Abstract
<jats:p>This article focuses on the challenge of updating classical ballet heritage for teenagers—a specific audience group actively developing their aesthetic preferences and patterns of cultural consumption. The relevance of the study is the strategic importance of teenagers as a future sustainable audience for academic art and the need to develop practical models for engaging them.</jats:p> <jats:p>The purpose of this article is to present a case study of the design, staging, and production of the ballet “The Nutcracker” for a teenage audience at the Nutcracker Municipal Ballet Theatre in Yekaterinburg, revealing the specifics of the artistic concept, management decisions, and comprehensive promotion strategy for the performance. The methodology is a case study of the Nutcracker Ballet Theatre (data on media presence, ticket sales, and target audience engagement are presented). “The Nutcracker” is interpreted not only as a traditional Christmas extravaganza but also as a contemporary choreographic narrative about growing up, searching for identity, and self-acceptance. Key artistic decisions included changing the protagonist to a teenage boy, synthesizing Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s music with D. Ellington's jazz arrangements, combining classical and modern choreography, and relying on a children's and youth troupe as the production's core resource. In the context of a municipal (or ballet) theater, adapting “The Nutcracker” for teenagers is both an artistic challenge and a management tool, updating the classics and strengthening sociocultural communication with a youth audience.</jats:p> <jats:p>This article presents a comprehensive promotion program that combined traditional advertising, social media marketing, festival formats, and event marketing. Particular attention was given to a promotional project featuring the immersive audio performance "Knitted Route," in which teenage actors shared personal stories. This approach was aimed at enhancing emotional engagement and preparing the audience for the meaningful perception of the main production.</jats:p> <jats:p>Research results: the effectiveness of the proposed integrated strategy, which incorporated both traditional and digital communication technologies focused on preliminary meaningful audience engagement, was demonstrated. With high attendance, successful sales, and positive feedback from the professional community, a polarized perception was revealed among the general audience. The presented experience is considered as a practical management model for working with teenage audiences in municipal theaters.</jats:p>