Craig Raskin Photography

The following pictures were taken of the Miami City Ballet's performance of George Balanchine's Nutcracker at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. They were taken starting with crew load-in on Monday night, December 20th, up until the final perfomance on Friday, Christmas Eve. During this time, I was given complete access to photograph everything that went on behind the scenes.

For a performance that only lasts a few hours on stage, the amount of behind the scenes work is nothing short of amazing. Since none of it is seen by the public, it is almost impossible to realize how much actually goes on. I hope these pictures will help show the incredible unseen work that goes on.

A special thanks goes to Marc Cole for allowing me to take these pictures. Thanks also goes to the members of the Miami City Ballet. I didn't know what to expect at first, but I found them to be an incredible group of people. I haven't laughed that much in a very long time. Thank you for inviting me into your life for a week. These are for you.