Classic 'Nutcracker' ballet performances near you

If Maya Mordente appears confident for a 10-year-old making her debut with a professional dance company in "The Nutcracker," maybe it's because show-business courses through her veins.

Maya, a 4-foot-5 fifth-grader at Lynwood Avenue Elementary in Farmingville, has taken lessons at her grandmother's Brookhaven School of Dance since she was 3. Her granny is Barbara Mordente, who performed in Broadway's "Li'l Abner" with Maya's great-uncle Tony Mordente. (Barbara married Tony's brother, Joe.) Barbara also is a friend of Chita Rivera, who starred with Tony in the original "West Side Story" in 1957. Chita and Tony married that same year and divorced in 1966.

"I think they'll come to my show," Maya says of her famous great-aunt and Chita's ex.

Maya stars as the dreamer Clara in the Eglevsky Ballet's annual Tilles Center "Nutcracker" Dec. 18 and 19. It's one of many "Nutcrackers" from one end of Long Island to the other.

Among them is the Leggz Ltd. "Nutcracker," the only one on the Island that will be danced to the lush sound of a full live orchestra - the 70-piece South Shore Symphony. It opens Friday in Rockville Centre.

On the North Shore, Port Jefferson's Harbor Ballet Theatre this weekend features Tony-nominated Ashley Tuttle as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Her dance card recently became available when "Come Fly With Me," the Twyla Tharp-Frank Sinatra musical, closed on Broadway. Tuttle earned her Tony nod for Billy Joel's "Movin' Out," also choreographed by Tharp.

Meanwhile, Maya's been rehearsing since September for her premiere. She's younger than most Claras. "Lots of girls at the audition were teenagers," says Maya. The company will dance to new choreography by Laszlo Berdo, master instructor and choreographer for the Eglevsky.

With so many to choose from, there's bound to be a "Nutcracker" near you.

EGLEVSKY BALLET

WHEN | WHERE 1 and 7 p.m. Dec. 18, 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at Tilles Center, C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, Brookville

ADMISSION $37 to $82

INFO tillescenter.org; 516-299-3100

LEGGZ LTD. DANCE

WHEN | WHERE 7:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday at South Side High School, 140 Shepherd St., Rockville Centre

ADMISSION $24, $22 seniors, children

INFO 516-766-7171

ALSO TRY "Land of the Sweets," one-hour family version of "Nutcracker" excerpts performed by Leggz Dance at the Nassau County Museum of Art, 1 Museum Dr., Roslyn Harbor, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Dec. 11; $45, $25 children, $2 parking

HARBOR BALLET THEATRE

WHEN | WHERE 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, at Vandermeulen High School, 550 Scraggy Hill Rd., Port Jefferson

ADMISSION $20

INFO harborballet.com; 631-331-3149

BALLET LONG ISLAND

See it up close and personal at the company's dance studios or in the spacious former Islip Town hall.

WHEN | WHERE 10 and 11:30 a.m. Dec. 15 and 16, 8 p.m. Dec. 17, 1 p.m. Dec. 18, 3 and 6 p.m. Dec. 19, at Town Hall West, 401 Main St., Islip

ADMISSION $22, $12 seniors and children

INFO theballetcenter.com; 631-737-1964

ALSO TRY Condensed "Nutcrackers" at 11 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Ballet Long Island studios, 1863 Pond Rd., Ronkonkoma

LONG ISLAND BALLET THEATRE

Christopher Fleming, who danced for both George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins, directs the Sugar Plum classic in advance of his all-new "Tommy" next spring.

WHEN | WHERE 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 p.m. Dec. 12, at the Long Island High School for the Arts, 239 Cold Spring Rd., Syosset

ADMISSION $32, $23 seniors and children

INFO liballettheatre.com; 631-271-4626

ALSO TRY The "Kingdom of Sweets" reception for children after each performance, $7, plus "Clara & Friends" tea party at noon Dec. 11 and 12, $20

NEW YORK DANCE THEATRE

If you want to see a Long Island "Nutcracker" in the tradition of George Balanchine's legendary New York City Ballet choreography, this is it.

WHEN | WHERE 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Dec. 17, noon and 5 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19, at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse, Hofstra University, Hempstead

ADMISSION $35, $28 seniors and children, $18 for 11 a.m. Dec. 17 show

INFO ohmanballet.com; 631-462-6266

LUMIERE BALLET

Academy co-founders Svetlana Caton-Noble and Venti Petrov keep the tradition going for a 12th season.

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, at the Maguire Theater, Campus Center, SUNY Old Westbury, Route 107 north

ADMISSION $30, $25 seniors and children

INFO lumiereballet.com; 631-586-2921

ALSO TRY Dany Holdstein Two Worlds Dance's traditional "Nutcracker" from the company's hip-hop/modern dance perspective, at 2 p.m. Dec. 18 and 19, Maguire Theater, SUNY Old Westbury, $25 ($30 at door), dhtw.com, 516-484-6604

LYNCH BALLET

This newcomer in the annual "Nutcracker" sweeps casts American Ballet Theatre II performer Alberto Valazquez in the role of the Cavalier.

WHEN | WHERE 2 and 6 p.m. Dec. 18, noon and 4 p.m. Dec. 19 at Huntington High School, 188 Oakwood Rd.

ADMISSION $25, $15 children

INFO lynchballet.com; 631-553-7392

HAMPTON BALLET THEATRE

Dancing the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier are Irina Dvorovenko and Sascha Radetsky of the American Ballet Theatre.

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. Dec. 10, 1 and 7 p.m. Dec. 11, 2 p.m. Dec. 12, at Guild Hall's John Drew Theater, 158 Main St., East Hampton

ADMISSION $20, $15 children

INFO 631-237-4810; hbts07@optonline.net

DANSE ARTS

Royce Zackery, American Ballet Theatre instructor, master of modern dance, jazz and tap and veteran of musical theater tries his hand (and feet) at the Cavalier.

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, at Southampton High School, 141 Narrow Lane

ADMISSION $12 to $15, $8 to $12 children and seniors

INFO dansearts.com; 631-537-1684

AMERICAN DANCE THEATRE OF LONG ISLAND

The 10th anniversary production of "Clara's Dream" puts its child-centric spin on the Tchaikovsky classic.

WHEN | WHERE 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. Saturday, 1 and 6 p.m. Sunday, at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, 71 E. Main St.

ADMISSION $23-$28

INFO patchoguetheatre.com; 631-207-1313

ALSO TRY Ovations Dance Repertory Theatre offers "The Nutcracker Suite" in full and abbreviated versions. 2 p.m. Dec. 9 (one-hour show for younger children), 1 and 7 p.m. Dec. 11, 1 and 6 p.m. Dec. 12, $10-$28,patchoguetheatre.com

SEISKAYA BALLET

Russian native Valia Seiskaya's original choreography brings a touch of Tchaikovsky's homeland to this North Shore holiday staple.

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. Dec. 17 and 20, 2 and 7 p.m. Dec. 18, 1 and 6 p.m. Dec. 19, at Staller Center, Stony Brook

ADMISSION $35, $29 seniors and children (early bird discount if purchased by Nov. 30), $34-$40 thereafter

INFO seiskaya.com; 631-632-2787

DANCECORE

They call it "The Nutcracker 'Sweet' " - 30 local kids dancing with a corps of professionals.

WHEN | WHERE 7 p.m. Dec. 17, at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, 75 Main St.

ADMISSION $15

INFO whbpac.org; 631-288-1500