When Lizz Pimentel first put on The Nutcracker, she thought it would be a one-off thing.

Now in its seventh year, In Motion School of Dance’s Christmas classic shows no signs of losing steam.

“It’s a tradition worldwide. Everywhere in the world, they know The Nutcracker,” said Ms Pimentel, company director.

“Our goal was to make it a tradition for Bermudian families. At In Motion, my ambition has always been to offer the students more: more opportunities locally, more opportunities overseas, to allow them to explore their creativity, performance, constantly pushing and striving to be one step ahead of the game.”

This is the second year that she’s been able to flaunt an all-Bermudian cast.

“All the performers are local students of ours. We’ve reached a point where the technique and ability of our dancers is strong enough where we can put on the entire [show] ourselves.”

She said “it isn’t just The Nutcracker”.

The 130 performers, who range from seven to 23 years old, will first have the opportunity to show off their skills in jazz, contemporary, tap and street-style dance.

“It isn’t all classical ballet. Bermudian aspects were inserted to make it more appealing to a broader audience,” she said.

Following intermission, the classic Nutcracker will begin.

Emma O’Donnell and Jaela Bean-Lindo are both soloists this year.

The pair have danced at In Motion “forever”.

“I cannot see my life without dance anymore,” said Jaela, 15. “I’m in the studio for over 24 hours a week. Every day I spend around six hours there.”

Now a junior teacher with the company, the Saltus student joined the school at two after her mother Melissa Lindo witnessed her dancing around the living room constantly.

“I still do,” she confessed.

Jaela teaches five classes a week, for children ranging from two to eight years old. She said she knew she wanted to teach from her first year in the senior company.

Their performance at TEDx in October last year affirmed her ambitions after connecting with the discussion on how dancers form their own community.

“We’re a family. I’ve become really close to a lot of the students at In Motion, so I felt that I needed to give back because of what In Motion gave to me.”

She will play the part of the balletic Sugarplum Fairy this weekend before switching to a tap dancing longtail doll.

“We have now made it our own, Bermudian style,” she said.

Her time at the school has given her exposure she never dreamt she would have, including a scholarship to a summer programme at the Grier School in Pennsylvania. “I cannot see my life without dancing, “ she said.

“I would love to continue to teach and I want to study dance in college.”

Seventeen-year-old Emma will play the Cupcake Fairy.

“Emma has managed to reach great proficiency in her dancing, however Emma is also very academically inclined. You’ll see Emma perform onstage and then come backstage and she’ll be in her books, doing work — sometimes in the bathroom of City Hall,” Ms Pimentel laughed. “It’s a true balance of school and dance.” The Bermuda High School head girl heads to university next year where she will pursue maths and science. “It’s definitely a challenge,” she said of her catalogue of extracurricular activities including piano, choir and voice lessons. She also runs a peer tutoring programme that she founded and volunteers at BIOS twice a week.

On top of that she manages to spend up to 15 hours a week at the studio. She refuses to give anything up. “That’s not an option,” she said. “I couldn’t not be dancing. I’ve been doing it for so long and I love it. I think it will always be a part of my life. It’s shaped me as a person. It’s given discipline and perseverance and commitment that maybe I would not have had.

“It’s not going to be part of my career, but it will definitely be part of my life forever.”

•The Nutcracker Holiday Spectacular runs 7pm Friday and 2pm and 7pm on Saturday at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium.Tickets available at ptix.bm and inmotionbda.com