“The Nutcracker” is so much more than a series of steps. It’s about the dancing, sure. It’s also children dressed in their holiday finest seeing ballet for the first time.
Maybe it’s the post-lockdown malaise lifting, but Joffrey’s “Nutcracker” sparkles like never before: The colors seem brighter, the sets more immersive, the orchestrations richer, the story ever whimsical.