What type of dance is the Nutcracker?

The Nutcracker is a classical ballet. It is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is loosely based on the 1816 story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann. The ballet was first performed in 1892 by the Imperial Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Nutcracker has become a Christmas tradition around the world and is one of the most popular ballets of all time.