WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — "The Nutcracker" is one of the most popular holiday traditions around the world. The ballet's first performance hit the stage in 1892 after being adapted from the book “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” 

From the people who work behind the scenes to those who take center stage, months of hard work and dedication are put into the production of "The Nutcracker." 

“Whether it's their first time or they've been coming since they were kid and now they're bringing their kids, we want it to still look as fresh and fabulous as the first day that it premiered,” said Marissa McCullough, the dance costume shop director at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. 

"The Nutcracker" has been performed around the world for over 130 years. UNCSA has been producing the ballet since 1966. Many of the costumes are older than the dancers themselves. 

McCullough and her colleagues take precise care of the handmade costumes.

“It's a part of the draw to coming here, honestly, not just the costumes but just the the level of professional quality of our productions in general,” McCullough said. 

With multiple dancers using the costumes, it's important that each piece is adjustable to fit multiple body types. Some have multiple versions backstage. 

“We're helping with quick changes, we're repairing things that happened last minute, casting changes, last minute. Somebody is sick, somebody hurt their foot last show and we've got to switch things around,” McCullough said. 

To make each costume come to life, dancers from UNCSA and their high school program have been practicing from the beginning of the school year, learning moves from choreographer Illya Kozadayev. 

“Both of my parents were professional dancers and became teachers. I grew up around dance theater, watching my parents perform. And that sort of, drew me into the profession,” said Kozadayev.  

He said the dancers practice 17 to 23 hours a week to perfect his choreography to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score, performed by the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra. 

“The beautiful thing about 'Nutcracker' is that it's, it truly is, a historical production. It's a really, really old production. It's a wonderful story for children. It's very family friendly,” said Kozadayev.  

Each year of production adds its own magic from different props, choreography or altered costumes. Some of this year's props include larger-than-life buttons, matchsticks, swords and shields, turkey dinners filled with wall insulation and hand-painted sandwiches. 

“The thing about props that is so interesting is there's so many details that go into it. We just think about all of it. And when tracking it in the show, you have to think about when is it coming on, where is it coming on, where is it living backstage?” said Jessica Maida, a fourth year UNCSA student and the show's production stage manager. 

Not only do each of the props need to be crafted, safety of stage combat weapons, how heavy a prop is and even if water should be in a glass are all planned months in advance. 

“Without these little things, without the props, the lighting of the costumes, tou don't get this theatrical aspect of it on the props or doing part of the storytelling in that,” Maida said. 

UNCSA brought in its highest ticket revenue ever last year at the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in Greensboro and will perform five shows this year from Dec. 6 to 8. 

The Charlotte Ballet with perform at Belk Theater from Dec. 6 to 22 and the Carolina Ballet will perform their production at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium starting on Dec. 12 to 24.