By Gina Hall

Elizabeth Addas of Culver City will dance several roles in the Marat Daukeyev Ballet Theatre's presentation of The Nutcracker in its 10th-anniversary production on Dec. 11 and 12 at the Japan American Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. Addas is 11 years old.

Addas, a sixth-grader at Carlthorp School in Santa Monica, has spent her weekends rehearsing hours on end to dance several solo roles. She admits that it's a lot of hard work but is excited to be a part of a longstanding holiday tradition and says she has made many friendships along the way.

"My favorite dance is the Columbine Doll Solo, which I get to do with a boy - my good friend Eli," she said. She is also featured in several other dances including the Chinese Solo, the Angel, Pas de Trois, The Sow Entourage and The Waltz of the Flowers Entourage.

When she's not dancing, she is often skating at the Culver City Ice Arena. She has been dancing for three years and ice skating for four. "I like to do both," she said enthusiastically. "You get to express yourself in each."

Los Angeles's Mara Daukeyev Ballet School performs The Nutcracker annually and this year it will feature dancers between the ages of 3 and 18. Many of the school's graduates have gone on to distinguish themselves at national and international ballet competitions and have joined internationally renowned ballet companies in San Fran Francisco, New York, Vienna, Zurich and Stuttgart.

The ballet is based on E.T.A. Hoffman’s book, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The music for the ballet remains one of Tchaikovsky's most famous compositions. It premiered in 1892 in Russia, but was not deemed a success by either critics or audiences. It eventually made its way to the U.S. in 1944, was embraced by Americans and has been a perennial holiday favorite ever since. Hundreds of incarnations of the ballet are performed each year across the country.

For information or tickets go to maratdaukayev.com.