They practice their arabesques, plies and turnouts every moment they get. Even when having a conversation, they're absentmindedly rehearsing their steps.

And one can only think this will increase in the coming weeks as they prepare to go on stage in the Queensland Ballet's production of Cinderella.

When the Brisbane-based company comes to the capital next month, there will be a total of 16 Canberra children taking the stage with them.

For 13-year-old Anneliese Young, it's a dream come true. The ballet dancer has been taking classes since she was two and - as her mum Elisabeth Young says - was dancing since before she could walk.

While her mum might have originally thought it was a "passing fancy", Anneliese hopes Cinderella is just the beginning of her time on a professional stage.

"This is the first time that I've ever been anywhere close to this sort of production," she says.

"It's a really important opportunity for me because it's almost like the next step to the grown-up world of ballet."

Ryan Black, 12, is one of four boys chosen for the production, and like Anneliese, has been dancing since a young age.

He followed his older brother into the art, but now it has become something of an outlet for the young dancer.

"It's something I can put my emotion into and it's something I really enjoy doing," Ryan says.

While the 12-year-old isn't quite thinking about a future career in ballet yet, his mum Lea Black says it's a great opportunity for him, and the other boys in the cast, to see men dancing.

"When they're training they often don't get a lot of male influence in their training and to see other strong male figures taking on that career, they get so much from it," Black says.

"They train so diligently all the time to be ballet dancers so it's a great opportunity to be able to go on stage and show how much they enjoy doing it, and be able to be up there with adults in that field as well and seeing how much they love it."

The ballet production of Cinderella will always be special to Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin - known from his biography and the film Mao's Last Dancer.

"This production means a lot to me personally because of its association with my former mentor and acclaimed choreographer, Ben Stevenson," he says.

"This iconic ballet was made famous by Margot Fonteyn and is one that dancers love to dance. It's the first time Cinderella has come to the ACT, and I hope they love it as much as I do.

"It will appeal to adults and children alike, with the romance of Cinderella and the Prince, and the humour of the Ugly Stepsisters. There's an indescribable magic hearing the laughter of the children in the audience, knowing you've just touched the next generation of ballet lovers."