WATCH: The Nutcracker meets hip-hop… and it works!

“The Nutcracker” may be one of the most familiar ballet scores to adults, but last year Maestro Victor Vener from the California Philharmonic had an idea to give it a modern twist that would appeal to a new demographic. He invited three modern hip-hop dancers to help bring the music to life. Using modern hip-hop styles of “tutting” (manipulating your limbs to highlight geometric shapes) and “popping animation” (a halting stop-and-go motion the mimics robotics and can appear computer generated), Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer, JR Tight Eyex, and James Derrick donned some toy soldier costumes and created a dance that delighted young and old.