Year after year, it keeps coming back. The storyline is the same and so is the music. There may be a little variation in the choreography and costumes, but essentially, it’s the same show.

The lasting popularity of “The Nutcracker” ballet can be explained in one word: magic.

And members of the Ames community have taken advantage of the universal appeal of “The Nutcracker” for the past 18 years.

Robert Thomas, creator and choreographer of the Ames production, said the magical, holiday nature of the story has given it its long rein.

“The Nutcracker is a Christmas type of story,” Thomas said. “It’s just kind of a traditional piece.”

After 18 years of choreographing the same show, it might seem hard to find a way to make every year different. But Thomas said the details of the show always change, making it easier for him to authenticate each production.

“The quality and quantity of dancers changes every year with a gradually increasing talent pool to pull from,” Thomas said.

Along with dancers chosen from the Ames community, Iowa State Center also provides a budget that allows for the production to host two professional dancers to play the lead roles.

This year Thomas said Aleksandra Koltun will play the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy and Ilia Gorev will play the role of the Cavalier. Both performers have danced with internationally-known dance troupes.

“[The professional dancers] add a nice element,” Thomas said. “Ballet people go to the show specifically to see them.”

Dancers and choreography may vary from year to year, but Thomas said the magic of the story is really what keeps people coming back every year.

The story begins on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum house, where there is a Christmas party beginning to formulate. As more guests arrive, the Stahlbaum children, Fritz and Clara, excitedly greet their friends and begin dancing and frolicking.

Finally, the most anticipated guest of the night, the children’s godfather Herr Drosselmeyer, arrives at the party and presents his gifts to the children.

Both of the kids receive nice gifts, but Fritz thinks Clara’s nutcracker is better than his, so he decides to take her gift and break it. Luckily, Drosselmeyer is able to reassemble the parts of the nutcracker and give it back to Clara.

Soon, members of the party slowly trickle out the door and everyone in the family goes to bed. Everyone that is, except for Clara. She sneaks down to the tree to check on her nutcracker, which is when the magical part of the performance unfolds.

Throughout the rest of the ballet, Clara and the nutcracker go on many adventures and experience new things that provide for a variety of fairytale costumes and scene changes.

Some of the dancers aren’t able to see the costumes or the scene changes until the very end because the practice routine for “The Nutcracker” is not like the routines for most performances.

“We work on different sections at different times,” Thomas said.

He added that he works with the dancers initially to teach them the choreography and then leaves it up to assistant choreographers, Janice Baker and Gigi Oerter, to help the dancers refine their techniques.

For some of the dancers, this production is just one in a long line of performances in which they’ve participated, while for others, this ballet will be the first time they’ve been in a large-scale production.

Mike Each, sophomore in exercise science, has only been taking dance lessons at Iowa State for one year. Playing the part of an adult party guest, Each said he has learned lots of new things about being in a show.

“There’s so many different stages of performance,” Each said. “I’ve had to learn about the logistics of preparing for a performance and the technical parts of what to do.”

Because there are many levels of experience among the dancers in the production, Thomas said he has to be careful that his choreography fits each dancer’s skill level.

“I use my skill and background to tailor the choreography to suit the skills of the participants,” Thomas said. “If they look uncomfortable or awkward, it’s my fault.”

“The Nutcracker” will be performed at Stephens Auditorium Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $8, $9, or $10 for ISU students and can be purchased at the Iowa State center and Ticketmaster outlets.