'It’s so exciting on stage': London, Ont. area dancers earn spot in Nutcracker ballet

The Nutcracker to take the stage 13 dancers from London will take to the stage in the Forest City this weekend to perform The Nutcracker. CTV London's Brent Lale reports.

13 dancers from the London region will get a chance to perform alongside professionals when the Jorgen Ballet brings The Nutcracker to the Forest City this weekend.

‘It’s so exciting,” said Chelsea Howard, 12, who beat out a number of others for her second career role as a chipmunk and beaver in the holiday classic. “When you just get on stage and you're dancing, it's just a ‘Wow’ feeling.”

For the past two months, the dancers have been working with Donna Bayley and Krista Conti at Dance Steps studio in London.

“They have really grown as performers and meshed as a group because there's 13 that come from eight different studios in the London area,” said Bayley, the owner and director of Dance Steps.

She added, “It's really wonderful for them to get to know other dancers locally, but also getting to know and being involved with a professional company from Toronto, so very exciting.”

The local dancers will perform the roles of a chipmunk, beaver and dragonfly.

“The audition process was very fun,” said Howard. “The choreography was amazing to learn and I was very nervous because there was a lot of people there and they were like really good dancers. I didn't know if I was [going to] get a part or not, but I ended up getting one and that's it was an amazing feeling.”

Despite only a few months to pick up the steps, the young ballet dancers are now ready to hit the stage at Centennial Hall in front of a big audience.

“I love the fastness of the whole dance, and the moves,” said Gulianna Rojas, 11, who admitted she’s a little nervous to hit the stage.

“It's amazing how you see each step going into the other, and then when you're on stage you just feel like you've accomplished something,” she said.

Bayley believes it is inspiring for the young dancers to see the work ethic that comes with professional dancers, as well as the lights and the drops behind the scenes.

And getting a taste of the professional experience has inspired a number of local dancers to pursue the art as a career.

“They've gone to some of the professional schools the National Ballet School, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Quinte Ballet, and then on from there,” said Bayley.

She added, “One is at Miami City Ballet and other [one is] in San Francisco. So really exciting to see how you know this, this journey here in London can take these children and inspire them for a lifelong career.”