Traditionally, the Christmas season for many begins the day after Thanksgiving with plans of picking out the tree, shopping and making travel arrangements. However, for a group of more than 200, their holiday preparation started in September with arabesques, pli‚s and grand jet‚s.

The cast for this year’s production of “The Nutcracker Ballet” has been rehearsing since late summer for this weekend’s performances, which will mark the 22nd year of performances of the ballet at Stephens Auditorium.

The tale comes from a book titled “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” by E.T.A. Hoffman, which was later revised by Alexander Dumas. The ballet saw its first ever showing in the Mariinsky Theatre in 1892, with music written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Since then, hosting local ballet performances of “The Nutcracker” has become a holiday tradition, and Ames is no exception.

Sara Barr, director of marketing for the Iowa State Center, has seen the performance of the fairy tale about a young girl, a courageous prince and an adventurous dream they share for all of the 10 years she has worked at the center. With three performances each year, “The Nutcracker” usually draws a crowd of no less than 2,000 at each performance.

“Part of it is just the tradition,” Barr says. “It has been established for so long, and I think the thing that makes our show unique is the fact that we draw upon the talents of the local dancers in the area to support this event.”

Barr says while dancers come from Marshalltown, Fort Dodge and even Mason City, the majority of the dancers are from Ames. Along with this talent, each year, two principal dancers are brought from a big-name ballet company to perform in the show. This year, the dancers are from California’s Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley and will be playing the parts of the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier.

The choreography of this year’s production once again falls into the talented hands of Robert Thomas and Miyoko Kato Thomas, both of the Robert Thomas Dancenter in Ames. Ken Talbert, an Ames resident who will be returning for his seventh year as a cast member in the Iowa State Center production of “The Nutcracker,” is delighted that the Thomases will be co-directing the choreography.

“They have been the heart and soul of this for the past 22 years,” Talbert says. “I am very impressed with their dedication and artistry.”

Talbert, donning a beauty mark and bizarre eyelashes for part of his costume, will be playing the role of Mother Ginger.

“Ma Ginger is a grand dame who thinks she is the debutante of the ball, but in fact is infested with pesky little children,” he says. “I have about three minutes of glory in the second act, but that character somehow becomes a favorite of many of the children who attend the performance. It is perhaps the major comic relief of the production. This gives me some latitude, since I have tripped and stumbled off stage in the past, and people thought I was in character.”

Talbert, an ophthalmologist at the McFarland Clinic, believes participating in the performance is one of his few chances to be foolish and get away with it.

“It is a community of delightful people,” Talbert says. “I may be doing this role for many years to come, as long as it is fun, and the directors want me.”

Kate Arends, freshman in art and design, will be adding a unique touch to “The Nutcracker” as a dancer in an added traditional step Irish dancing portion of the Ames production.

With two national championships and placing seventh in the world in Irish dancing competitions, Arends knew a thing or two about her role before rehearsal began. This is, however, her first appearance in “The Nutcracker.”

“I have never been involved in a ballet production,” Arends says. “It has been a lot of fun.”

Arends has been teaching Irish step dance for two years, and is now a new instructor at the Robert Thomas Dancenter. Along with her role, she is also teaching the other Irish dancers in the show for the traditional step dance parts.

“For my portion of the performance, I had to teach ballet dancers how to Irish step dance and make them look authentic in only a couple of months,” she says. “The girls did a really good job and worked very hard.”

Arends finds participating in this event is particularly enjoyable.

“I like the fact that I know the dancers in this ‘Nutcracker’ — it’s more personalized,” Arends says. “It’s fun for family and friends to come and see people they know in a really good production.”

Arends says both the cast and quality of dancing in the production are very strong.

“I feel that everyone is very prepared,” Arends says. “Most of the cast has been doing this production for so many years, things just fall easier into place.”

As far as what spectators can expect, Talbert says they can anticipate another quality show this year.

“The audience can look forward to the usual energetic performance and a sense that Christmas has arrived,” Talbert says.