There are lots of reasons American dance companies mount Nutcracker year after year. But “no ballet company mounts a “Nutcracker” primarily to strengthen ties among its volunteers, to bring families together at Christmas, to provide a growth chart of a dancer’s progress. Laudable as these aspects of the work are, they are byproducts of a financial imperative. Lacking any better way to fund our ballet companies – faced with scarce government support, declining corporate backing and unreliable ticket sales for more adventurous dancing – we have become a “Nutcracker” nation indeed.”