Auditions for the Greater Niagara Ballet Company’s 2026 production of The Nutcracker will be held on Sunday, September 20th. The audition will be held at the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center.
2026 Nutcracker Audition Schedule*
Sunday, September 20th
Register online to reserve your spot.
Online Registration
Prior to the day of auditions, all dancers should register online. New dancers and most dancers who have had a break of 3 or more months from the GNBC will first need to create a New Registration in the system.
Once registered, log in to the Portal. Go to the Dashboard, select Looking for Activities — Browse — Events. Click on the audition and Add to Cart to fill out and submit the form. Note that we need one form per dancer; do not sign up multiple dancers on the same form. If you have more than one dancer auditioning, add them to your Cart separately after filling out the first form.
9:30am – Registration/Check-in opens
Dancers/parents are STRONGLY encouraged to register online prior to arrival to avoid delays. Audition fees can be paid online via the Jackrabbit registration system. In person payments can be made by cash or check (made out to the Greater Niagara Ballet Company). Audition fees will be required for all dancers under the age of 18.
10:00am – 10:30am: Girls & Boys Ages 6 – 7
Dancers needed. Some dance experience encouraged but not required.
Roles Available: Party Scene, Bon-Bons, Angels
10:30am – 11:00am: Girls & Boys Ages 8 – 9
Dancers needed. Some dance &/or gymnastics experience encouraged.
Roles Available: Party Scene, Bon-Bons, Battle Scene, Angels
11:00am – 11:45am: Girls & Boys Ages 10 – 12
Dancers needed. Some dance experience encouraged.
Roles Available: Party Scene, Battle Scene, Angels
11:45am – 12:00pm: Jesters & Coffee- Ages 10+
Must have at least 2 years of gymnastics, acro dance, or other formal acrobatic training – no exceptions. Dancers who are self-taught should not attend this audition. All dancers attending this audition must attend one other earlier or later audition based on age and experience (not including the Clara audition – it must be a different audition). Note that only dancers ages 13+ will be considered for Coffee.
12:00pm – 12:30pm: Ages 13-adult
Dancers Needed, Some dance experience encouraged.
Roles Available: Party Scene, Battle Scene, Various Character Roles, non-pointe 2nd act roles**
12:30-1:00pm Break
1:00pm – 1:30pm: Clara auditions, Ages 12-14; must be 12 by December 1st
Several years of ballet training required. Former Claras from the GNBC production of the Nutcracker are not eligible. All dancers attending this audition must attend one other audition before or after (not including the Jesters/Coffee audition – it must be one of the other auditions) to be considered for the role.
1:30pm – 2:15pm: Jr. corps, Ages 12-16
Several years of ballet training required (about 3+ years post primary/creative movement classes). Those currently training in pointe shoes should bring their shoes into the studio but wear regular ballet slippers into the audition.
2:15pm – 3:00pm: Sr. corps & solos, Ages 14-Adults
1+ years of Pointe training required (pointe shoes should be worn into audition) plus about 4+ years of ballet training or boys/men with several years of ballet/dance training. Last section may be off-pointe and regular ballet slippers should be carried in.
*PARTY SCENE PARENTS do not need to audition unless also interested in other dancing roles. Those only interested in Party Scene Parent roles should sign up on the list at auditions.
**Non-pointe 2nd act roles and character roles will also be auditioned at the 1:30 and 2:15 auditions.
Important Information:
- NEW REHEARSAL ATTENDANCE POLICY IN EFFECT. Please read the new policy in its entirety prior to registration. All dancers/parents will need to agree to the new policies in order to be cast in the production.
- Online registration is STRONGLY encouraged prior to arrival to avoid delays and to make sure the audition spot is held (some auditions may fill to capacity prior to the audition date).
- For those planning to register in-person, you will still need to register through the same system online when you arrive since we no longer use paper forms. In-person registration/check-in opens at 9:30am for those auditioning at 10am.
- Make sure you sign off/check all the agreements on the online registration form prior to submitting. Failure to sign off on all agreements will prevent participation as a cast member.
- Audition fees are $22 per dancer under the age of 18 and are due by the day of the audition. Accepted payments are credit cards (through the online system only), cash, or check (made out to the Greater Niagara Ballet Company).
- Everyone auditioning should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled audition times (i.e. for an 11am audition, you should arrive no later than 10:30am).
- The audition will be held at the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center (NACC), 1201 Pine Avenue, Niagara Falls, NY 14301 (use purple door entrance on Portage Avenue side of the building).
- Dancers will be expected to be fully warmed up prior to their audition times. There will be no time during the audition for warming up.
- Contact us at gnbcballet@gmail.com at least 24 hours before the audition if you or your dancer do not know which audition to attend.
- If you cannot make the audition date, you MUST contact us BEFORE auditions and this must be done through emailing us at gnbcballet@gmail.com to make arrangements. This policy is in place for both new and returning dancers. The company strongly prefers that dancers who cannot make auditions try out via one of our ballet classes the week prior to auditions.
- With the exceptions of the Jester/Coffee and Clara auditions, no one should attend more than one audition time. Some dancers in the Jr. corp audition may be asked to stay for Sr. corps audition after the Jr. corp audition concludes. No dancers will be permitted to attend auditions at a higher age range or level due to safety/injury concerns and casting requirements. This includes dancers running late or those who misread audition times.
- Most regular rehearsals will be on Sunday mornings and afternoons for Party Scene, Battle Scene, Bon Bons and Angels. Most regular Jr/Sr Corps and Soloist rehearsals will be on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. Regardless of audition, please indicate availability on the registration form for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. All dancers 12 and younger must be available for Sunday rehearsals.
- Dancers can only miss so many rehearsals before being dropped from the cast; refer to our Rehearsal Policy for details.
- Any dancer cast who misses the first or any subsequent rehearsal without notifying the company prior to the rehearsal will be automatically dropped from the cast. Rehearsals are expected to begin 10/4.
- A mandatory dress rehearsal will be held the evening of December 10th.
- Performance dates are December 11th and 12th.