IT'S a cracker! Teenage ballet star Gemma Chidlow has landed a part in Tchaikovsky's classic ballet The Nutcracker.

Gemma, a pupil at Holy Trinity School in Kidderminster, was chosen to play the parts of a soldier and a flower during the full-scale production.

She will be among 70 dancers performing in the show, which runs at The Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury from April 24 until 26.

Gemma said: "I still can't believe it. Rehearsals are hard work but good fun at the same time. Working with professional dancers is a totally different experience. The dance routines are more advanced as they concentrate on the whole performance and not just the dance movement itself."

The production is choreographed and produced by Richard Slaughter and Ursula Hageli, international principal dancers and choreographers who have worked with the Royal Ballet education unit and English Youth Ballet.