Amanda Moogerfeld is excited.
      "I get to be a girl this year!" she said during a rehearsal break on a recent Sunday afternoon. Like dozens of other local dancers, Amanda is polishing her performance for the annual production of "The Nutcracker Ballet."
      For the sixth year, The Statesboro Youth Ballet will present four performances of "The Nutcracker" at the Averitt Center for the Arts in downtown Statesboro. There are evening performances at 7 on Nov, 19, 20 and 21, and a matinee at 2 p.m. on Nov. 22.
      Under the direction of Shay Morgan, more than 80 local dancers from across the region will undertake 147 parts to bring the well-known story to life.
      A veteran performer, Amanda has performed in the holiday classic for the past three years - as a party boy, a soldier and a gingerbread boy. But this year the 10-year-old Bulloch Academy student is not only a girl, she is the girl, playing the role of Clara, the little girl who receives a nutcracker on Christmas Eve and is swept up into a realm of fairies and princes.
      "It's fun. I've always wanted to be the lead," she said. "But I'm not nervous. My mom is nervous."
      While many are familiar with the Nutcracker story which typically begins with guests arriving for the Stalbaum Christmas Eve party, Morgan said this year the audience can expect a different opening to the ballet which has also become a tradition for many of the dancers who perform in it year after year.
      A senior at Statesboro High School, Mathyn Miller has performed almost every role there is in The Nutcracker over the past seven years. But she admits she is a little nervous this year because her roles as the Harlequin Doll and the Snow Queen will pair her with one of the professional dancers. "You really need to have your stamina and technique up to dance with a professional," she said.
      Ashlyn Lanier, 11, said she is excited about her new roles this year which include Snow, a Flower and one of the three dancers performing Spanish Hot Chocolate. A part of the Nutcracker for the past six years, Ashlyn's first part was that of a rat and the last two years she danced the coveted role of Clara.
      "I love to dance and I love being with all my friends," she said.
      Also in her sixth year with the ballet, Victoriana Harris has worked her way through many of the Nutcracker roles and will be performing as Snow, a Flower and the Arabian dance, which is her favorite. "I can show off what I can do," the 16-year-old Statesboro High student said. "I'm very flexible."
      Brittany Claiborne is performing as a Maid, Chinese, Arabian, Snow demi-soloist and as the Dew Drop Fairy, her most major role so far. "You have to be able to make it look easy," she said. "I like all the practicing and coming on the weekends." While she lives in Statesboro, the 15-year-old attends the Savannah Arts Academy where she is studying dance.
      Rehearsals for the Nutcracker began in September and since then the dancers have spent countless hours practicing and training, giving up most of their weekends. Morgan said the younger children practice eight times for the Nutcracker, while the older students attend 22 practices, lasting at least four hours each, in addition to their regular classes.
      In addition to the local dancers, two guest artists will perform some of the principal roles. Now in her fifth year performing with The Statesboro Youth Ballet, Stacey Slichter will dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy. A graduate of the acclaimed Harid Conservatory, she has performed with The Sarasota Ballet of Florida, The Sarasota Opera, Ballet Eddy Toussaint, U.S.A., Ballet Memphis, and The Atlanta Ballet.
      In his fourth year with The Statesboro Youth Ballet, Norbert Nirewicz will perform the roles of the Soldier Doll, Snow King and Sugar Plum Cavalier. A native of Poland, Nirewicz portrayed roles in a variety of classical ballets such as Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and La Fille Mal Gardee in Warsaw and throughout Europe as a dancer for the Polish National Theater. He has also danced with the Ballet Classico de Camara in Venezuela, the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet and the Columbia City Ballet.
      Executive Director for the Averitt Center Tim Chapman said The Nutcracker is like Little League Baseball for dancers in that they practice for a season and they work as a team. "We love the program because it allows us to help build the art form of dance in our community," he said.
      The Nutcracker is brought to Statesboro thanks to lead sponsor Sea Island Bank and partnering sponsors Thigpen, Lanier, Westerfield & Deal CPA, Moogerfeld Internal Medicine, and Maxwell Palmer Architects and Engineers.
      Tickets for The Nutcracker are available through the Averitt Center box office and by calling (912) 212-ARTS.