Dance Calendar

Send listings two weeks in advance to stage@seattleweekly.com.

Performances & Events

Senior Dance Socials 55 or older? Join the fun with dance instructors on hand and music by the Ham Carson Quartet. Century Ballroom, 915 E. Pine St., www.CenturyBallroom.com. $14. 2 p.m. Wed. Dec. 20.

Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker And tell Tchaikovsky the news: Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann present stars from Seattle's burlesque A-list in "a spectacle of ecdysiastic pageantry" set to a swing-era soundtrack. The Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, www.thetripledoor.net. $18-$20. 7 & 10 p.m. Wed. Dec. 20.

Pacific Northwest Ballet It's hard to think of a more exuberant way to celebrate the holiday season than attending PNB's Nutcracker. The production is simply magic. Of course, the dancers would hardly need to move for the production to be a success, so blessed is the ballet company in having Maurice Sendak's intricate, colorful, and whimsical sets. Snow falls on a winter wonderland, Clara and the prince sail to a magical kingdom amid dolphins jumping through undulating waters, and huge dangling lanterns complete an Oriental kingdom where some of the liveliest dances take place. But PNB's dancers do move, and with grace and verve. In the performance I attended, Carla Korbes performs the peacock dance as if she were the animal herself, her lithe and shimmying body framed by a set that has turned an iridescent, dusky blue. It is a transfixing moment. Offstage, the people watching can't be beat, as everyone from 5 to 75 dresses up in a way seldom seen in this casual town. McCaw Hall, Seattle Center, 441-2424, www.pnb.org. $18-$108. 2 & 7:30 p.m. Wed. Dec. 20-Sat. Dec. 23, noon Sun. Dec. 24, 2 & 7:30 p.m. Tues. Dec. 26-Thurs. Dec. 28. Ends Thurs. Dec. 28.NINA SHAPIRO

International Ballet Theatre Bringing The Nutcracker to the Eastside, with PNB's Stanko Milov. Meydenbauer Theatre, 11100 N.E. Sixth St., Bellevue, 325-6500, www.ticketwindowonline.com. $15-$35. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Dec. 21-Sat. Dec. 23, 2 p.m. Sat. Dec. 23.

Emerald City Contra Dance Participatory dance (all dances taught, no partner necessary) to the strains of KGB (Julie King, piano; Claude Ginsburg, fiddle; Dave Bartley, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki.) Phinney Neighborhood Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., 440-9839, seattledance.org. $4-$7. Beginners at 7 p.m., dance at 7:30 p.m. Fri. Dec. 22.

Dancing with the StarsSEE THE WIRE, FRIDAY. KeyArena, Seattle Center, www.ticketmaster.com. $47-$94. 7:30 p.m. Fri. Dec. 22.

A Tap Dance Christmas Carol SEE THE WIRE, FRIDAY. An exuberant dance version of Dickens' ghost story. Anacrusis Modern Tap Dance at Broadway Performance Hall, Seattle Central Community College, 1625 Broadway, 325-6500, www.ticketwindowonline.com. $18-$24. 8 p.m. Fri. Dec. 22, 2 & 8 p.m. Sat. Dec. 23.

Gypsie Nation "Freestyle participatory rituals intended to bring healing, as well as honor the ancestral spirits and the Earth. Supported by a wild tapestry of ancient and modern tribal music." Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave. N.E., 216-1722, www.gypsienation.com. $9 (under 13 free). 11 a.m. Sun. Dec. 24.