Dancers at The Body Barre in Queensbury have been hard at work for two months, preparing for their performance of “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

“I’ve done [‘The Nutcracker’] my whole life, but the other really traditional story that I think generations know is ‘ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’. So to turn that into a ballet, plus it’s narrated … it’s just so family friendly, it is so audience friendly and easy to follow along,” said Dance Teacher Caroline Behan.

Behan is leading the choreography. She’s been teaching ballet for more than a decade, but the pandemic forced her to close her own business, Reality Dance Studio. Early on in the pandemic, The Body Barre let Caroline use its space to continue her dance training. But a few months in, she joined the Body Barre team full-time.

“They had the resources to keep theirs open and they were so generous and just said ‘If you want to come teach here, come teach here. We would love to have you,’ ” said Behan.

These dancers are a blended group – some who have always been at The Body Barre, and others who came along with Caroline from her studio.

“It’s as if it was just meant to be. I can’t tell you how easily these kids merged,” said Behan.

Regardless of their origins, there’s one thing they all have in common: They haven’t performed on stage in more than two years.

“That’s our love affair, to be on stage and have that live audience. So to have that taken away, I mean, that’s taking away our gift,” said Behan.

“ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” is a collaboration with the New York Dance Project, meaning professional dancers will fill some of the roles, and join the young ballerinas on stage.

“It’s not just enriching the area, but it’s enriching my students’ training. It kind of lights more of a fire inside them, too, afterwards. They’re a little more motivated,” said Caroline.

The last few rehearsals leading up to a performance are always nerve-racking, making sure everything is perfect, but Caroline says she’s filled with gratitude.

“To still get to be a part of the dance community after I had to shut down, and have all these people still help me and believe in me … couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Behan.

You can watch “ ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” December 17-18 at The Strand Theater in Hudson Falls. You can find details for buying tickets at mystrandtheater.org. Masks are required for everyone in attendance.