, who shares personal memories of attending the ballet when she was young. And her stint on Dancing with the Stars.

I know I blog about her a lot, but one of my favorite ballerinas, Yuan Yuan Tan will be will be Snow Queen, and now you can see her for free! Since it’s a brand new production of the holiday classic — new costumes, new choreography — the ballet company has made a bold move to broadcast it free on public TV for all to see, instead of making audiences buy tickets to see the shiny new show. Yay for us fans who have already seen it live this holiday season! 🙂 Watching the ballet is infinite better anyway; plus, seeing Yuan Yuan Tan dance as Snow Queen is definitely not something to miss. (And bonus points if you can spot Frances Chung, who has a brief solo as Spanish Chocolate, flashing a fan like there’s no tomorrow.)