CLARA: Clara should be at least 12 years of age, on pointe, and no taller than 5'3" when standing flat.
Clara should be the strong technically, with long lines and beautiful feet. She should have a lovely, sweet
innocence about her, coupled with a strong will and a tender heart. She needs to have dynamic
expressions and be pleasant to watch. She should be comfortable & confident performing in front an
audience and easily "steal ones eye" and "capture ones heart". Act I & Act II
FRITZ: Should be a boy age 8-12 and a bit shorter than Clara as he is to be portrayed as Clara's younger brother.
Fritz is mischievous and spunky. He needs a good pouty face. Act I
JANE, MARYANN & RACHEL: We are looking for three girls to play Clara's best friends/cousins. They
should be complimentary to Clara as they will need to dance with her and act alongside her. In other
words, they all need to be on pointe and similar in height and ability. These girls will need to know how
to smile while having beautifully pointed feet. Act I
EDMUND, ALBERT & GEORGE: These boys are similarly minded to Fritz. They are his best
friends/cousins and cohorts in crime. They will tease and pester the girls. They should be similar in height
and age to Fritz. Act I
MR. & MRS. SILVERHAUS: We are looking for an adult couple, male & female, to play the role of
Clara's parents and hosts of the Christmas Eve party. They should have good stage presence and posture.
They will be dancing a simple promenade and will have a small amount of acting. Act I
ADULT PARTY GUESTS: Adults/mature looking youth [Ages 16+]. They too will be dancing a simple
promenade if they have a partner (male-female). They will need to be able to interact well with Mr. &
Mrs. Silverhaus on stage and have good facial expressions. Act I
DROSSELMEYER: This role is left up to interpretation for whoever is auditioning. The auditioner must
be at least 18 years of age. Male or Female. The more "character" the better for this role. Act I
MOTHER GINGER: A man dressed in a prop to play the part of Mother Ginger. Should have facial hair and a
willingness to wear a lot of make-up for this role. Must be able to ham it up in a wig and wear stilts. Act II
MOUSE KING: Male or female at least 12 years of age and taller than Clara. Must have great height in
jumps/leaps, good lunges and awesome energy. The more dramatic the character the better. Must be able
to attend occasional rehearsals on Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00 p.m. in additional to the Saturday
rehearsals. Act II
NUTCRACKER PRINCE: Taller than Clara by at least one foot/strong enough to lift her in a shoulder
sit. He must also be a dancer with an understanding of technique as this role requires a fighting/dancing
scene in additional to pas de deux (partnering). Must be able to attend occasional Wednesday rehearsals
4:00-5:00 p.m. in addition to Saturday rehearsals Act I & II.
POLICHINELLES: We are looking for tumblers with happy expressions capable of doing fun tricks
including round off, hand springs, toe-touches, tucks, etc…Act II
RUSSIAN: The Russian dance will be full of cabrioles, large jumps and fast turns. We are looking for 5
males and 5 females. We will match heights as needed so partners can finish the dance in shoulder
sit/other lifts. This dance is a high-energy, fast paced dance so we are looking for dancers with a lot of
strength, energy & stamina. Act II
ARABIAN DANCER: The Arabian dancer is known for being able to do the splits, hold extensions and have
control of turns and movements. We are looking for a female who can do all the splits. Pointe is optional but the
dancer must be able to pointe feet without sickling in retire. Act II
MARZIPAN: Should be proficient in doing petite [small] movements on pointe such as pas de bourrée
pique, bourrée suivi & pique tour ramassée. Should use arms/head gracefully when doing such
movements and should have a pleasant face. We are looking for 2 dancers for this role, ideally similar in
height and build. Act II
CANDY CANES: Similar description to Marzipan. Add to that a more extreme amount of stamina. Act II
FLOWER QUEEN: Grand allegro movements are key to this role. The Flower Queen must have excellent
grand jeté, grand développé, etc… Must be able to partner with cavalier and be comfortable with lifts.
Must have a stunning smile and beautiful command of the stage. Pointe is required. Act II
SPANISH CHOCOLATES: Character dance for intermediate-advanced pointe. Spanish dancers should
have excellent pique arabesque and rond de jambe rétombé. Must also be able to turn en ménage in
pique/tour de basque and do sissonne sur la pointe en écarté at at least a 45 degree. Spanish arms and
style are imperative. We need 2 spanish dancers, ideally similar in height and build. Act II
SNOW QUEEN: This character has graceful, graceful, graceful arms. She must be able to proficiently
bourrée suivi in all directions. She must be able to do pique tour en dehors, chugs [arabesque voyagèe]
and pique relevé fouetté with ease as well as other grand allegro movements such as grand jeté and tour
jeté. She should have a regal expression and command of the stage. Intermediate-advanced pointe is
required for this role. Act I
CHINESE DANCERS: Intermediate-Advanced Pointe is required for this role as successive relevés done in 4th
arabesque (arabesque croisé) and running on pointe are part of the choreography. We are looking for 2 dancers
who can execute this part while keeping a smile on their face! Act II
DROSSELMEYER'S DOLL: The Doll is both a character role and technically difficult role for an
advanced pointe student. Student must be able to do attitude tours from relevé on pointe, fouetté en
tournant, temps levé on pointe and ballonné on pointe. And while doing all of this, must wear a doll-like
expression. The choreography for this dance is the Fairy Doll Variation (Drigo). Act I
THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRY: The Sugar Plum Fairy should have an air of authority about her when she
dances, but also a pleasantness about her as befits The Queen of the Land of the Sweets. This is a role for
an advanced pointe student: must be good at bourrée, walking on pointe, changement de pied sur les
pointes, frappé doublé pointé. Must have be able to execute double pique tours on pointe. Must be
expressive. Pas de deux (partnering) is required for this role. Act II
CAVALIER: Cavalier should be at least 14 years of age and able to lift and partner with flower queen and sugar
plum fairy. Act II