Landing the role of Clara in The Nutcracker is one of the biggest gigs for any young ballerina.
But five girls with the Orlando Ballet School are so good, they're all starring for a night.
- 'The Nutcracker' performing at Dr. Phillips Center this weekend
- 5 girls from Orlando Ballet School playing lead role of Clara
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Each are getting a night to star as Clara in The Nutcracker, showing Thursday through Sunday at the Dr. Phillips Center's Walt Disney Theater.
"When I found out that I was going to be Clara, it just was like, wow. All this work paid off, and it was really exciting," 12-year-old Alexis Workowski said.
"You're basically making your body do things that it wasn't made to do," 14-year-old Olivia Cassady said this week. "It's just such like a big tradition and such an honor to be part of that and to kind of carry that on."
Watching on is Cara Berl, who was last year's Clara. The girls all agree on her best advice.
"Stay calm. And to be yourself," Berl said. "It's very hard on your body. People don't understand that it's just as big as football players," she added.
"Yeah, and it does go over into other things, like it helps with school. ... You're focused," 12-year-old Shayna Mayes said.
One of the cool surprises during the show is that it snows on stage before intermission.
"You have to have your own little world. You can't just be distracted about what other people are doing," said ballerina Jaslyn Peralta, 12.
"I'm really nervous, but really excited," 15-year-old Sarah Adkins said.
Tickets for The Nutcracker start at $29. Show times are Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sunday at 1 and 6:30 p.m.
Five girls with Orlando Ballet School will play the role of Clara in 'The Nutcracker,' performing at the Dr. Phillips Center on Thursday through Sunday. (Allison Walker Torres, staff)