Just in time for the holidays, The Hard Nut, Mark Morris's 1991 retelling of the classic tale of The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann, returns to the Bay Area for the first time in three years, with a seven-performance run at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California, starting tonight. The Mark Morris Dance Group will be joined by members of the Berkeley Symphony, led by conductor George Cleve, for the performances with the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir under the direction of Robert Geary. For the first time in Berkeley, Morris will take on the role of Dr. Stahlbaum/King. Watch a preview here.

Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, has announced its 2012–13 season, which will feature Kronos Quartet as the season's Artists in Residence; Philip Glass's groundbreaking work with Robert Wilson, Einstein on the Beach; Fatoumata Diawara's debut; a Sérgio & Odair Assad concert with Paquito D'Rivera; and the return of the Mark Morris Dance Company with the holiday favorite Hard Nut. Subscription sales begin on Friday.

The Hard Nut, Mark Morris's 1991 retelling of the classic tale of The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann, returns to New York for the first time in eight years, with an eight-performance run at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, starting tonight. The New York Times says: "Mr. Morris creates a marvelously musical, choreographically ingenious response to Tchaikovsky’s great score that has its own magic and speaks its own truths about the nature of love." The Hard Nut DVD is now 33% off in the Nonesuch Store.