Sensory Friendly Performance of The Nutcracker

Capture the awe and exhilaration of the holiday season with the classic story, iconic choreography and soaring score of The Nutcracker. This Pittsburgh-inspired production laces the traditional tale with new surprises each year and keeps the magic alive by showcasing the virtuosity of more than 170 dancers.

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre is proud to offer sensory-friendly performances for people from all over the western Pennsylvania region and beyond!

From the PBT Website:

What makes a performance “sensory-friendly?”

A sensory-friendly performance has been specially designed to serve patrons with sensory sensitivities and other special needs. We are making the entire experience sensory-friendly in three primary ways:

• Production
• Front of House
• Staff, Dancer and Volunteer Training

The production will be, for the most part, what you would see if you were to attend any other performance. First and foremost, PBT wants the production to retain its artistic integrity and impact on the audience. Some things will be different, however, such as: 

• lowering sound and light levels so there are no sudden changes
• eliminating any potentially startling effects, such as the fire flares that signal Drosselmeyer’s magic tricks in The Nutcracker
• keeping the house lights at half throughout the performance

Front of house — everything from the lobby to where you are sitting — likely will be where audience members notice the biggest changes. Some adaptations will include:

• relaxing of house rules–you are free to get up, move around, and leave whenever you need to
• allowed use of Ipads and other electronics for therapeutic uses
• volunteers scattered throughout the theater to assist and direct audience members as needed
• quiet areas and activity areas in the lobby should your child need a break
• fidget objects and ear plugs will be available

Everyone–PBT staff, dancers, ushers and volunteers–will be trained prior to the performance. PBT is working with many local autism and intellectual and developmental disability experts to make sure that everyone involved understands the spectrum of special needs that patrons may have and strategies for helping all patrons through this experience.