Drop everything immediately and check out this interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Snowflakes” on an airport tarmac by Post:Ballet.

Everyone who’s seen Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker performed live knows that the best part is the last track before intermission “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” where dancers dressed as anthropomorphic snow crystals dazzle you with a climactic showstopper of choreographed wonder that leaves the audience hopped up on holiday cheer. But everyone who’s seen Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker performed live knows that they are not going to see Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker performed live this year.

To our rescue comes this exquisitely filmed and choreographed “Waltz of the Snowflakes” by San Francisco-based Post:Ballet and members of the Berkeley Ballet Theater. Yes, that is an airport tarmac at the shuttered Naval Air Station Alameda, and the dancers are clearly wearing sneakers rather than ballet shoes.

But the abandoned shipyard-looking landscape, the masks, and the surreal skies play up the poignance of making celebrations during this lonely and tragic holiday season. And the San Francisco skyline backdrop adds to the striking but still somehow whimsical number.

If you dig their thing, this video will also be part of Berkeley Ballet Theater’s Available Light program Saturday December 19th at 7 p.m., which is a free show streaming live. Another number in that show will feature choreography by Robert Dekkers, who choreographed the “Waltz of the Snowflakes” number above.

And we are just now discovering that today (Fri., Dec 18) is the last day you can watch the Mark Morris Dance Company’s nutty parody The Hard Nut online for free! Other online Nutcrackers include the SF Ballet ($49, on demand), the San Jose Nutcracker’s Home for the Holidays ($15, on demand) and the Berkeley Ballet Theater (Free, Sun., Dec 20, 5pm PT).

Related: SFist Interviews: Ashley Muangmaithong, a Nutcracker Ballerina [SFist]

Image: Post:Ballet