Updated Feb. 11, 2008 – Quotations for two of the girls Cheyenne Esposito and Gwyneth Zelmanowin this story were apparently reversed. This version has been updated to reflect the correct attribution.

By Amanda Estes
Staff Writer
It is a magical and familiar tale reminding young and old anything is possible on Christmas Eve.
Toy soldiers come to life and battle an army of mice. A Nutcracker transforms into a prince and leads a young girl through a dream world of sugar plum fairies and dancing sweets.
A peak behind the scenes of “The Nutcracker’s” fantastical landscape is a special treat and one that was recently afforded to some local elementary students.
Maine State Ballet’s (“Backstage at Nutcracker ” offers students a chance to see a modified version of the play, currently on stage at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland. The students see roughly half of a real performance, without the orchestra. They are let in on a few production secrets.
What makes the Christmas tree on stage grow to its massive height? What happens during intermission?
Third graders from South Portland’s Skillin Elementary School know all of the answers after watching the performance from their balcony perches on Tuesday morning. Altogether, more than 1,200 students attended the two performances at the Merrill Auditorium from 16 schools throughout the area.
Sylvia Green, the enrichment coordinator on the Skillin Parent Teacher Association (PTA), said “Backstage at Nutcracker” is one of several programs available for students to participate in as a supplemental learning tool. Through fundraisers, the PTA provides enrichment in the arts with programs such as “The Nutcracker” and through visiting authors and artists. John Rimkunas, a South Portland vocal music instructor says students will spend the next month learning about "The Nutcracker" and related topics.
The roughly 90 Skillin students wiggled in their seats as they waited for the performance to begin. A large, brown and mischievous mouse appears from behind the curtain. He is loyal to the Nutcracker’s enemy, the Mouse King (played by Nicholas Reynolds), but at the moment he leads the students in a round of synchronized clapping.
“Does anyone have a really large mouse trap?” asks former MSB board of director’s president Judith Kimball, appearing on the stage. “Or should we send those mice to Broadway?”
Standing in a 1800s-era parlor, created by a 30-foot backdrop, Kimball says Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet was first performed in his native country in 1892.
As told by MSB, the story begins with a Christmas Eve party at the home of the Stahlbaums. Kimball introduces Clara (Elizabeth Dragoni), her younger brother Fritz, and Frau and Judge Stahlbaum. Outfitted in their party clothes, the family mingles with their guests. As the children dance to the “March” in the first scene, two Skillin students whip their heads toward one another, each girl recognizing the familiar, flighty tune.
When the mysterious Uncle Drosselmeyer arrives, he comes bearing gifts. He brings life size dolls, whose jerky movements draw giggles from the crowd. For Clara, there is a Nutcracker (Glenn Davis).
 After the party is over and everyone has gone to sleep, Clara sneaks downstairs to check on the Nutcracker. The transition to the dream world Clara is about to enter would not be the same without the growing Christmas tree that reaches such great heights, it dwarfs the dancers on the stage, making them look like toys. On Kimball’s cue, the tree  – decorated with gold and pink ornaments – begins to grow and grow and grow, until it is 25-feet tall. Kimball reveals a stagehand is responsible for the tree’s growth spurt and an arm pops out from the side of the tree to wave at the audience.
Then an army of mice emerges, pumping their fists in the air, with one less enthusiastic mouse nibbling on an large hunk of cheese.
The battle between the mice army and the toy soldiers gives way to a duel between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King. There is a flash of light with each clash of their swords. Both fall to the ground, but Kimball reassures the crowd.
“Mouse King show them you’re not dead,” she says, and he rises to his furry feet.
The Nutcracker also rises and removes his mask, completing the transformation to a prince.
Clara and her prince travel through a Christmas Tree forest and into the Palace of Sweets. While dancers clad in ethereal costumes and sparkling tiaras float across the stage during the “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” snow begins to fall to the stage.
Kimball says the 25 pounds of paper snow is released from large bags suspended above the stage. The snow has to be made out of paper to prevent the dancers from slipping on stage, she says.
From a winter wonderland to a palace, Clara and her prince meet an eclectic assembly of characters including a sugar plum fairy and Russian Cossack dancers. Reynolds’ leaps, kicks and spins during the energetic folk dance impressed the audience and the students responded with loud applause.
 Kimball says the students figured out ballet ettiquette.
 “You can clap anytime you see something good,” she says. In case they want to give out extra praise, Kimball says the proper way to do it would be to call out, “Bravo” or “Brava,” which they promptly practice.
Back on their school bus, a group of Skillin girls – including Isabella Pacillo, who says she sees the ballet every year – bob their heads up and down when asked if they liked the performance. Cheyenne Esposito says the dance of the sugar plum fairy was her favorite scene while Gwyneth Zelmanow says, “I liked everything.”
The girls say the play put them in the holiday spirit, but Alyssa Welch adds, “I’ve always been ready for [Christmas].”
For information about performances of Maine State Ballet’s “Nutcracker” visit www.mainestateballet.org.