Austin's conservatory troupe brought The Nutcracker to life

The Austin Conservatory Dance Theatre has performed the famous Christmas ballet The Nutcracker through the talents of children for three years.

"We started the Nutcracker in 2001," said Carole D'Avilla, artistic director. "This is our third Austin’s children’s Nutcracker and we wanted to bring a nutcracker that all of the children in Austin could participate in."

Although there are other productions of The Nutcracker in Austin around the holidays, D'Avilla wanted to bring a performance especially for those age 8-18 to capture a younger audience.

"I think it gives children the opportunity to feel more as if they relate to what is happening on stage," she said.

The most important part of this is the camaraderie that develops, according to D'Avilla.

"That sense of family that they have it’s not just a group of people that come together to dance because they have a narcissistic desire to perform -- although that is part of being a performer -- I think that they enjoy being together so much that that’s the most important part of being in our company," she said.

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Produced by Domenique Bellavia.