Ballet dancers Katelyn Reid and Alexandria Busto have been friends since they first met at the age of 3 at Majesty Ballet Theater Company. Over 10 years since they performed in “Mutiny!” for the first time, the pair have the opportunity to reprise their roles as Captain and First Mate this weekend.

“We never thought we’d be back here doing this,” laughs Busto. To her, the best part of the show is just knowing how special the opportunity is to do it again.

“Mutiny!” was originally written and directed by Artistic Director Cassandra Kamakeeaina in 2013 and was performed two years in a row. They are doing the same thing again, repeating the show in 2024 and 2025.

When they performed the show last year, Majesty Ballet Theater Company received “a very warm response,” she says. “It’s a ballet unlike anything people have seen.”

Although the ballet uses the music of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” the story is completely original. It follows a pirate ship and its crew as they hunt for treasure. When the first mate has a crisis of conscience related to their thievery, a mutiny is imminent.

Really, says Reid, it’s a ballet about “what we’re willing to sacrifice to get what we want.” Busto plays the Captain, while Reid plays the First Mate.

This year’s run of “Mutiny!” features 96 performers ages 5 to adulthood. The cast rehearses for months, with all-day Saturday rehearsals starting in February.

While it’s important for the young students to work hard on their skills, it can get discouraging for young dancers to just focus on the basics, says Reid.

Reid and Busto used to be those little girls in ballet, tirelessly practicing their pliés while older dancers could leap and twirl through the air. That’s why shows that bring together a wide age range are important, says Reid. “In ballet it’s very, very important to have role models to look up to,” says Reid.

For Busto, reprising her original role is an opportunity to develop her character. She didn’t fully grasp the artistic-side of ballet until she graduated, studied other styles and grew as a performer.

Now she helps the younger dancers develop those skills. “Coming back as an adult, I’m learning how to dance with girls that are younger than me, learning how to teach while I’m performing, getting them to understand that we’re telling a story.”

When Reid and Busto originally danced as Captain and First Mate in 2014 and 2015, they fell in love with the roles and the music. Ten years later they’re just grateful to be dancing again with each other.

“We grew up very close. We grew lifelong bonds,” says Reid. In the show they get to glare at each other just to rush back stage and smile.

They also like the show because of its appeal to a new audience base. A pirate-themed show with recognizable mainstream music makes it somewhat special in the world of ballet. “It’s a very unique show because it does lend itself to all audiences in a way that other ballets don’t,” says Reid.

Although the show is incredibly physically demanding for Reid and Busto, it’s helping them continue to grow as dancers and as friends, they say.

If you go …

WHAT: “Mutiny!”

WHEN” May 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., May 24 and 25 at 2 p.m.

WHERE: Vacaville Performing Arts Theater, 1010 Ulatis Dr., Vacaville.