AUBURN – Choreographer Sharon Hawkes of Auburn will bring the story of “The Nutcracker” to life in a one-hour workshop for children at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Auburn Public Library.

Children will tap castanets, smell the gingerbread and dance to the melodies of Tchaikovsky’s music.

Hawkes has used the workshop to bring the fun of dance to children for more than a decade. Through the telling of the story and the use of pictures and props, children get a taste of what is involved in a full production of the ballet and learn about the history of the perennial favorite.

“I created the Nutcracker workshop to help children explore the art of choreography – what it means to create characters, how they all move differently, how the music suggests movement and how to express one’s self through dance,” Hawkes said.

“Rather than assign parts, we tell the story together, and dance everybody’s role on the spot. We’re so busy moving, no one realizes we’re also learning.” Boys and girls in grades two through six will sneak like mice, leap like Cossack dancers and march like wooden soldiers.

To register for the workshop, call the Auburn Public Library Children’s Department at 333-6640, ext. 3.