Abdo Sayegh's favorite part of the "Nutcracker Fantasy," the moment that still gives him goosebumps, he said, is when he lifts the cumbersome Nutcracker mask from his head, is crowned by Drosselmeyer and has his first real connection with Marie. "She's looking at me with wide eyes, and that's when I remember Loyce's words to the Marie 10 years ago: 'Feel the magic! Look into his eyes! This is your dream come true. He's real.' And in Marie's face I see, 'Oh my gosh, I have to look at his eyes. I'm scared.'"

For a decade, Sayegh (pronounced Sigh-eh) has played the double role of Nutcracker toy and cavalier/prince in Loyce Houlton's "Nutcracker Fantasy." Houlton, who died in 1995, created the Twin Cities holiday favorite for her company, Minnesota Dance Theatre, 40 years ago. This year's production opens today in Minneapolis.

A native of Venezuela, Sayegh was dancing with Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas when Houlton contacted her friend, Venezuelan dancer Leticia Guerrero, in search of a new Nutcracker. Guerrero recommended Sayegh, and in 1994, Houlton brought the young dancer to MDT as a guest artist; it was the last "Nutcracker" she directed. Sayegh returned to Minnesota three more times to be the Nutcracker. Then in 1998, Lise Houlton, Loyce's daughter and MDT's new artistic director, reorganized the company and hired Sayegh as a full-time dancer.

Sayegh, the troupe's longest-term dancer, has put down roots in his adopted state. He and his partner, Leif Anderson, recently bought a house in southeast Minneapolis.

In addition to performing the Nutcracker every year except in 1999 (a knee injury sidelined him and Ted Sothern took the role), Sayegh performs in all of MDT's diverse repertory. He dances with lyrical tenderness in Houlton's "Wingborne;" is a master of subtle manipulation as Iago in Jose Limon's "The Moor's Pavane;" has two intricate, elegant pas de deux in perennial favorite "Rumblings," and propels himself through rigorous choreography in Dwight Rhoden's "Concrete Abstraction."

As the Nutcracker, Sayegh portrays "a mythic creature who morphs into this exquisite cavalier," said Lise Houlton, "and it just comes easily to him. I think because Abdo has an innate sense of dignity. He has classical qualities he just seems to own naturally: nobility, a sense of partnership with the female dancer, being there for her throughout the performance."

Over coffee at Borders in Block E, across the street from MDT's studios in the Hennepin Center for the Arts, Sayegh said that after his third year as Nutcracker, "I could forget about the steps. They were inside my skin. So I began to concentrate more on the story. And working with the little girls."

Every year, Lise Houlton selects a girl of about 12 (some years, she chooses two) from MDT's school to play the part of Marie, the girl around whom the ballet's story revolves. While Houlton directs most of the rehearsals, Sayegh coaches the new Marie one-on-one, "because we partner a lot. I have to work psychologically with them, tease them, get to their level and play with them. Because they've never been touched by any man but their dad, and here's this 33-year-old guy lifting them up, sitting them on his shoulder."

"Some of them are so shy," he continued. "But it's never frustrating. They're so cute. I enjoy helping them, making them feel comfortable. And it's really part of my personality to connect with whomever I'm dancing with." When they start teasing him about being too old for the Nutcracker part--"They say, 'You're not going to be doing this for much longer,'" Sayegh said with a laugh--he knows he's succeeding.

Dancing most of the ballet in a mask intensifies the partnering with young Marie. For one thing, because the eye openings are his primary source of fresh air, Sayegh often finds himself hyperventilating after particularly energetic sections. "I have to calm myself down on stage," he said, "because the only air coming to me is hot air off my skin."

The mask also prevents him from seeing the floor, or seeing his diminutive partner from the neck down. So Sayegh has to maintain an acute spatial sense of Marie's proportions and where she is; during rehearsals he stresses the importance of her being in the right spot at the right moment.

"He's an amazing coach," Houlton said. "Part of it is his generous nature. Part of it is his understanding of where the girls are confused or nervous about the partnering."

This year's Marie, Catherine Cowgill, is 13. "There's a real beauty to that, having a fresh innocence in the role," Houlton said. "And I think there's a certain amount of pleasure for Abdo to be in the position of grooming a future dancer. He's watched so many of the young ones in the past 10 years develop into beautiful dancers and embark on careers elsewhere. I think that adds to the pleasure of his work, having contributed to that."

Sayegh agreed. "I always look forward to passing on the ballet to a younger generation," he said. "I love that kind of tradition." And by the time those former Maries have reached their 20s, he added, it's safe for them say, "You were my first crush."

Camille LeFevre is a St. Paul writer.

IF YOU GO Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy

What: Minnesota Dance Theatre.

When: 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; 7 p.m. Sun.-Mon.