Proper nuclear positioning is crucial in large multi-nucleated skeletal muscle fibers. Positioning is controlled by connections between the nuclear envelope and the cytosketelon, and driven by microtubule-dependent nuclear movement. The nuclei are normally evenly spaced along the long axis of the fiber, whereas abnormally clustered nuclei have been found in patients with Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy. On page 4158, Meredith Wilson and Erika Holzbaur investigate the mechanisms of nuclear translocation in developing myotubes, which, apart from the requirement for microtubules, is not well understood. The authors find that as a nucleus is actively translocated through the cell, it rotates in three-dimensions as a unit that contains the nuclear envelope, nucleoli and chromocenters. Importantly, they show that the plus- and minus-end-directed microtubule motors kinesin-1 and dynein localise to the nuclear envelope and are required for nuclear rotation and its translocation along the microtubule cytoskeleton. Taken together, their data suggest that oppositely directed motors, which act from the surface of the nucleus, drive nuclear motility in myotubes by exerting force on the local microtubule network to allow the nuclei to navigate the complex and crowded cellular environment.