I left William Saroyan Theatre Sunday evening with all of my Nutcracker Christmas dreams truly fulfilled.

Growing up as a ballet dancer, not only have I been in my fair share of “Nutcracker” performances, but I’ve also watched probably more than I could count. This being said, I know good quality-articulate ballet technique when I see it.

“The Nutcracker,” presented by the Central California Ballet under the Lively Arts Foundation, made its way right up there at the top of my list; dare I say the best performance of “The Nutcracker” I’ve seen in Fresno yet.

Shirley Winters with Shirley Winters Ballet was the artistic director of the production. Truly, hats off to her.

The classic Christmas story is centered around a little girl named Marie Stahlbaum, who is gifted a precious Nutcracker by her uncle, Herr Drosselmeyer, at her family’s Christmas party. As the night proceeds and her dreams deepen into reality, Marie finds herself in the middle of a battle between the Nutcracker and Mouse King, who have magically come to life from toys. After the mice are defeated and the spell of the Nutcracker is broken, turning him into a prince, Marie and her prince go on an adventure through the Land of Snow, and eventually to the Kingdom of Sweets.

The performance began with Herr Drosselmeyer, played by Steven Montalvo. His enchanting storytelling took the audience through a moment of foreshadowing of what was to come, how his beloved Nutcracker and infamous Mouse King would soon fiercely fight.

I was ecstatic to see Montalvo as soon as the curtain lifted. I have previously worked with him regarding one of his previous shows, “Wickedly Red,” and he was such a character. That unique personality of his absolutely translates into his performances.

My mom accompanied me to the ballet and only a mere few minutes into the party scene, she turned to me and said, “He [Montalvo] should be on Broadway.” I turned back to her and said, “He was.”

I’m a big fan and was in awe watching him execute the role of Drosselmeyer. He was actually co-director of the production, as well, plus the Arabian male lead.

Payton Kahl, who played the lead role of Marie (Clara), was an absolute class act of a main character.

I am very familiar with Kahl and her exquisite dancing, as for several years when I was a competition dance teacher, I watched her compete. She was always a dancer that encapsulated the audience into the story she was telling. She did it again.

Through her beautiful technique, acting skills and apparent love for the art of dance, I felt as though I was watching a little Marie be plucked out of the classic Nutcracker storybooks and be placed right on the Saroyan stage, living out her dreams.

This is actually something I can say for the entire cast, not just Kahl playing Marie.

Everyone lived their role on stage, from the Mouse Queen, to the Snow Queen, to Mother Ginger, to the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Nutcracker himself and all of the unique Act II variations.

I have to give a moment to the Land of Snow. The Snow King, Queen, Princess and Snowflakes left my jaw on the floor. Being the final dance before intermission, you want the audience to be wowed as the music ends and the curtain lowers.

Boy was I wowed.

The choreography was done by Carla Lippert and I have to give her her flowers because again, breathtaking.

A majority of the dancers in the production are local, however, brought to join the cast were three professionally trained dancers from out of the state. Molly Groeschl who played the Sugar Plum Fairy, Lucas Segovia who played the Sugar Plum’s Cavalier and Danny Tran who played the Snow King and Spanish Chocolate.

They really added that sparkle to the show.

The entire cast was primarily a split cast between their Saturday and Sunday shows. For instance, Kahl was Marie on Sunday, but Gia Cai was Marie on Saturday. Some roles were played by the same dancers for both days, such as Montalvo with Drosselmeyer, but mainly they were split up.

I love this, giving the most dancers an opportunity to perform as possible, or if able, to be able to experience playing different roles in the show.

Some other things I want to mention, the set was gorgeous. Throughout the show, as the sets transitioned, they only added to the essence of the dancing and added the quality of realness to the performance.

The costumes were very regal. Like I said before, it was as if you were flipping through a Nutcracker storybook, seeing all of the characters and the different scenes, but watching it live in front of you.

The music. I mean, if you’ve ever heard the famous Nutcracker soundtrack, you know. The choreography filled every bit of music with purpose. There were no moments of random choreography to get to the end of the music, everything was done with reason, which I appreciated.

I was so happy to see all of the songs from the soundtrack being used. In different productions, sometimes certain songs are not used, which is fine, but I definitely enjoyed seeing the full soundtrack used beautifully.

And the grand Pas De Deux at the end? Tears. That near 5 minute piece by Tchaikovsky is a gem in the world of music, so much more than a TikTok audio that trends during Christmas time. For dancers, and me personally having danced to that before, it touches our hearts in ways unexplainable.

As I reflect on the performance, I can’t help but smile and think of the immense joy I had watching it unfold.

I also can’t comment enough on the dancers and their talent. The Act II variations, including the feisty Spanish dancers, little Russian acrobats and gorgeous Waltz of the Flowers, just to name a few, were radiating such joy from the stage.

Was every little thing perfect, no; but that’s the beauty of dance. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just real, authentic and full of passion. That’s what these dancers displayed.

The Nutcracker is so special to me and my childhood, and anytime I am able to watch a live performance of it, I am so grateful.

It was a professional-level performance for me and if it were up to me, I’d see it more than just one more time.

To the Lively Arts Foundation, Central California Ballet, Shirley Winters and Steven Montalvo, thank you for gifting Fresno with such a near-perfect performance of “The Nutcracker.”

Until next year.