If you've ever felt an overwhelming need to plow onto the War Memorial stage and join the Russian dancers in a rousing round of pirouettes before being hurled unceremoniously into the cold by burly ballet bouncers, this is the event for you. A wildly popular annual tradition from the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, this year's Dance-along Nutcracker dumps the drawing room of Clara's bourgeois parents for Hollywood's favorite brand of Americana, the Wild West - where macho men are covered in dust and stagecoaches are halted by mustache-twirling hooligans. Expect musicians in ponchos and showgirl corsets, cowboy hats crowning the heads of grown men in tutus, women with arms raised victoriously in leopard-print coats, and insanely adorable tykes who romp merrily along on Clara's adventure through saloons and cacti-lined canyons.

For an evening of inspired ballyhoo and an excuse to pull out that dusty hobby horse, check it out. You can even skip the gym this weekend, because flinging yourself enthusiastically through herds of gung-ho amateur dancers while wearing a sparkly tutu burns some serious eggnog.

Dec 12-13, afternoon and evening shows. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission St. For tickets and more information, visit dancealongnutcracker.org.