The thing about traditions is that their significance becomes deeper with years.

Considering that the Whidbey Island Dance Theatre has just completed its 17th annual run of the famous Christmas ballet, it makes sense that many of the dancers who grew up on Whidbey Island and who were an instrumental part of creating the island’s “Nutcracker” are now returning as young adults to see the show that has had some part in shaping who they’ve become.

Former company dancer Chelsea Matthews-Jensen even came home to help choreograph a piece of this year’s production, and several alums have been spotted after performances with their arms around ballerinas, showering them with congratulatory hugs.

“All of these girls were inspirational in some way to the girls you see onstage now,” co-director and company co-founder Charlene Brown said.

“Chelsea’s coming onboard as a choreographer, being an alum, is a great testimony to her love for dance and for the organization. She did an amazing job.”

The word tradition comes from the Latin “traditio” meaning handing over; passing on. The word is actually a perfect way to describe how dances are kept alive in the ballet tradition. It is most likely a rare thing, for instance, that a ballet mistress or choreographer who is teaching a Faerie Queen, Snow Queen or Clara her steps in “The Nutcracker” hasn’t danced those steps onstage at some point in her own life.

Brown recalled the year Karla Gilbert played the Rat King.

“After that all the girls in the company wanted to dance that role because she made it a role worth dancing,” Brown said.

For the young dancers onstage each year, the dancers of Christmases past act as an inspiration.

Juliana Nolen, 14, played Clara this year and was thrilled to have former company members congratulate her on her performance.

She was visited after the show by several former “Nutcracker” stars, several of them having danced the role of “Clara,” too. Some of those seen included Brittany Falso, Michela Mattens, Amy Berto, Jacquie Cerra, Andrea Burr, Amanda Burr, Jamee Brown Pitts, Katelyn Candelario, Hailey Way and Alexis Daly.

“Everybody was telling me what a beautiful Clara I was and that was nice,” Nolen said.

They also had a new perspective on the production.

“We talked about how much the show has changed and progressed. Some told me they thought the dancers have become stronger all around and in their relationships with each other onstage, which is a big plus in performance,” Nolen said.

Just as Brown (who helped start the island’s “Nutcracker” tradition) and co-director and choreographer Susan Sandri noted before the performances began, it is an emotional feeling when the dancers take the stage each year on opening night. “The Nutcracker” represents, not only their passion for dance, but their love for a community who embraces such passion.

“There is a story behind all of the dancers,” Brown said. “And what is sure is that they loved their experience and always come back to share that with us.

For both the current and the former dancers and choreographers of Whidbey Island Dance Theatre’s “The Nutcracker,” the passing on of this Christmas ballet continues and the 17-year-old tradition is one year deeper.