Last year at this time I suggested taking in Oakland Ballet's Nutcracker, in part because the company had an uncertain future. I thought that might have been my last opportunity to make it the top choice for the week. Well, it was, sort of. Since Oakland Ballet no longer exists, the Oakland Ballet Academy's director, Ronn Guidi, who has always displayed a confident touch with his story ballets, is running the show under the auspices of his own foundation. Regardless of the company's name, my late-season recommendation for 2005 still applies today: Guidi's version of the Nutcracker, which he began directing in 1992, is not the most spectacular, but it is wonderfully focused around a child's attention span. There is intimacy, magic, laughter, and poignancy, and for kids simply to see so many dancers of their size onstage can be inspiring. The family narrative is unostentatious and not swamped with a cast of dozens, which can be hard for small kids to understand. This year's version is also quite a remarkable community endeavor. According to VoiceofDance (www.voiceofdance.com), former company members have come back to put on their toe shoes and slippers and volunteer. They have helped with fundraising and administration, costume upkeep, and sets. Students from Guidi's ballet school are taking on the children's roles, and the Oakland East Bay Symphony will perform Tchaikovsky's glorious score. Tickets are going fast.

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