Dancing their way to Disneyland

COEUR d'ALENE - Twelve North Idaho girls have been repeatedly listening - and dancing - to "Let It Snow" until they get each note and every step right.

Sound tedious? Not when you imagine the roaring crowds that will surround them as they march, dance, twirl and blow kisses in the Holiday Spectacular Parades in Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme park Dec. 12 and 13.

The girls, ages 7-16, are a part of Rathdrum's Dance Theatre Northwest. The dance studio, owned and operated by Andrea Goad of Rathdrum, provides the opportunity to participate in the big-time parades every two years through the Dance the Magic, Inc. parade program.

Olivia Mitchell, 9, of Hayden, will always remember her experience dancing in the parades to "Jingle Bells" when she was 7.

"It was really fun," she said during a rehearsal Sunday in the Kroc Center. "There's a lot of people."

A highlight for her was seeing her parents in the crowd and making new friends with girls she met. She said she's not too nervous about performing this year.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how many people are actually there, because last time we did it, it was in October," she said.

The 12 dancers auditioned for the opportunity to travel to Anaheim for what Goad said is usually a once-(or twice)-in-a-lifetime experience.

"I thought it looked great, thought it'd be fun to go to Disneyland and then share it all with these kids," Goad said. "It's something I would have liked to do when I was a dancer."

The Dance Theatre Northwest dancers will don feathery, red velvet dresses and Santa hats, and will have oversized snowflakes attached to their hands. They have been practicing for the big events for more than a month and intend to be prepared for anything, using paper plates in place of the snowflakes and using every foot of space in the Kroc gym.

"They have to keep going, no matter what. There's 320 dancers from all over. We're 12 of them," Goad said. "I keep telling them, if something happens, it doesn't matter. You have to go. Two years ago, we saw somebody lose a shoe and finish the whole parade with one shoe on."

Proud mom Sandra Boyer of Post Falls sat on the bleachers with other parents during practice. Her daughter, Melissa, 15, is one of the dancers positioned at the front, leading the way for the shorter and younger girls behind her.

"Some of those little girls just love her," Sandra said. "It's kind of neat to see her being a leader."

This is the first time Melissa and several of the other girls will perform in such grand-scale parades.

"It's a fun opportunity, you know, a little dance studio in North idaho. Most people don't even know where Idaho is," Sandra said with a chuckle. "And here we are, going to Disneyland to participate. It's just a fun opportunity for the kids to do something different, out of the ordinary other than the town parades. It's bigger. The world is a big, exciting place to experience."

Info: www.dancetheatrenw.com or www.dancethemagic.com