Whanganui dance academy trio to perform in Royal New Zealand Ballet's Nutcracker

Sophie Carver-Vitens, Billie Dufty and Mira Meijer performed in The Nutcracker in Palmerston North. Photo / Stuart Munro

Three Whanganui performers have earned roles in the Royal New Zealand Ballet production of The Nutcracker.

Whanganui Ballet and Dance Academy students Sophie Carver-Vitens, Mira Meijer and Billie Dufty performed at The Regent on Broadway in Palmerston North last night.

The Nutcracker is not the tool that is used to crack open walnuts with the squeeze of a hand, but a two-act ballet that premiered in Russia's Saint Petersburg in 1892.

Twelve-year-old Mira said it was very cool to be cast as a bon-bon.

"We had an audition in Palmerston North, there were about 50 girls there going for various roles and we all got a part," Mira said.

Mira goes to Whanganui Intermediate School and will be joined by 15-year-old Sophie from Wanganui Collegiate School, who has also been cast as a bon-bon.

"I'm very nervous and excited," Sophie said.

"Bon-bons are entertainers, we're in the second act and we do a lot of very fast dancing."

Bucking the trend is 11-year-old St Anne's School student Billie.

"My role is as a party girl in the Christmas party at the beginning of the show," Billie said.

"We dance and we need to do lots of acting, then the rest of the time, we are on the side watching."

The score for The Nutcracker is famously composed by Russian composer Tchaikovsky and the production is a Christmas classic throughout the world.

As well as earning roles in the act, Mira and Billie have also been accepted into the national scholars programme with the New Zealand School of Dance.

The programme is for the advancement of talented young dancers and the two of them were selected from an audition that included more than 100 dancers in Wellington.

Anna Chandulal is the director of the Whanganui Ballet and Dance Academy, which she started 10 years ago. She has been working with all three girls for some time.

"I'm really proud of them," Chandulal said.

"When I first started the school, I really wanted to nurture students for national training programmes, that's always been my aim. It's really nice to see that's happening."