PLATTSBURGH — Just an itty bitty ballerina, Korinne Stay first appeared in "The Nutcracker" at age 4.

In "The Party" scene, she didn't dance, just sat on the laps of "Grandma" and "Grandpa."

"I think my favorite part was getting my hair curled by my mom," said the Beekmantown Central School senior, 17.

This year, she performs the King Mouse solo in the North Country Ballet Ensemble production of the Tchaikovsky ballet, a mini-solo as the Ice Maiden in the "Snow" divertissement and is one of seven harem girls dancing in "Arabian."

She's an old hand at King Mouse, her favorite.

"I like to be a villein," she said.

She relishes the grand jumps, even the little kids looking up to her, just as she once did to mouse royalty of past years.

Korinne has danced as Ice Maiden even longer, maybe five years.

Nerves haven't been an issue for her much for a long time.

"It kind of feels like the stage is my home now."

But she expects a few butterflies as Arabian, as this will be her first time in the role. It's not so much the choreography, she said, "but the person you have to be. You have to be this royal personality."

Morphing from one role to another is a challenge, Korinne said.

"I've been thinking about that a lot this year," she said. "In between numbers, I kind of run (the dance) off in my head."

And putting on the costume helps.

"Especially the King Mouse," she chuckled.

ONE BIG FAMILY
"The Nutcracker," performed on Thanksgiving weekend, kicks off the Christmas season in the Plattsburgh area. Also, in December, for the first time, the production will take the stage at Lake Placid Center for the Arts.

In rehearsal for weeks, preparation is an all-out effort. As are other dancers, Korinne is on her toes five or six days a week, between practices and classes.

"It's well worth it in the end," she said.

"The Nutcracker" also defines the holidays for the teen.

"This is the best season," she said. "Thanksgiving, Christmas all mushed into one."

The dance company is one big family: Parents pitch in, past dancers help, and the performers are a close-knit group. Seniors this year also include Lake Placid sisters Kate and Sara Madzer — Kate is North Wind in "Snow," Flower in "Waltz of the Flowers" and Arabian. Sara is Soldier Doll, North Wind, Spanish soloist and Flower.

"They've been driving down (to Plattsburgh) for years and years," Korinne said. "They've been very dedicated."

A microcosm of the dance family is that of Korinne's own, for her sister, Kelsey, 19, and brother, Ken, 21, are "Nutcracker" veterans, too. And the mom who curled Korinne's hair all those years ago? Deborah Guibord Stay, who also taught her children their first dance steps and many more since at Guibord's North Country School of Dance, is also "The Nutcracker" director.

What's that like?

Laughing, Korinne said, "Sometimes you want to go, 'Mommmm!' But it's good."

"Obviously, it's wonderful," Deborah said. "It's also a challenge as the parent/child relationship goes."

SUGAR PLUM DREAMS
Korinne said she and her siblings never felt compelled to dance.

When Ken was 10, Deborah said, "he told his dad, I really think I need to take a break" from "The Nutcracker."

"Then he came right back," Korinne said.

In truth, she said, dance has given her a kind of discipline that spills over into the rest of her life.

"It's really just a healthy way to exercise and grow up."

Now in college, both Kelsey and Ken continue their "Nutcracker" tradition. This season, Kelsey will dance in the "Snow" corps and in the "Russian" divertissement. Ken plays Clara's papa and another small role.

And next year, Korinne expects to be back.

"Whatever they need me for, I'll just jump into."

A few years ago, Korinne realized just how much dance means to her; she has poured herself into study year round. Two years ago, she studied modern dance — her favorite style — at the School of Dance of the New York State Summer School of the Arts; this past summer she experienced the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City.

She has passed the Grade 9 exam of Cecchetti USA, a ballet-training organization, and is the first Guibord's School student to pursue Grade 10.

Now, she's applying to colleges with strong dance programs but with an eye toward an environmental science major. She imagines juggling both fields in one way or another.

And, even as Claire in "The Nutcracker" dreams of a heroic prince in a land of waltzing flowers, Korinne does let herself imagine one day dancing the ballet's famous pas de deux with the Cavalier.

"To be Sugar Plum Fairy," she said, "that would be pretty cool."

E-mail Suzanne Moore at: smoore@pressrepublican.com