Two Renton students will be in this year’s Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of the “Nutcracker.”

Bella Ureta, a junior at the Center School, will play the role of a fighting mouse woman and Janet Nguyen, a seventh grader at McKnight Middle School, will be in the calvary.

This annual version of the “Nutcracker” was created by PNB Artistic Director Kent Stowell and author and illustrator Maurice Sendak.

The production features more than 200 roles danced by professional dancers and students.

Both Ureta and Nguyen are part of PNB’s DanceChance program, that strives to reach into the community and discover talented, Seattle-area elementary school students.

Students in this program get access to classical training, allowing them the opportunity they might not otherwise have to pursue a dance career. They attend classes twice a week on full tuition scholarship with dance attire, transportation and complimentary tickets to performances provided.