CEDAR RAPIDS - Before last year's flood, The Ballet Academy in southwest Cedar Rapids teamed up with a traveling dance company to put on the Nutcracker. Then the flood ravaged the historic Paramount Theater. Without the theater, those professional dancers bailed on Cedar Rapids, but local dancers are keeping the Nutcracker alive.

Dancers at The Ballet Academy make twisting, turning, and walking on your toes look easy, but looks are deceiving.

"You get sweaty a lot, especially doing the dance performances. It's really hard. You can twist your ankles and stuff, but it's worth it," says Elaine Hammond, a dancer.

Their hard work pays off during performances, for instance, the Nutcracker.

"If you ever were a dancer or want to be a dancer, Christmas just isn't the same without the Nutcracker in some way or another," says Carol Maxwell Rezabek, a dance teacher.

Before the flood, these dancers performed the "Great Russian Nutcracker" with professionals from the Moscow Ballet. But that annual tradition ended last year when the Cedar River flooded the Paramount Theater.

"I imagine if we get something back that suits them they might put us back on the list. Either way, we will find a way to keep the Nutcracker in Cedar Rapids," says Maxwell Rezabek.

The dance studio came up with its own version of the fairy tale ballet. The "Nutcracker Ballet Tea Party" includes dances from the second act of the ballet.

"For the flower dance, we wear purple skirts with orange petals. And for the Chinese dance, we wear a red dress with gold flowers on it. I think they're really pretty," says Anna Kolln, a dancer.

Without the professionals, the students step into lead roles, like the Sugar Plum Fairy. They say it's exciting but nerve recking on stage. But from curtain to curtsey, these dancers will perform like they are the professionals.

The Ballet Academy is putting on one performance of the ballet this Saturday at 3:00 pm at the Scottish Rite Temple in downtown Cedar Rapids. Tickets are ten dollars.