2025 Nutcracker Information

2025 Nutcracker Information and Registration

*New 2025 - Performance seat assignments will be made in the ORDER IN WHICH STUDENTS REGISTER for the NUTCRACKER AUDITIONS. Registration opens April 1, 2025. See details below.

We are excited to invite dancers from DIU and the surrounding communities, grades kindergarten and up, to participate in our annual holiday tradition, “Not Just Nutcracker.” The dancers will tell the story of Tchaikovsky's beloved Nutcracker ballet, with classical and modern arrangements of the music to include jazz, tap, hip hop, contemporary, and acro dancers too!
Ms. Catherine Rhodes, artistic director, creatively blends her many years of ballet training, her jazz, modern, tap, and musical theater experience, as well as her design expertise into our energetic and unique productions.

REGISTRATION: begins Tuesday, April 1, 2025! Register at www.danceitup.com/nutcracker. A $125.00 deposit is due upon registration. The balance is due on audition day, June 11. Registration for the 2025-2026 dance season must be completed before a dancer is registered for the Nutcracker and prior to the audition date. If you register for Nutcracker without first registering for classes, we will adjust your Nutcracker timestamp to reflect the date you registered for fall classes. Students may only audition for Nutcracker roles in dance genres for which they are enrolled.

AUDITIONS: will be held at DIU on Wednesday, June 11 in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, & Acro and are open to all dancers entering kindergarten and up. Our non-competitive audition process means that all students will be cast. We invite dancers, who attend another dance school that does not have a Nutcracker production, to audition. Each student will be cast in at least one role. DIU staff will measure all of dancers for costume sizing at the audition.

Please have students audition with the grade/class they are enrolling in for the upcoming (2025-2026) school year.

Please arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the audition so that dancers may check in, get measured, locate the correct audition studio, stretch, and prepare. Dancers should plan to stay for the entire time of the age group audition. Times allotted to each genre are subject to change. The audition schedule will be released in May.

CASTING: The cast list will be posted by July 1. Dancers are eligible for roles only in dance genres for which they are enrolled in classes for the 2025-2026 dance year. DIU Dance Jam will also perform in our Nutcracker production, but Dance Jam students must audition if they would like to be cast in any additional roles. See Participation and Rehearsals sections below for more information.

DRESS CODE: Dance It Up! classroom attire, footwear, and hair secured in a bun, is required for auditions and ALL rehearsals. Students must wear a skin-tone camisole leotard under costumes at dress rehearsals and the performance. Cast members including Dance Jam are required to have a Dance It Up! logo garment bag for their performance costumes. Shop Sugarplums for all of your dress code/Nutcracker requirements.

SUMMER CLASSES: Continuous training through the summer is encouraged for all of our dancers and is considered when casting lead roles. Our flexible summer schedule of classes is designed to fit around varying vacation schedules. See www.danceitup.com/summer-programs for details.

PARTICIPATION: The $525 registration fee is split into two payments. The deposit of $125.00 is refundable until June 10. The balance of $400.00 is due on the audition date, June 11. The cost for each additional family member is $475.00 ($125.00 due upon registration; $350.00 due on June 11). Nutcracker fees are non-refundable after June 11. The Nutcracker fee includes:

all auditions
13 weeks of Saturday rehearsals
costuming for the each role in which a dancer is cast
new tights (as required by role) for performance day
dress rehearsals
performance day activities
Nutcracker t-shirt
link to download a professional recording of the performance
New! Opportunity for family to submit a personal message in the show program at no additional cost

Dance Jam only participation is $250 for a single role that will be rehearsed during weekly Dance Jam class. Dance Jam participants are required to attend 3 Saturday full cast rehearsals in November.

Dancers who enroll in the Nutcracker after the audition date pay a $40.00 late enrollment fee.

COSTUMES: belong to our costume collection and remain the property of Dance It Up!. Students are responsible for assigned costumes and must bring them to dress rehearsal in a Dance It Up! logo garment bag. We will distribute performance tights to the dancers at the end of dress rehearsal at the theater. Families must provide footwear appropriate to each role and a skin-tone camisole leotard for their dancers.

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS: by Shier's Photography are optional and will be scheduled during the in-studio dress rehearsal.

REHEARSALS: start Saturday, September 6, 2025! Schedules will be posted in mid summer for your planning convenience.
Regular cast: every Saturday, including Columbus, Veterans, and Thanksgiving weekends. Select groups may rehearse after class during the week.
Dance Jam: rehearses as part of weekly class and must attend 3 Saturday full cast rehearsals in November.

DRESS REHEARSALS: will be held on Saturday, November 22 (at the studio), and on Saturday, December 6 (at the theater).

ATTENDANCE POLICY: We allow 2 absences maximum per student, after which they may be removed from a role. Please contact the office in the event of an absence. Sicknesses arise unexpectedly, so please do not “plan” for two weeks off, as group pieces will be greatly affected.

TICKET PURCHASE REQUIREMENTS: Each Nutcracker family is required to purchase 6 tickets ($25.00 each) to the show. You you may use, gift, or resell these tickets. This creates a full theater, giving students a sense of pride and appreciation of their talent. NEW THIS YEAR! The order in which students are registered for the Nutcracker program determines the order in which their family's seats will be assigned for the performance. (In other words, the timestamp on your registration form will determine your first come, first seated placement for the December show.) The six tickets ($150.00) will be charged to your account on November 1. If a family would like more than 6 seats, tickets will go on sale on November 1. Any additional tickets purchased by November 15 will be seated with your original group of six. Nutcracker registration opens on April 1, 2025. We encourage early enrollment because it not only ensures your place in the seat reservation queue, it helps us prepare for the auditions, costume resourcing and rehearsal scheduling.