Among the party girls, cookies, flowers and snow flakes, audiences will see familiar Campbell faces, including Emily Blythe, Amada Bullis, Addison Kuehne and Katie Laufman. Sam Propersi, the eldest of the Campbell residents at 17 years old, plays The Nutcracker prince who escorts Clara throughout the kingdom. All the dancers are part of the San Jose Dance Theatre production.

Participating in a professional-quality production in a theater as large as the San Jose Center for Performing Arts is a real treat for these aspiring ballerinas, associate director Crystal Petzel said. Not only do they get to learn to perform in front of large audiences and build a character, they get to hobnob with professional dancers, decorate their dressing rooms, and bond with other dancers from around the county.

Often during weekend rehearsals, Nutcracker associate director Crystal Petzel watches as the younger dancers ogle over advanced dancers on stage, shadowing them in the wings. And the parents of these young dancers also play an important role, helping with the costumes and security.

"It's very magical," Petzel said. "They get to see the whole process evolve."

For Emily, 11, dancing in the Christmas classic is "a big thing." Although this year is her third Nutcracker, she's been able to progress as a dancer. Emily plays three roles in the production--party girl, cookie and a reindeer--but being a reindeer is her favorite role because it marks her first performance en pointe.

"I'm just really excited," Emily said.

It was Emily's hard work and perseverance that landed her the role, Petzel said. Although she was originally an understudy, she attended extra rehearsals and won the role permanently.

Emily's mother, Julie, revels at the opportunity to both volunteer for the production and enjoy the show from the audience.

"It's an awesome feeling to see how the girls put it together," Julie said.

Emily, who has been dancing since the age of two, has set her sights on dancing professionally.

Sam, a senior at Bellarmine College Preparatory High School, also hopes to dance professionally. Dancing for a decade, the senior hopes to major in dance at California State University-Long Beach.

He credits his background in jazz, tap and hip-hop to his instruction at the Marie Stinnett School of Dance in Campbell. In the past year, Sam also began taking ballet at Los Gatos Ballet.

The ballet lessons, he said, help keep him centered and disciplined as a dancer. For Petzel, a Los Gatos Ballet instructor, Sam was a good choice for The Nutcracker prince.

"He has such a wonderful presence and we really wanted to be able to work with him," Petzel said.

Sam is one of only a handful of male dancers and among the oldest. Many of the younger dancers look up to him, and Sam enjoys spending time with the cast. "It's been great," he said.

The Campbell dancers are among 85 cast members from more than 10 studios around the county, including a handful of hired professional dancers.

Performances of the San Jose Dance Theatre's production of 'The Nutcracker' will be on Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 11 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Dec. 12 at 1:00 p.m. at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd. Tickets are priced between $22 to $42, and can be purchased at www.ticketguys.com or by calling 408.286.9905.