Golden State Ballet Tickets

The holiday tradition of The Nutcracker, live at the San Diego Civic Theater, carried forward by San Diego's own Golden State Ballet and the San Diego Philharmonic Orchestra was nothing short of Amazing! We are blessed to have this level of talent and dedication here in San Diego (where arts often struggle). The talent of the dancers and the production are unmatched. The costumes and sets beautiful. The live orchestra moving, the audience in their seasonal regalia commons in making the the experience it a wonderful start to the holidays!

The holiday tradition of The Nutcracker, live at the San Diego Civic Theater, carried forward by San Diego's own Golden State Ballet and the San Diego Philharmonic Orchestra was nothing short of Amazing! We are blessed to have this level of talent and dedication here in San Diego (where arts often struggle). The talent of the dancers and the production are unmatched. The costumes and sets beautiful. The live orchestra moving, the audience in their seasonal regalia commons in making the the experience it a wonderful start to the holidays!

Last time I saw the Nutcracker was 5 or 6 years ago. I wasn’t that impressed last time. I went this time to support a friend who was in the production. I was blown away by the quality of the production, the level of talent, and the show in general. It was so much better than the last time I had seen it. Golden state Ballet company is exceptional!!

Beautiful production and sets. I went 2X...principals and soloists exchanged roles and I thought that bringing their own personality to the characters was really interesting . Won't miss next year

Great show, seats and staff. Civic theater is a great please to see a show!

The Nutcracker performance was beautiful in so many regards…we just expected more from a ballet company as large as this one. So many elements of the Ballet were fantastic, several of the performers were highly skilled and amazing; however, ballet timing for scenes was often off. Experienced dancers would get back on time within a few minutes, but many of the less experienced dancers were not able to do so. The first half of the ballet was wholistic in nature, but the second half felt more like a recital; it lacked cohesion and plot line (even though we all know the plot of the nutcracker). And after a time, the audience treated it as such; general audience behavior changed—became too casual. Perhaps my group and I misunderstood what to expect, but at $125 a seat, we definitely expected more. Several of the scenes definitely “wowed” both in skill and in beauty. Some of the sets and several specific components of the set design were innate with the “wow factor.” The surprise at the end of Act 1 was delightful for everyone! Act II opening scene was absolutely gorgeous—breathtaking. Overall, I would have given 3.5 stars, but my group wanted to rate 2-2.5 stars (they include artists and musicians). So we settled on 3 stars overall. Maybe my party and I need to research the GSB a little more to understand their over organization and this Ballet’s purpose.

My daughter, from Holland, and my husband and I were all excited to see the Nutcracker Friday night. We got all dressed up and, to our surprise, I had purchased tickets for the previous night!! Colleen, a super nice Customer Service Manager at the Civic Theatre, never missed a lick. She jumped into action and just like that we had the perfect seats on Friday night!! She was AMAZING!! The musical was wonderful as well!!

Having the San Diego symphony was a treat. The sets and costuming fantastic. The choreographed ballet disappointing. There was probably 10 min of actual ballet in the first 50 min. The first half was literally like watching a children’s school production. None of us paid $100 a seat to watch 4-10yr olds walk/run around for 45 min. The female leads were pretty good and the sexy Arabian dance, usually a highlight, was OK. IMO, City Ballet of San Diego had a better show at Spreckles and San Diego Ballet had best dancers at the La Jolla Playhouse. But neither had the San Diego Symphony. And that’s what Golden State Ballet has.

A wonderful classic production, with new yet traditional choreography. The orchestra sounded terrific and the dancers were excellent. This was an excellent show for all ages.

I’ve never ever seen the Nutcracker and decided to go and see it and I would recommend it, because I loved it so much. Thank you all for a great & wonderful show.

Have been going to different performances over the past 23 years, mostly In Colorado, from small to professional groups. This is my second time at the this production. Last time here was durning Covid, which was a disaster, and wanted a “redemption” experience. The dancing was beautifully preformed, but felt the stage sets were lacking. Very underwhelmed. Loved the children, wish they were included in the curtain call!

I was quite familiar with this ballet but found the Golden State version of it lacking in continuity and I was puzzled by the "Valdemort"character in a black cape. The choreography did not tie the story together. The principal dancers were competent but others were less so. My friend and I left at intermission, we were so disappointed. I came home and watched the New York City Ballet version of it on You Tube. Over all, it seemed disjointed with a number of scenes roughly "stitched' together. I am very sorry to say these things because I want to support San Diego culture and I know that ballet is the most difficult of the arts to perform with total grace and finesse.

Always a classic! Beautiful music, dancing, and costumes. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

The production was wonderful. I was a little disappointed with the program being on a QR code instead of a pamphlet. It would've been distracting to be looking at the acts and dances on a phone without disrupting other people. Also disappointing was no merchandise. When I went five years ago, there were nutcrackers for sale with other items to be purchased at the venue. It was special to be able to buy my granddaughter a nutcracker at the nutcracker performance.

Great show! Loved every minute of it! Great choreography. The dancing was superb!

This is my first experience with the Golden State Ballet and I was very impressed. I grew up in Chicago with wonderful ballet companies and have longed to have something of quality in San Diego since I moved here 25+ years ago. The Golden State Ballet was a joy to watch. The costumes and scenery were beautiful and very well done. The primary dancers did an excellent job. Sometimes there were too many young kids moving around in the background which was a distraction. I do look forward to seeing how the Golden State Ballet grows and improves.

Absolutely amazing performance it’s a must see!!!!

I saw that there were 7 performances, so I coaxed my husband to actually sit down with our packed Holiday schedule and save a night for the ballet. It would have been so easy to "blow it off" due to a very busy work and social/family schedule. Well...WOW! This soaring and magnificent ballet rang every bell and hit every high point for us. We sat in front of dancers of another company. That made is SO much fun as they reacted with such joy and true appreciation for the performances of these extraordinary dancers. I cried a few times, because it was so beautiful and pure and the children in the cast were so adorable...all I could think about was the effort everyone on that stage went to so that we could be in those seats watching such beauty. We had very well priced seats in the Orchestra section and worth every penny. AND...to be treated to the world-class San Diego Symphony as the live soundtrack of Tchaikovsky's magic...priceless! We were spirited away to a different universe where I felt immense awe, gratitude and peace. Thank YOU to the Golden State Ballet Company for a truly stunning and unforgettable experience!!!

The show was good but the theater looks tired not well maintained. The fact that drinks and food are allowed in the theater -- not just the lobby during intermission -- marred the experience. There were a lot of drunk and boisterous people in the audience. It's what I would expect at a concert, not a ballet -- much less a ballet that is a major draw for kids. I would hesitate to go back there.

The price was very high. The nutcracker was not like last year. Last year was A+++++++++