It’s not the average dance recital. It’s a full-scale, near-professional celebration of an art form put on by Eastern NC Dance Foundation’s The Dance Collective.

This production of “The Little Mermaid” takes place on Jan. 26 and Jan. 27 at East Carolina University’s Wright Auditorium in Greenville, and one local dancer is on pointe with excitement at being a part of the ballet.

Fifteen-year-old Emma Wood will perform the roles of a jellyfish, a wave and Jetsam in the production. She’s also cast as the understudy for the lobster in this ballet adapted from Disney’s animated blockbuster about a mermaid’s star-crossed love, complete with a handsome prince, some cute sea friends and a sassy Sea Witch. She and other The Dance Collective members will join several professional ballet dancers onstage, along with a backstage crew that brings the underwater world to life.

“Last year was our first year to be a part of it and we really didn’t know what to expect. It blew my socks off,” said Emma’s mom, Rachel Wood. “It is truly as close to professional as you can get.”

Emma auditioned two years ago for The Dance Collective, a nonprofit housed by the Greenville dance studio Greenville Civic Ballet. Since, she’s dedicated many hours to the troupe’s mission: introducing people to an art form that most don’t get the opportunity to experience in person. With support from the Eastern North Carolina Dance Foundation, The Dance Collective’s outreach includes participation in performances such as “The Little Mermaid,” which also serves as a fundraiser for the Make A Wish Foundation of eastern North Carolina. Each spring, The Dance Collective also takes The Power of Dance to the Boys & Girls Club, spending one day a week for six weeks teaching dance to Boys & Girls Club members, which culminates in a performance of their own, and studio scholarships for two outstanding dancers among them.

“When I heard about the Power of Dance, I wanted to be involved in something that was an outreach to people to share dance with everybody,” Emma said. “Especially with ballet — it’s an art form that many people don’t consider it an art form, but us dancers do. Not many people appreciate the effort and hard work that goes into it.”

The effort and hard work put into “The Little Mermaid” involve weekly rehearsals on Fridays and Sundays, rehearsals that sometimes stretch from 1 p.m. until 7 or 8 that night.

“These girls, just from a parent end — they spend hours and hours and hours,” Rachel Wood said. “The sacrifice that they have made is extraordinary, really.”

Rachel Wood said what’s impressed her is The Dance Collective artistic director Kimberly Saad’s skill at combining contemporary dance with traditional ballet in “The Little Mermaid.”

“She really has made a great effort to make ballet relevant,” Rachel Wood said.

Emma, who plans to attend Ballet Magnificat, a month-long dance intensive in Jackson, Mississippi, this summer, said she’d love to dance professionally one day. As for dancing alongside other professionals being paid for their “The Little Mermaid” performances, Emma bears no grudges.

“I get paid in happiness,” she laughed.

“The Little Mermaid” performances are slated for Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. and Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. at ECU’s Wright Auditorium. Admission is $20; all Make A Wish donations will be matched by the Community Foundation of NC East. For tickets, visit www.ecu.edu/cs-admin/tickets/.