"We have a very tight contingent. Not just anyone can be a rat," exclaims Lauren Shigekane, a leading member of the "Rat Pack," a quintet of women portraying oversized rodents in Ballet Hawaii's production of "The Nutcracker."

That they have fun in the process is evident when they join hands and do a rough take-off of the four little swans (from "Swan Lake") — complete with multiple pas de chats, essentially a feline move as its name implies ("step of cat").

In consort with their fearless leader, the Rat King (danced by Peter Rockford Espiritu), and backed by a horde of teeny mice, the rodents battle an army of miniature soldiers.

Shigekane urges the Rat King to defeat the enemy, even though the odds are against that ever happening.

As she says, "We always hope the rats will win. I think, with Peter as our king, our chances are better than ever. Hope springs eternal."

This Rat Pack — not to be confused with that band of Hollywood stars of yesteryear — consists of former dancers between ages 41 and 65.

Shigekane, described as the "Captain of the Team," has been a Rat Packer for 10 years and, along with fellow rats Carol Naish and Marion Philpotts Miller, is a member of Ballet Hawaii's board of directors. Yvonne Yanagihara Goss and Georgia Yamashita round out the group.

Offstage, Miller is an interior designer. For her, the annual "Nutcracker" performances are a family affair with her husband, Jeff, and daughters Makena and Marée also appearing in the production. "It's the one activity we have in common," she says.

Miller, who first appeared in Honolulu City Ballet's production 30 years ago, continues to take ballet classes and will be recognized onstage as the only rat on pointe.

Naish — the first rat onstage — displays the noble carriage of a dancer while exuding the bubbly enthusiasm of an adolescent. "I'm a 'Nutcracker' nut," she says, adding that her first "Nutcracker" was in Los Angeles at age 12 when she danced the "Waltz of the Flowers." "I didn't get back into it until after I'd had four children."

Naish and her husband, Rick, own Naish Hawai'i, a Kailua business devoted to designing and building windsurfing boards. Son Robby is a world champion in windsurfing and kite-boarding, while hubby was a national and state Hobie Cat champion. A daughter, Christine, is a Pilates instructor in California who also still dances and will appear in a Mainland production of "The Nutcracker" along with her two children.

In addition to her rat duties, dark-haired and petite Yanagihara Goss appears as an elegant party lady in Act 1. The youngest member of the pack, she is a Hawaiian Telcom retail sales manager by day and keeps herself in shape by practicing ballroom dance and teaching creative dance to children. This will be her fifth year as a Rat Pack member.

Yamashita, now in her seventh year as a rat, is also sharing the stage with two daughters.

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