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Alyson McKenzie doesn't have too many gaps in her schedule these days, but what little time the newly-enrolled, full-time National Ballet School student does have is spent making up dance moves in the basement of her family's Etobicoke home.

"We've been surprised at the devotion and natural passion for dance that she has," Alyson's dad, Greig McKenzie said last week as he waited for the youngest of his three children with wife Shelly to arrive. "To see that kind of dedication in children, it's phenomenal."

The 11-year-old recently landed the coveted role of Marie in the National Ballet of Canada's holiday classic The Nutcracker, performing on the same stage as (and sometimes atop the shoulders of) some of the company's biggest stars - including Heather Ogden and Guillaume C�´t�©. The Guardian caught up with Alyson last week in a rare moment of down-time, following one of the show's final dress rehearsals at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

When asked her reaction to the news that she would be one of three rotating dancers playing the role, Alyson struggled to contain her excitement.

"Ummm ... I'm trying to think of a big word," she said last Wednesday, sitting on the edge of one of more than 2,000 seats in the centre's R. Fraser Elliot Hall, where she made her big debut last weekend.

"I was speechless," she added as she glanced towards the nearby darkened stage, the outline of the famous Faberg�© Egg only just visible in the dimmed lights. "It's been really amazing. I'm just so happy."

Opening night on Saturday was a smashing success for the McKenzies, with family flying in from Vancouver to catch the show and Alyson receiving rave reviews from the ballet's artistic director, prima ballerina Karen Kain.

"Before the show started, I was so nervous my stomach was doing flips. But once I got on stage I completely forgot all that. It was so much fun," Alyson told The Guardian in an e-mail Monday. "Curtain call was really exciting - seeing all those people standing and clapping and then getting a bouquet of flowers was amazing."

And to top it all off, a compliment from one of Canada's best: "I couldn't believe it when Karen Kain congratulated me on my performance," Alyson said.

While her recent achievements may have come as a surprise to Alyson herself, she may be the only one who didn't see it coming. Those around her who have watched her dance talent bloom over the years say her success was always just a pli�© away.

"She's a well-rounded dancer who just excelled at everything she set her mind to. I knew from the second I started teaching her that she'd have a career in dance," said Maria Doria, owner of the Dance Extension in Etobicoke, where Alyson took lessons in jazz, tap, acro, ballet, hip hop and lyrical dance for five years.

"She just attacked the choreography... 'Keep an eye on Alyson McKenzie,' I told my teachers when I first saw her dance. She's a diamond in the rough."

With two performances of The Nutcracker under her belt so far, Alyson will take to the stage as Maria seven more times this holiday season. Her matine�© performance on Saturday, Dec. 22 is especially exciting for her, she said, as it will be broadcast live to 69 Cineplex cinemas across Canada.

"I mean, whoa, it's not just the 2,000 people in the audience watching here, there's all these people across the country watching in theatres," she said. "It's also really nice because now all my family in Vancouver can see me perform live, but get to stay in their hometown."

It's Alyson's greatest hope that one day family and friends will be able to see her emerge from The Nutcracker's intricate Faberg�© Egg, just like her hero Heather Ogden.

"It'd be really cool to be the Sugar Plum Fairy one day," she said.