Anastasia Soboleva, first soloist, chooses her pointe shoes for practice at Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia November 20, 2015. For theatregoers in St Petersburg, Nacho Duato's "The Nutcracker" demonstrates the global appeal of a Christmas classic. When the curtain rises at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, among the oldest opera and ballet houses in Russia, it's the culmination of hundreds of hours of toil and sweat by dancers, costume makers, set designers and musicians playing the famous score by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor PICTURE 1 OF 31 - SEARCH "DUKOR NUTCRACKER" FOR ALL IMAGES