The family of dancers that has danced the Philadelphia Ballet ‘Nutcracker’ for at least a dozen years

The Nutcracker is about family. It centers around a girl named Marie, her parents and little brother, and the magical things that happen after they throw a Christmas party.

At Philadelphia Ballet, it’s more than just that.

Four members of a dancing family make Nutcracker magic onstage together. Sisters Isabella, 21, Ava, 19, and Olivia DiEmedio, 16, are all members of the company. Isabella is in the corps de ballet, Ava an apprentice, and Olivia in Philadelphia Ballet II.

When the company opens its annual production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker this weekend at the Academy of Music, the sisters will perform as snowflakes, flowers, parents, maids, and a variety of sweet treats.

The sisters are still on the rise in the company, and are yet to explore most of the principal roles. But they’ve filled most of the children’s, many of the corps, and some soloist roles. In fact, there has been a DiEmedio in one scene or another of The Nutcracker for at least a dozen years.

Even their mother is sometimes onstage alongside them.

Charity Eagens, who grew up in East Norriton, Montgomery County, was in the company, then known as Pennsylvania Ballet, for 10 years, starting in 1996. Now she is a teacher in the School of Philadelphia Ballet and the children’s ballet stager. She is also the grandmother in some performances of The Nutcracker.

Eagens has taught all three of her daughters throughout their training, and she continues to do so once a week, when she teaches company class.

» READ MORE: Four of the most exciting ‘Nutcracker’ versions being staged in Philadelphia this season

In ballet class, she is their teacher. As soon as they step outside the studio, she is Mom.

“It would be really awkward for all my friends to see me calling you Miss Charity,” Ava said to her mother on Zoom, gathering around a table at Philadelphia Ballet.

“I would never say ‘Miss Charity,’” Olivia added. “I would just say what I needed to say and, like, just raise my hand.”

The DiEmedio sisters grew up on Philadelphia Ballet.

“I took Isabella to see her first ballet [when] she was 2 years old, which is a little bit too young,” Eagens said. “But a lot of my friends were still in the company, and I took her. I thought, ‘Let me just see how long she sits.’”

It was Sleeping Beauty, which is well over two and a half hours.

“So it’s probably not the best one,” said Eagens. “However, she sat on the edge of her seat for the whole thing.”

In 2007, when she was 3, Isabella started ballet classes in a local school where Eagens taught.

» READ MORE: The Quiner Sisters: Six ballerina siblings from Jersey find social media fame

When she was 4, Isabella went to her mother and said, “I want to dance on the same stage as you, Mom,” Eagens said.

In 2012, when Isabella was 7, the company reopened its school (after becoming the Rock School for Dance 20 years earlier, when it looked like the troupe might fold), and Eagens signed her up.

Her sisters followed in the same pattern: local classes at 3, moving over to the School of Philadelphia Ballet for more serious training when they were 7. They tried gymnastics, too, but ballet is what stuck for all of them.

The Nutcracker was a staple in their lives. Ava and Olivia both danced the role of Marie. Isabella was too tall when it might’ve been her turn, putting the top child’s role out of her reach.

These days, Isabella lives independently, sharing an apartment with another dancer in the company. Ava is considering moving out as well, but her father is encouraging her to stay put and save money. Meanwhile, she and Olivia split their time living with Eagens in Worcester, Montgomery County, and with their father in Philadelphia, which is convenient for getting to the studio and theater.

At 16, Olivia is a junior in high school, doing her academic work online through the Brandywine Virtual Academy, which is affiliated with the Methacton School District she used to attend in person.

“I never had to withdraw them from school,” Eagens said.

At different stages of their burgeoning careers, the sisters continue to support one another.

“In combined company class with the men and women, I’ll stand behind Isabella,” Ava said. “And then in the ladies class, I stand behind Olivia. Sometimes I’ll tell [Olivia] little things I noticed about her technique.”

» READ MORE: Two critics went to Philadelphia Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker.’ Here’s what they thought.

Their boss has his eye on them.

“Isabella, Olivia, Ava, and their mother Charity each bring their own artistry and dedication to Philadelphia Ballet,” said artistic director Angel Corella, “and watching them share the stage is incredibly moving.”

The sisters are all eager to improve and get opportunities.

“I want to be the best that I can and see how far I can take it,” Isabella said.

Ava agreed. “I want to be able to branch out of corps roles.”

» READ MORE: Behind the scenes at Philadelphia Ballet's 'Nutcracker'

As the youngest, Olivia knows she may have to wait her turn, although in ballet even the youngest professionals can get big roles.

“Technically, I’m still in training,” as a second company member, she said. “So I have to always keep in mind and have a good mindset about it and keep working hard every day.”

But, she added, “I really want to become someone who is, like, the star.”

Philadelphia Ballet in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.” Dec. 5-31, Academy of Music. $28-$282, 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org