Nutcracker wouldn’t be Nutcracker without the local Children’s cast! Dancing alongside the full international professional cast are local Wilkes-Barre children from the Joan Harris Centre. The Joan Harris Centre dance students come from Wilkes-Barre, Dallas, Back Mountain, Scranton, Hazleton, Kingston, Pittston, Tunkhannock, and Pocono Communities to study with their professional staff. Dance classes are offered in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Modern and Contemporary. A current and progressive program with a strong emphasis on technique is used to help train pupils who wish to make a career in the dance field and a warm and welcoming atmosphere will greet those students who are interested in dance for enjoyment as well as to benefit from its physical exercises and appreciation for the aesthetics. To accomplish this, experienced instructors, highly trained in both their field of expertise and in how to properly conduct a class, teach in state-of-the-art studios assisted by a professional support staff. The school year is broken up into a series of eight week sessions, at the conclusion of which, full school productions give the students not only the opportunity to showcase and put into practice what they have learned, but also to experience the true joy of performing on a legitimate stage, in a legitimate theater with professionally designed sets and lighting effects.