Kelsey Small watched from the corner of the dance studio as a flurry of snowflakes fluttered past her. She waited patiently as the angels twirled, the butterflies whirled and the mischievous mice strutted their stuff.

When it was finally her turn, the 10-year-old girl took her position near the mirrored wall. She glanced at her image and then down at her hands. And as the music began to play, her tiny slipper-clad feet carried her body through the steps of the routine she has been working on for the past two months.

Kelsey, a budding ballet dancer from Carmel, is one of 73 Maine children who will perform Tuesday in the Moscow Ballet’s production of “The Great Russian Nutcracker” at the Bangor Civic Center.

For some, the opportunity to be onstage with professional ballet dancers is a high point after years of instruction. For others, it is one of their first experiences performing onstage.

“I’m excited,” said Kelsey, who plays one of the French dancers in the show’s second act. “My mom’s friends and my dad’s friends are all coming. I think it will be crowded because it has been advertised on the radio.”

She and the other children, most of them between the ages of 8 and 15, have been practicing at Thomas School of Dance since October, when Russian ballerina Inna Spiridova visited the city to hold auditions and teach the choreography of “The Nutcracker.”

The ballet company found roles for every child who auditioned, said Jane Bragg, owner of the State Street dance school and coordinator for the local dancers for the second year in a row. The children will play mice, snowflakes, butterflies, party kids and angels, as well as the Russian, Spanish, Chinese, French and Arabian dancers.

Brooke Black, 14, of Eddington performed last year when Moscow Ballet came to Bangor. She will dance again this year, as a butterfly and a Spanish dancer. The routines require her to wear pointe shoes, ballet slippers with thick padding that allow her to dance on the tips of her toes.

Brooke, who is in her 12th year of dance training, said the chance to be onstage with professional dancers is exciting but also nerve-racking.

“It is really intimidating at first because there are a lot of great Russian dancers,” she said.

“And they are really, really thin,” said Kelsey-Lynn Briggs, also in the show for the second year.

“The Nutcracker,” composed by Tchaikovsky and first presented at the Mariinsky Theatre in Russia in 1892, has become an icon of the holiday season. It tells the story of Clara Stahlbaum, who gets a nutcracker doll from her godfather on Christmas Eve. Clara’s brother, Fritz, breaks the doll out of jealousy, and Clara dreams about the toy becoming a real prince.

“It is something that every little kid wants to be in,” Bragg said. Last Sunday evening, all the young performers gathered at Bragg’s studio for their first full rehearsal. It was cold and stormy outside the studio but warm and steamy inside, where the young dancers were jittery with the excitement of being in the show.

“I think it will be really fun. I’ve got my dance right down pat,” said 10-year-old Abraham Ross of Bangor. “I’m sure I’ll be really nervous [at show time].”

Abraham, a student at Bossov Ballet for the past year, is one of the Russian dancers in the ballet’s second act. He is also one of seven boys in the show. His sister, Lydia-Rose, is one of the angels.

“I think ballet is OK for boys,” he said. “It builds up your muscles. It just gives you more flexibility. I can play baseball a lot better now.” August Easton, 9, of Hermon, agrees. He has been taking classes at Thomas for the past three years. August said he is feeling “kind of excited, kind of nervous” about the show, in which he plays one of the children in the opening party scene.

“We’ve practiced every week,” he said.

The Moscow Ballet will perform “The Great Russian Nutcracker” in 84 cities this holiday season, casting a new group of local children in each destination. The troupe includes 50 dancers, ranging in age from 19 to 30. Beth Murdock, public relations director for the Moscow Ballet, said finding young dancers in each town means extra work for the show’s producers.

But the work is worth it.

“It really brings the community together,” she said. “Not only are you seeing a great performance, you are also seeing your child or grandchild on stage with all these Russian ballerinas. The producers are very dedicated to the performing arts and the dancers are very comfortable [with the children].”

Audience members will notice a few differences between the Russian performance of “The Nutcracker” and other productions they have seen.

Instead of Clara, there is Masha – which is “Clara” in Russian. Instead of the Kingdom of Sweets, there is the Land of Peace and Harmony. Murdock said the change is in line with the show’s theme of peace.

Costumes and sets are by designer Valentine Fedorov, and choreography is by Anatoli Emalyanov and Valery Lantratov. This year’s show will also feature a variety of puppets, some of them 12 feet tall, and a new scene of the godfather’s toy workshop.

Bragg said getting ready for the show has been challenging. But last year, the performance went very well. She expects this year’s show to go well too.

“The Moscow Ballet dancers are wonderful with the children,” she said. “I was just impressed with how nice they were with the kids.”

Kelsey Small said the hours of practicing have been worthwhile. Not only does she get a chance to be on stage with famous dancers, she also made a new friend in her dance partner, 9-year-old Gabrielle Brodek, a student at Top Hat II Dance Studio in Holden.

“I just wanted to try something new and it’s been really fun,” she said.

The Moscow Ballet will present the “Great Russian Nutcracker” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, at the Bangor Civic Center. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 990-4444 or Ticketmaster at 775-3331. They are also available online at www.nutcracker.com. Prices range from $20 for balcony seats to $40 for floor seats. For more information, visit www.bangorciviccenter.com.

‘The Great Russian Nutcracker’

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7

Where: Bangor Civic Center

How much: $20-$40

Contact: 990-4444, Ticketmaster at 775-3331