PORTLAND — Voted “Best (Hopefully) Annual Event” by the Portland Phoenix in 2010, Vivid Motion Inc., celebrates their 10th holiday production of “Nutcracker Burlesque,” now a Portland tradition. The tantalizing twist on the classic tale begins tonight at 8 p.m. and runs through Friday, Dec. 21, at St. Lawrence Arts Center, 76 Congress St.

This year, Vivid Motion’s going “back to the bar.” Reprising audience favorites from past performances with some saucy new twists and titillating choreography, this year’s show is sure to excite and delight, a news release said.

The show is described as follows:

A frugal IT manager has unwittingly rented out a biker bar for her company’s holiday party. When the timid office workers arrive, they find some rough and rugged bikers who are not in the least bit pleased to be sharing their regular watering hole with a group of outsiders.

Clara, the beloved barback, catches the eye of the Prince of all IT nerds, much to the chagrin of the biker gang’s leader, the Rat King. Drosselmeyer, the bar’s magical bartender, sees the mounting tension and intervenes, following a tense battle between the IT crowd and the bikers, whisks Clara and her potential new beau away on a dream-like pub crawl through the red light district.

The heat gets turned up by Spanish ladies of the evening in the streets outside the bar, then the audience is carried away on a magic carpet ride in a psychedelic Arabian gogo nightclub. You’ll be dazzled by the exploits of the dancers in a Russian bar, caught up in the coy flirtations of a Chinese hot spot, delighted by the athleticism and fun of a cowboy bar, and swept up in the excitement of a parade of Mother Ginger’s flash mob. Finally we settle in for the floor show at a posh nightclub. All the while, the Prince and Rat King vie for Clara’s attentions. Who will win the girl’s heart?

The NB Ensemble also returns with versions of classic songs by Tchaikovsky and others, under the leadership of Music Director Joe Paulus (keyboards) and showcasing the talents of Remy Brecht (guitar), Jason Leone (drums), and Chad Sclove (bass) in a jazz/rock ensemble.

Choreographing for this year’s production, “Nutcracker Burlesque” originator Brigitte Paulus adds her style and humor to Act I as the guests are introduced and the IT crowd and bikers go toe-totoe.

Veteran Emily Zack, a classically trained ballet dancer formerly of the Portland and Boston ballets directs the crowd-pleasing Snowflakes in gossamer attire. Jessica Jane Means, professional belly dancer and 10-year NB alumna has made Mother Ginger even hotter this year, and Daphne Gerard reprises her exhilarating choreography for a sizzling troupe of Russian dancers.

Artistic director and show director MJ Emerson lends her choreographic talents to the dazzling Sugar Plum Fairy variation and glitzy Waltz of the Flowers.

Vivid Motion dancers range from classically-trained ballerinas to hip-hop clubbers, and vary from students to career professionals.

Tickets are $15 at The Merchant Co., 656 Congress St. No children please.

Performances are tonight and Dec. 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 21. All shows are at 8 p.m.

For more information, visit www.vividmotion.org.