Little girls who have already memorized their Barbie in "The Nutcracker" videos may be surprised that nobody in Houston Ballet's "real" version talks tough or shrinks. And the music is strictly Tchaikovsky -- none of that generic action stuff. But they probably won't be bored.

the Nutty Nutcracker, the season-ending perversion of Tchaikovsky's classic

Zdenek Konvalina, Houston Ballet's new principal dancer, was relegated to the fifth cast during the company's recent Swan Lake -- even though he'd danced the role of Prince Siegfried numerous times in Europe.

Zdenek Konvalina will dance the role of the Nutcracker Prince in Houston Ballet's first cast of the holiday favorite The Nutcracker.

If it was a test, he apparently passed, since he'll be the first-cast Nutcracker Prince when the marathon holiday production opens Friday.

No place like home for the holidays?

Not in Houston.

The city's artists and entertainers want to convince you there's no place like the theater, gallery or concert hall for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's -- and no seasonal experience quite like a holiday play, ballet, recital or exhibition.