Excitement is what keeps Kirkland resident Elle Popp, 12, dancing after 10 years of doing it. She will fill the role of Clara in Emerald Ballet Theatre’s (EBT) production of “The Nutcracker.”

“(My favorite part) is the dance with the Nutcracker during the party scene,” Popp, who has been dancing with EBT for six years, said. “You have to express your emotions.”

While it would have been easy to be really nervous to have such a pivotal role in the ballet, Popp, a sixth grader at Holy Family Parish School, is choosing to see it as a fun activity that she gets to share with her friends she dances alongside, and she said she’s really excited for her family and other friends to see her as Clara later this month.

She previously appeared in EBT’s “Nutcracker” as a bon bon, mouse, soldier and snow flurry, and said her favorite part of the ballet to watch is the Sugar Plum Fairy variation.

The production will hit the stage at the Northshore Performing Arts Center at 2 p.m. Dec. 3-4 and 10-11, but as Popp is sharing the Clara part with another dancer, she will only be seen in the Dec. 10 and 11 performances. Tickets are $20 to $38 and can be purchased by calling 425-298-3449 or visiting npacf.org.

In addition to Popp, a variety of other performers from the region are performing in the EBT’s “Nutcracker.” The other Kirkland dancers include Ela Caglar, Elyse Dempsey, Ming Diller, Matigan Goelzer, Rachel Kelley, Anahit Khachatunyan, Ayne Kim, Ella Landvogt, Peyton Lysen, Aria Quincoses, Sidney Shepherd, Matilda Ventura, Emelyn Wood, Vinson Wood, Angelica Zayshlyy, Aviella Zayshlyy, Misha Carnes, Claudia Chang, Annie Charvat, Daphne Guibert, Grace Sigl, Jane Sigl, Violet Strehlo, Bailey Tang, Kennedy Tremblay and Nnenna Mugowodzeri.

The production of the legendary ballet from EBT is part of the company’s 10th anniversary celebration, and Programming Director Sarah Jacobsen said their production is a truly classic version of “The Nutcracker,” from the choreography and the costumes to the sets, which include three new ones from Russia.

“The artistic director (Viktoria Titova) traveled the world doing the Bolshoi production of ‘The Nutcracker’,” Jacobsen said. “She really takes a lot of inspiration from that Russian influence.”

However, some twists have been put into the production, Jacobsen said, including the Mouse King being replaced by a Mouse Queen, and instead of traditional masks, the costuming includes leather-handcrafted headpieces made on Whidbey Island.

For more information about the production, visit emeraldballet.org.