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Call it Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" with a modern twist.

Students from West Potomac High School and West Potomac Academy and members of the Alexandria Community Dance group will perform the traditional holiday ballet at West Potomac High School's Springbank Auditorium beginning Dec. 4.

But the performance won't necessarily be the one audiences expect. Instead, the performers will add modern dance styles to the classic ballet.

"It has everything," said Rachelle Husband, 16, a sophomore at West Potomac High School. "It's not just ballet. It's got tap, hip-hop, gymnastics..."

Dancers in the show said the appeal of this "Nutcracker," which will be in how it will diverge from the traditional production.

In some cases, dancers will perform a hip-hop dance in black hooded-sweatshirts and high-top shoes and replace ballet slippers with tap shoes.

"It's going to be really different. People won't be expecting it," said Haley Mertins, 19, a West Potomac High School graduate who is visiting her alma mater to play the Sugar Plum Fairy. "I think the audience will like it. When they come in, they'll think it's traditional and then it will be a surprise."

Mertins will dance the Sugar Plum Fairy solo to jazz arranger and pianist Duke Ellington's "Sugar Rum Cherry," another holiday classic with a twist.

The cast of about 100 dancers -- ages 4 to adult -- is under the direction of the high school's dance coach, Gennifer Lisenby, who came up with the modern rendition of the classic ballet.

"A friend of mine said, 'I like "The Nutcracker," but, you know, I'm not really into ballet.' So I thought it would be interesting to add tap and hip-hop," said Lisenby, whose sons Brandon, 10, and Bradley, 6, play sword-fighting rats in the show.

"This is something I've wanted to do for a really long time," said Lisenby, who has been teaching dance for 20 years.

Although the performers are open to the production's modern aspects, some said they were not so sure what Tchaikovsky would think of it.

The first performance of "The Nutcracker" ballet was conducted in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Dec. 18, 1892.

"I think Tchaikovsky would not appreciate the hip-hop thing. But times, they are a-changing," said high school senior Jacob Lawlor, 17, who is in the hip-hop Russian dance.

Senior Christian Huley, 17, of West Potomac Academy, was more optimistic. The academy is a public school program that provides students with opportunities to take advanced, specialized classes in communications and the arts.

"The Nutcracker"

Performance details

When: Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.; Dec. 5, 2 and 6:30 p.m.

Where: West Potomac High School's Springbank Auditorium, 6500 Quander Road, Alexandria

Tickets: $10 for students, $12 for adults; can be bought in advance or at the door.

For more information or to buy tickets, contact Courtney Betzel at 703-718-2641

or cjbetzel@fcps.edu.