Adoptable Pets Bring Extra Charm to Sacramento Ballet's "Nutcracker"

November 28, 2001

What’s better than the Nutcracker? The Nutcracker with puppies and kittens, naturally. This year, Sacramento Ballet has partnered with the Front Street Animal Shelter to feature adoptable pets in each of their 13 Nutcracker performances. The critters will have roles in the opening scene—a busy street—and in the party scene at Clara’s house.

So far, each and every one of the 40 featured animals has found a forever-home. The goal for the next five performances is to bring that number up to 50. Front Street Animal Shelter often features their animals in creative ways, and is very social media savvy. So far the partnership with Sacramento Ballet has been very successful for both organizations. Ticket sales for Sacramento Ballet’s Nutcracker have been up 15% since last year.