Stolen Nutcracker set recovered, Ontario ballet says

8 months ago 120

Jörgen Dance's artistic director and CEO says the moving truck containing set and backdrops, which was allegedly stolen in Etobicoke Monday, has been found. The company had planned to go ahead with its Tuesday show in Burlington regardless.

Ballet Jörgen said moving truck containing set and backdrops found after being stolen in Etobicoke Monday

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 25, 2025 8:32 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

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8 ballet dancers pose on stage during the Nutcracker

One day after it was allegedly stolen, a moving truck storing "irreplaceable" sets and backdrops for an Ontario-wide tour of The Nutcracker has been recovered, according to the head of the ballet company.

“Someone stole Christmas, and now it’s back on,” Bengt Jörgen, artistic director and CEO for Jörgen Dance, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning Tuesday.

The company had issued a public plea Monday for anyone who saw the 26-foot truck to report it to police, saying it contained “the heart of our Ontario-wide holiday tour.”

Ballet Jörgen is set to perform the classic holiday ballet throughout late November and December to audiences everywhere from Burlington to Orillia to Ottawa. The ballet company had vowed to go ahead with Tuesday’s scheduled show in Burlington, even if the sets weren’t recovered.

Jörgen said it would have been "a tough slog," and he's relieved the show will now be performed "exactly as it should be, with full sets and costumes opening for a full house.”

The company’s general manager Stephen Word said previously security camera footage showed the company's rental storage truck was stolen around 3:30 a.m. Monday from where it was parked in Etobicoke.

Jörgen said they got a call late Monday night from Peel Regional Police saying officers had found the truck in Brampton, and members of his company started celebrating "like we won the World Cup or something."

CBC Toronto has reached out to police to confirm the truck's recovery.

Before the truck was found, several people contacted the company offering to help build replacement sets, Jörgen said.

"We got so many offers of support. People were actually building sleighs for us overnight," he said. "I almost feel guilty now because they're not needed."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ethan Lang is a reporter for CBC Toronto. Ethan has also worked in Whitehorse, where he covered the Yukon Legislative Assembly, and Halifax, where he wrote on housing and forestry for the Halifax Examiner.

With files from John Rieti and Metro Morning

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