Courtney Forbes, 13, of Heber City; Megan Skalla, 12, of Draper; and Alexia Meyer, 13, of Orem, were selected in national auditions to dance the role of Clara, as members of the show's six touring casts perform scenes from "The Nutcracker."

The gig provides the girls with a salary, paid travel expenses and a tutor, as they will miss almost a semester of school while dancing on the "Christmas Spectacular" tour.

All three girls have been dancing since age 3. Courtney, who has been studying dance for seven years at the Wasatch Dance Center, will perform the role in an 18-city arena tour Nov. 7-Jan. 4. "It's really cool and so much fun once you get out here," Courtney said in an phone interview from Pennsylvania while on a break from rehearsal. "It's a great experience."

"It will be fun to perform in front of an audience and hear them applaud," said Megan, who takes lessons at Orem's Dance Club along with Alexia. Megan will play Clara in the Chicago and St. Louis productions of the show, while Alexia will perform in the Nashville production. Both casts will rehearse for a week in Myrtle Beach, S.C., before setting out on tour.

Both young dancers have danced in Ballet West productions and with other local groups, but they say nothing can compare with the experience of the "Christmas Spectacular" show. "It's exciting and [makes me] nervous," Alexia said.

The girls rehearse up to 25 hours weekly at the studio and in private lessons. Life would be boring without dance, Alexia said.

Dancing can be an expensive hobby, but the young dancers - who know each other from local competitions and events - say they appreciate the support of their families. "It's so amazing and neat to watch her doing what she loves, and especially at this scale," said Courtney's mother, Debbie Forbes. "It's amazing that she'll be able to do this at the age of 13. It's so exciting for all three of them and it says a lot about Utah's little dancers."

roxellana@sltrib.com