Just a day after it was reportedly taken, a moving truck filled with “irreplaceable” sets and backdrops for an Ontario tour of The Nutcracker has been found, according to the ballet company’s director.

“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 made a public appeal on Monday asking anyone who spotted the 26-foot truck to notify the police, stating it held “the heart of our Ontario-wide holiday tour.”

Ballet Jörgen is scheduled to perform the classic holiday ballet throughout late November and December in various locations including Burlington, Orillia, and Ottawa. The ballet company promised to go ahead with Tuesday’s planned performance in Burlington, even if they didn’t get the sets back.

Jörgen mentioned that it would have been “a tough slog,” but he feels relieved that they can now present the show “exactly as it should be, with full sets and costumes opening for a full house.”

The company’s general manager Stephen Word stated earlier that security footage revealed their rental storage truck was stolen around 3:30 a. m. Monday from its parking spot in Etobicoke.

Jörgen said they received a call late Monday night from Peel Regional Police informing them that officers had located the truck in Brampton. Members of his team began celebrating “like we won the World Cup or something.”

CBC Toronto has reached out to police for confirmation regarding the recovery of the truck.

Immediate Help Offered for Set Replacement

Clea Iveson, academy director at Jörgen Dance, shared that she spent Monday trying hard to come up with “alternative solutions” to put on a show without any set.

“It was just a day of being creative.. like, what are we going to do if we don’t have a sleigh? They’re going to have to walk. It’s not right,” she said Tuesday. “When we did finally get that call [the truck had been found] I literally sort of collapsed.”

After 17 years of hosting the same Nutcracker set, Alberta Ballet recently decided to present a new version of the classic. (Supplied by Alberta Ballet)

Alberta Ballet, founded in 1966 in Edmonton, was one among many ballet productions eager to assist Jörgen Dance however possible.

“We all know what a Nutcracker means for a ballet company,” said Francesco Ventriglia, Alberta Ballet’s artistic director. “This is the most loved title of the year, and we all have high expectations around it.”

Having used their current Nutcracker set for 17 years before deciding on an update recently meant they had an older set stored away. Ventriglia and his colleagues realized they could lend assistance at this critical moment.

“With our spirit that we have in this industry and community to support each other, we just decided right away to send out letters or emails,” he told CBC Toronto. ” It felt natural when looking at each other; ‘We can help out here; let’s offer our help.’.....

Before finding out about their recovery , numerous people reached out offering assistance.”People were actually building sleighs overnight ,” he shared.

But David Rademaker , father of one dancer , didn’t feel bad since his craft wouldn’t hit stage. Instead , he expressed happiness over everything falling into place while being ableto watchhis daughter perform this week.”I’m ecstatic. We’ll go both nights ,”he noted.”I might take nap before show”.

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