There is snow on the ground pine garlands adorning the lampposts along Wisconsin Avenue and the trees in many downtown parks are covered in lights. Yes, the holiday season has arrived again in Milwaukee.

Another sure sign of the season's arrival — the Milwaukee Ballet — is ringing in the holiday spirit with its annual holiday favorite "The Nutcracker," which opens at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts' Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St., Friday, Dec. 12.

The ballet's score is possibly the most popular and best-loved work of Russian composer Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, and the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra's performance of the music helps the dancers of the Milwaukee Ballet Company bring the familiar story to life.

The opening scene of the ballet transports audiences into the home of a young girl named Clara, whose parents are hosting an elegant Christmas party at their home in Germany. Clara's mysterious uncle, Herr Drosselmeyer, arrives with gifts for all the children. Clara is upset when time goes by and she has not yet received a gift. Her uncle produces a toy nutcracker dressed as a prince, which alleviates her sadness until her jealous brother breaks the toy.

What follows is an elaborate dream sequence in which Clara is transported to a world full of magic. Her toy nutcracker has come to life, and the prince he becomes guides the young girl through her new surroundings.

The ballet will be performed in Milwaukee through Dec. 28, and will be directed by the Milwaukee Ballet's Michael Pink.

Pink acts as artistic director for the Ballet, which means that he is in charge of the artistic decisions of the company. His production of "The Sleeping Beauty" earlier this fall was a cut and restructured version of the original choreography, meant to fit the traditionally long ballet into a smaller venue in less time.

"For 'The Nutcracker,' the original choreographer is up for debate, so there may not be one 'original' 'Nutcracker' choreography found," said Chris Allen, marketing manager for the Milwaukee Ballet. "Companies tend to do exactly what Mr. Pink did with 'Beauty,' adding their own interpretation. Milwaukee Ballet's 2008 production of 'The Nutcracker' contains the same choreography as it has since Mr. Pink's version debuted here."

Dancer Marc Petrocci, a leading artist with the company, said, "Michael tends to do story-based ballets. He takes well-known narratives and creates his own vision of the story through dance. He tends to play up the narrative. The key lines take on the visual of the conflict."

Petrocci, who came to the ballet after studying dance in Winnipeg, Canada, can be seen dancing the roles of Clara's brother Fritz and Mother Ginger. He will also dance in one of the Chinese combinations.

"Michael is great at developing dancers as actors and artists," Petrocci said. "He really holds you accountable for not just your part of the story but for adding to other people's roles as well."

The production features the dancers of the Milwaukee Ballet Company as well as a rotating cast of young student dancers, all of whom dance at the Milwaukee Ballet School.

"We have three school studios throughout southeastern Wisconsin, in Brookfield, Fox Point and our main studios in Milwaukee," Allen said. "The students range from elementary school to middle and high school. Our production also includes a performance from Milwaukee Children's Choir."

The professional dancers featured in the ballet have come from locations around the world to dance in Milwaukee.

"I didn't know much about the city of Milwaukee before I came here, but since I moved here I've really started to appreciate the people," said dancer Darren McIntyre, originally of Australia.

McIntyre, who will be portraying Clara's uncle Herr Drosselmeyer in the production, said that his character is "kind of the center of making the whole production work. It's kind of cool that I get to interact with all the dancers in the production, especially all the kids. It's not so much of a dancing role as it is a character role. It's a lot of work, though."

Tickets to the ballet's 19 performances of "The Nutcracker" are on sale now through Ticketmaster, by calling the Milwaukee Ballet offices or at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts' box office.