Nutcracker LOCAL Youth Participant Program

General Requirements

• Aged 8 – 17 years
• Dance training required, ballet is an asset

How to Register

Students interested in auditioning must register for a specific audition by filling out our online registration form.  You can register for more than one audition but one form must be submitted for each city. You will hear back from us to confirm your exact audition time. Registrants are organized into time slots based on age groups.

How the Audition Works

There is no need to prepare a dance piece nor bring a portfolio or bio to the audition. Students should wear the dance clothes normally worn at their local dance classes. You will be asked to dance choreography that we teach you. The Ballet Jörgen audition leader will be looking at each dancer’s ability to learn the choreography and deliver it with the desired technique, musicality and performance quality.  Preliminary selections will be made from each age group and asked to return for the “Selected Audition”. The Selected Audition directly follows the last age group audition on the audition day. Dancers will be asked to repeat certain choreography and possibly learn some new choreography while being further assessed on their ability to perform and apply corrections. The final cast will be selected from this group and roles will be assigned on the day. Parents/Guardians will be given a participant permission form to fill out. After this point, cast members are expected at all scheduled rehearsals based on the roles they have been assigned, any absences will have consequences that can lead to being removed from the cast. Final show casting will be determined about 3-5 weeks prior to the performance and is based on the work delivered by each cast member at the weekly rehearsals. All casting is always subject to change.

Important Information

Participants who are selected to perform are required to attend any further rehearsals scheduled over the entire Audition Weekend, as well as mandatory weekly rehearsals from that weekend forwards.

All cast members must be available for every performance, final show casting will determine exactly who is required to dance in each performance in that community. DO NOT purchase your tickets to the performance(s) until final show casting has been determined, this way you can be assured to buy tickets to the show that your dancer is appearing in. Provisions cannot be made for exchanging any tickets purchased prior to this casting.

Local Cast Audition Dates

The list of communities for The Nutcracker 2026 Local Participant programs:

• All participants are selected at an audition which takes place in our Nutcracker performance season communities in the early autumn of every year. Students register in advance to audition in their own local community.
• Auditions and first rehearsals typically take place over the course of one weekend in early autumn in each participating community. After completing your online registration, you will be contacted individually with an exact audition time based on the student’s age within one week of your audition date.
• Once the cast is selected at the audition, specific roles are assigned and choreography rehearsals ensue. For auditions taking place on a Saturday morning, final selections are usually completed by noontime, leaving the remaining weekend time for choreography rehearsals. In some locations, choreography rehearsals takes place over the coming weeks. During these mandatory rehearsals, all the show choreography is taught by the CBJ repetiteur.
• A Local Rehearsal Director will then hold mandatory weekly rehearsals until the performance date(s). Based on this rehearsal process and in consultation with the CBJ repetiteur, final show casting will be determined 2-3 weeks prior to the first performance. It is recommended that parents, friends and family do not purchase their tickets until this final show casting has been announced which will ensure that they have tickets to the show that their participant is actually dancing in.
• The Cast will have on stage rehearsals with the full company the day prior and/or the day of the first performance. Local Cast members must attend all rehearsals and be available for all performances.
• Once in the Theatre with Ballet Jörgen, the Cast is fitted for their costumes, rehearsed on stage with the lights, sets, props, costumes and Company Dancers and then released for a dinner break before the show. Pre-ordered T-shirts are handed out. A cast photo is taken by the Company after every performance. This photo will be emailed to all participants by no later than middle of January.

Local roles to be cast at each audition:

The number to be cast in each role will vary with the # of performances in each venue, what is shown is the minimum # of roles to be cast. Please note that cast members may dance more than one role and the role of Dragonfly may not be cast at all – this makes the minimum total local cast – 9 local youth. And generally, the maximum local youth cast does not exceed 20.

Our Rehearsal Directors

Clea Iveson
Valentina Polanco
Elise Tigges
Aria Lara Wilton
Zoe Kindrachuk
Lily Villeneuve

Rehearsal Schedules

2026 Rehearsal Schedules are coming soon!

If you want a preview of how the program runs, see below last year's Rehearsal Schedules

Guelph 2025
North Bay 2025
London 2025
Brantford 2025
Orillia 2025
Kingston 2025
Hamilton 2025
Burlington 2025
Ottawa 2025
Markham 2025
Brampton 2025
Kitchener 2025
Touring 2025

For the Audition:

• Please dress like you would for your regular ballet class or dance class – dancewear, shoes and hair-up.
• Please bring snacks and water for breaks, this keeps the positive energy up for all dancers.
• Come prepared to learn choreography, to enjoy dancing and to have a great experience with us.

For the Rehearsal(s):

• Please dress like you would for your regular ballet class or dance class – dancewear, shoes and hair-up.
• Please bring snacks and water for breaks in rehearsal, this keeps the positive energy up for all dancers.
• Frogs will need to bring an umbrella to every rehearsal.
• Squirrels will need to bring an empty backpack to every rehearsal.

For the Performance(s):

• Costumes for the show are provided by Ballet Jörgen but participants will need their own undergarments and shoes, equipment students already own for their regular dance classes (Touring Cast participants will be supplied with performance shoes).
• Upon cast member registration each participant will have the opportunity to order a keepsake Nutcracker Tour Shirt.
• A Company and Youth Cast photo will be taken at each performance and be made available to Cast members at the end of the Nutcracker performance season.

Please please do not eat in or drink while in costume – water is allowed. 

**No one should have to purchase anything extra for costumes. If there is something that you don’t have or can’t borrow, we can provide it for you to borrow. Please let us know if this is the case. 

Make-up  

Eyeliner (brown), eye shadow (neutral tone), Blush, Lipstick (subtle and no lip gloss), Mascara 

*No sparkles please! 

Hair 

Due to the allergies of others, please use gel instead of hairspray and consider scent free products. Bring extra elastics and bobby pins just in case. 

Please view the document below

CBJ APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL CONTACT IN DANCE POLICY