The holiday classic "The Nutcracker," about an adolescent girl who changes forever when her magical godfather gives her a nutcracker that turns into a prince, has undergone an ironic evolution.

Choreographers love to tinker with it, but Balanchine's family-friendly version is the one Americans know best. And he borrowed that from two Russian choreographers - Petipa and Ivanov, who had the composer Tchaikovsky write magnificent suites - and they adapted their ballet from an adaptation by the French writer Dumas. Yet it all started with E.T.A. Hoffman's "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," a dark tale about children, but written for adults.

Olga Preobrajenskaya as the Sugar Plum Fairy

and Nikolai Legat as Prince Coqueluchein in the

Imperial Ballet's original production. Circa 1900.

City Ballet dancers Janica Smith as the Sugar Plum Fairy

and Gil Girado hold a striking pose. Photo: Chelsea Penyak

In German folklore, nutcrackers were considered fine gifts that could bring good luck, but Hoffman's moral fable is filled with symbolism that alludes to temptation, male aggression, and sexual awakening. It's not just dolls and candy in his story.

The young girl must make big sacrifices to find true love, and she gets hurt. After a battle with giant mice, the heroine cuts her arm on some window glass, and her mother warns, "…if it had been a little higher up you might have lost your arm, or even bled to death.”

The ballet changes her name from Maria to Clara and edits most of Hoffman's story, but his fantasy and coming-of-age framework are still there. City Ballet of San Diego's pretty version (on view at the Spreckels Theatre through Dec. 20th) had an unexpected zinger on opening night that Hoffman and Freud would relish.

Act I featured Janica Smith as a convincing Clara, the young woman who will cross the boundary from childhood to adulthood in a dream. The very handsome Geoff Gonzalez was cast as both Herr Stahlman and the Prince. Imagine the shock when he took off his giant Nutcracker head and we realized Clara was falling in love with - her dad! The casting error added a nightmarish note to their romantic duets. Still, we must assume that few noticed the likeness, and Gonzalez and Smith were excellent partners. It was a joy to see mature dancers with technical skill and genuine motivation rather than youngsters floating through the roles. (Kyle Riviecco also alternates as Nutcracker).

Clara is the heroine of Act I, but becomes an observant guest when her dream takes her to the Kingdom of Sweets. Ariana Samuelsson as the Sugar Plum Fairy commanded the stage with powerful turns and presence, but also offered delicate phrasing as dictated by the tinkling sound of the celesta, her unique instrument. She and her Cavalier, Gerardo Gil, were well matched in stamina and expression in their pas de deux, and Gil was solid in solo leaps and turns.

In the Waltz of the Flowers, Tara Formanek portrayed Rose, a role also known as Dew Drop. She is a lovely dancer with long limbs, and she stretched classical forms to full extension with grace and internal joy.

The historic Spreckels is now City Ballet's home theater and is the perfect venue for this intimate production. The youthful City Ballet Orchestra fits well in the pit and gives Tchaikovsky's ethereal score an authentic edge over a recording.

Costumes by David Heuvel are colorful and richly detailed in the party scene, icy blue for Snowflakes, jagged white skirts for the Snow Princesses, and overly pink for the Flowers.

The talented company, directed by Elizabeth and Steven Wistrich, is careful to balance artistry and opportunities for students. For this "Nutcracker," students appear in appropriate scenes as miniature soldiers (with adorable horse attachments) that battle evil mice and tiny candies that emerge from Mother Ginger's giant skirt. But "The Nutcracker" is a classical ballet that demands a lot of acting. On Friday, the party scene was sluggish, with stiff pantomime, underdeveloped characters, and too many gaps.

The emphasis is on dancing, rather than theater. The principal dancers are outstanding. Divertissements that visit exotic lands are well-executed and follow a traditional, stereotyped formula: fiery and quaint, athletic and comical, and seductive, but cautiously so. The snow scene is beautiful and features an impeccable corps of snowflakes.

Stanislava Belinskaya as Clara (L) and Vassily Stulkolin as

Fritz (R) in the original production of "The Nutcracker," 1892,

Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg.

You can catch the last performances of City Ballet of San Diego's "The Nutcracker" this weekend - and ponder the ballet's curious history and popularity that has endured for more than a century.

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