It’s not just top young talent taking the stage in Ballet Minnesota’s rendition of ‘The Nutcracker’ this weekend.

Several men in their 60s and 70s will also be dancing in this year’s show in St. Paul.

“The age range is from four years of age all the way up to 74,” said Artistic Director Andy Rist. “And that’s me.”

Rist is a choreographer and teacher who has not danced in ‘The Nutcracker’ himself in more than 40 years.

He will be performing as Herr Rahtheimer this weekend.

“The special part is not so much that we’re old as that we can do what we dream of doing, no matter the age,” Rist said.

He is joined by 67-year-old Robert Cleary, who will be dancing as the toymaker, Herr Drosselmeyer.

“Everyone is out there having fun and doing what their heart has asked them to do, from the littlest mouse all the way up to me,” Cleary said.

Cleary runs his own dance company in Wisconsin but takes time to dance in this production of ‘The Nutcracker’ every December.

He is also a two-time cancer survivor.

“I spent six months every day doing radiation and was one of the ‘give up’ cases. In the waiting room with me were all these children with leukemia,” Cleary said. “So I’m in the waiting room with them and their teddy bears and then a week later, they’re gone. It made me evaluate my own life a little more.”

He said surviving cancer gave him a new sense of purpose that is fulfilled by shows like this one.

“It’s just more so the idea of joy, of bringing happiness to the world,” Cleary said.

They hope this production inspires audiences, not just with the classic story of ‘The Nutcracker,’ but by showcasing a wide range of ages, talents and life experiences on stage.

“It can be some of these younger dancers or it can be a dancer as old as I am and as long as it fulfills you and fulfills the people watching, then it works,” Rist said. “It is designed to touch the heart and soul of people. It can be magical.”

‘The Nutcracker’ will take the stage at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium on the University of St. Catherine campus in St. Paul.

Showtimes are 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.