Debbie Allen’s Hot Chocolate Nutcracker Delivers Christmas Cheer

Famed dancer and actress Debbie Allen inspired dreams of more than sugarplums with her annual holiday production, Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, which is streaming on Netflix, was produced in conjunction with Shonda Rhimes, and based loosely on Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic, The Nutcracker.

“I decided to take it on and make it fun … and have a cultural identity of music that was not tied to Tchaikovsky,” Allen said. “So, the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker takes us on a journey to real and imagined lands all done with different styles of dance and music.”

The Netflix documentary follows Allen and her staff at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA) from the auditions in September through rehearsals to the performance.

“Some people come into the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker at age four or five, and you know, at age 12, they’re still here,” explained DADA Director, Karen McDonald.

The cast is comprised of dance students from Beverly Hills, Compton and Los Angeles who practice long hours on the weekends for a coveted spot in DADA’s biggest annual fundraiser. Allen’s husband, former NBA star Norm Nixon, recalled his wife’s inspiration the academy which she started in 2008.

“She wanted to have a place where regardless of what you look like – if you want to dance, you can come dance,” Nixon stated.

Allen takes pride in her students, aware that for many these first steps may lead to a career in dance on Broadway.

“I know some of you still need to learn how to point your toes and your feet, but none of that will come if you don’t learn how to be quiet and listen,” she instructed in the documentary.

With classic Christmas favorites like Donny Hathaway’s Hang All the Mistletoe, the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker calls out cultural holiday touchstones and invites newcomers to enjoy the art before them.

Nixon added, “What makes me the happiest about this place is to watch their faces. Some of them had never been in theater before get standing ovations and to watch their faces, it’s like unbelievable.”

Colorful scenes with costumes and choreography wow throughout the special which includes an interview with tap great Savion Glover who helps teach the dancers.

“They can take this information and go on and be better dancers,” Glover offered. “They can take this information and go on to be better humans, humanitarians. It’s the learning. It’s the teaching. It’s how they receive it. I want them to just walk out different.”

And many of the students do.

“The process from September to December is pretty intense,” McDonald said. “Those students who participate I would say grow tenfold.”

The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker is scheduled for a live performance on December 8, 2021 in Los Angeles.