COSTA MESA : 6 Girls Win Roles With N.Y. Ballet

With nervous parents in tow, more than 60 young girls in leotards auditioned Tuesday evening for a chance to dance with the New York City Ballet.

The company will use four local girls between the ages of 11 and 14 during its upcoming performance of “Mozartiana” at the Performing Arts Center, said Garielle Whittle, the children’s ballet mistress. For many of the young girls assembled Tuesday, that was an opportunity too great to pass up.

Before the audition began, Michelle Mercier, a soft-spoken 9-year-old from Laguna Niguel, said she was “a little nervous” but hopeful.

“If I made it, I’d smile a lot,” she said, sitting on the steps of the Performing Arts Center wearing a pink Mickey Mouse shirt and lavender tights with her mother, Karen.

Within three hours, six girls were chosen. Tami Knight, 14, of Ontario; twins Heather and Holly Larson, 12, of Running Springs; and Danielle Phill, 12, of Long Beach were chosen to appear with the cast. Callie McLaren, 13, of Laguna Niguel, and Carrie Robertson, 11, of San Juan Capistrano become understudies.

As the audition began, girls in groups of 25 lined up to perform steps led by Whittle. The ballerinas, their hair pulled back and numbers pinned to their leotards, performed the steps and then stepped back to watch the others. One girl grimaced after she completed her turn, but she still made the cut that came moments later.

Meanwhile, parents sat and paced the halls outside the studios, anxiously awaiting the results of the tryouts.

“She feels that if she gets in, she gets in. I’m the one who’s nervous,” said Walter Spencer, who drove his daughter Kimberly down from Monterey Park. “I’m basically a roadie. I’m on the road all the time with her.”

Within 10 minutes, Whittle made the first cut, excluding those who were too tall, too short or who looked too old, she said. Most of the girls took the cut in stride, but some were clearly disappointed.

“They said I was too short,” said 13-year-old Marissa Bayless, who sat in the hall hugging her knees and crying as a friend comforted her.

The ballerinas chosen will perform Sept. 25-30 at the Center.