PENDLETON — The Snow Queen, Sugar Plum Fairy, The Rat King, Clara and The Nutcracker Prince return to Pendleton again this year as Pendleton Ballet Theatre presents its annual performance of “The Nutcracker.”

“The Nutcracker” has become a longtime tradition for the Pendleton ballet. This year, Pendleton Ballet Theatre continues a shift in its principal dancers after a longtime group of high-level performers graduated two years ago.

Performances will be 7 p.m. Dec. 5 and Dec. 6, and 2 p.m Dec. 7 and Dec. 8 at the Bob Clapp Theatre at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton.

Most tickets are sold in advance, but any remaining tickets can be purchased at the box office before the performance. Tickets are $14 adults and $12 for those younger than 12.

Meet the dancers

In 2024, a group of students are stepping up to a new challenge. Amelie Brizendine, Cappella Cooley, Keira Jones, Alana McKeon and Kemper Polumski are taking on new responsibilities.

Cooley has been dancing for six years and is in six pieces this year. Her favorite piece is the snow scene.

“Even though it’s difficult, it’s really pretty,” she said.

Other favorite scenes for the rising dancers are Waltz of the Flowers, Mice and Soldiers, and the party scene that opens the production.

Starting earlier than the rest of the group, both McKeon and Brizendine are in their eighth years and have additional scenes. Of the eight she is performing in this year, Brizendine said Arabian is her favorite; for McKeon, it’s the soldier scene.

“I just like doing ballet, and I like the people and the community,” Brizendine said of why she has stayed with Pendleton Ballet Theatre for so long.

Taking on the harder roles is more of a mental challenge than people might realize.

“It’s much harder. It’s mentally harder,” McKeon said. “It’s what I enjoy.”

McKeon is also the understudy for multiple roles, including the Sugar Plum Fairy.

“One of the newest dancers in the troupe is Kemper Polumski, who has been dancing for two years. Polumski said she joined ballet because of watching “The Nutcracker.”

“When I first came to see The Nutcracker, I really like it, and I decided to join,” she said. “There’s a lot more pressure being on stage than being in the audience.”

Polumski is performing in “The Nutcracker” for the first time this year, and she is in seven pieces.

The social element and the challenges keep the dancers coming back.

“I really like all my friends, and it’s fun,” Jones said. “I like moving forward in the classes and learning new pieces. I’m only doing one piece I did last year — party scene — and all the others are new for me.”

The dancers each said their primary way of preparing for bigger roles is simple: Practice.

In the months before The Nutcracker, this group of dancers rehearses anywhere from six to 10 hours a week. In the two weeks before the show, those numbers will multiply.

The new pieces have been opened by other dancers moving up to harder pieces. Tirion Speakman, Susannah Burcham and Kallie Campbell recently advanced into harder roles.

Campbell said growing in ballet means her technique is more proficient and more consistent.

She keeps motivated in ballet by two things: the challenge and the people.

“Determination to be better and become the best ballerina I can be,” Campbell. “I also love everyone here, and everyone is so sweet.”

The number of hours the dancers spend in classes and rehearsals add up, and those hours increase with the more difficult pieces.

Susannah Burcham is in 11 scenes and has eight costume changes. Burcham helps with younger classes in addition to her own, so she averages about 16 hours a week of ballet.

“I’m definitely dancing a lot more than I used to, and I think I’ve really grown in pointe,” Burcham said. “I love being on stage and the energy the audience is giving me.”

Burcham’s favorite scene this year is the Christmas Fairy, her first solo.

“It’s a lot of work and a lot of notes and a lot of doing it over and over again, but it’s fun,” she said.

“Fun” is a common descriptor for the dances.

“I always like a challenge, and, at a high level, it’s more fun because it challenges you more,” dancer Adeline Silbernagel said.

Among the other dancers returning is Elizabeth Currin, who will play Clara, the girl given the nutcracker as a gift and then experiences a number of adventures. This is the fourth year Currin has played Clara.

“It changes every year,” she said. “Clara is always an interesting character to play.”

Currin’s favorite scene to dance is “The Waltz of the Snowflakes,” but astute observers can catch Currin’s acting even when she isn’t on center stage. During parts of “The Nutcracker,” Currin, as Clara, and Dagny Speakman, as the Nutcracker Prince, act as observers to performances in the Land of Sweets.

“In pieces where the dancers turn around and are facing where Dagny and I are sitting, they make funny faces at us and stick their tongues out. I have to try and not break character,” she said with a laugh. “There’s always a lot going on. If you watch in the party scene, there are more things going on than you might realize.”

Other dancers also encouraged watching for the humor, and simply enjoying the show.

“People should come to the show to get the spirit of the season,” Cooley said.