During a rehearsal break, Thumbelina's two ducks, 5-year-old Madison Trenner, left, and 8-year-old Emma Taggart compare notes on size.

Sun streams through the tall arched windows and warms the great hall of the old Oddfellows Building at 10th and Commercial streets in downtown Astoria. The space seems oddly perfect for a ballet studio. Years of use and love have burnished the ornate hall with a cozy patina.

On this particular afternoon, tiny ballerinas fidget in tutus as their parents carefully coax rogue hairs into place. Still others leap and watch themselves in the mirrors that sweep along one wall.

“Thumbelina” is the Astoria School of Ballet’s year-end production – an all-children’s production at that. Little sprites as young as 3 act, dance, move sets and manage the stage. There are 30 dancers in all; the oldest is just over 12. Most are younger than 10. Twelve-year-old Bradee Miethe provides narration.

Astoria School of Ballet owner and creative director Maggie Wall says she really wanted to do a full-story ballet for this year’s performance and she and the children have been preparing since late February.

Generous support from TLC Credit Union made it possible for Wall to take the performance to the Liberty Theater.

“It’s kind of a bigger production than ever before,” says Wall. “I’m asking very young children to do real acting along with the dancing. They’re actually really excited about it.”

Is Wall out of her mind? Three-year-olds? Acting? She admits the challenges are many, but her faith in these kids trumps any doubts she may have in their abilities to pull it off.

This is Wall’s first story ballet with the kids, and certainly not the last. The children have been amazing, she says. They’ve taken to acting like they’ve taken to ballet, all in stride, with plenty of chuckles and lessons learned along the way.

Naturally, the production is not without its complications. After all, these are kids, and during a rehearsal Wall sometimes has to repeat herself, or urge a child to remain as still as possible despite an itchy costume.

Peyton Dalton, 4, left, and Octavia Burnett, 5, behind, are just part of the angelic cast that makes up the all-children production of ‘Thumbelina.’Amazingly enough, when they need to be, all the little characters are remarkably self-contained, and move on cue to the music or Wall’s voice. Two little toads crouch silently near a rock. The flower princess gathers herself in a corner, then prances eloquently across stage.

“In this case, it’s not just a kid going out and dancing a two-minute recital and then leaving the stage,” says Wall.

The play is laced with charms, some intentional, some not. One little toad strikes an embarrassed look when he tells Thumbelina, “I love you!” But his bashfulness only works to sell his line more.

In the ballet, Thumbelina is pursued by two overly-eager toads, danced by Joey and Tyler Stanley.”My main thing is that they go out there and have fun,” says Wall. “If they make a few mistakes and garner a few laughs along the way, that’s okay too.”

Wall herself trained as a professional ballerina, but back problems forced her to abandon the intense schooling. She quickly found that her passion for ballet never abated and while still in college, Wall began to teach.

Astoria School of Ballet owner and artistic director Maggie Wall sets Julia Norris, 5, left, and Maria Heyen, 7, in place during a rehearsal. Wall and the children have been preparing since late February for their performance at the Liberty Theater Thursday, June 19.She and husband Nate Sandel came to Astoria from Michigan in 2004. When Wall looked inside the space at the Oddfellows Building, she knew right away that she had found a home for her passion.

Wall’s vision for a safe, top-notch ballet school has grown each year, and she still gets a kick out seeing their faces light up after a performance.

“I love to see the kids go out there and feel what it’s like to be onstage with a lot of people and to hear the applause,” says Wall. “That feeling is like nothing else.”

At just 9 years old, Raina Christian superbly portrays Thumbelina’s adventure from imperiled ‘thumb-sized girl’ along her journey to the land of the Flower Angels.With plenty of adorable costumes, tiny tots and prancing princesses, “Thumbelina” is sure to please. It’s not Shakespeare or the Russian Ballet, but it isn’t supposed to be. It’s just a lot of young, talented kids enthusiastically doing what they love.

The play recreates Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a girl born as small as a thumb into a forest world of cunning characters. Some think she might be a morsel of food, others want to lure her into misadventure.

Through it all, little Thumbelina, played magnificently by Raina Christian, 9, remains poised and optimistic, if occasionally startled and wary of the many creatures that promise delights or danger.

The fairy tale has all the charms of Andersen’s classic works without being generic. It retains a marked simplicity that makes it easy for kids of any age to follow.

With the help of some ducks, bunnies and birds, Thumbelina finally makes it to the Land of the Flower Angels, where she finds her size is no longer a liability.

The Astoria School of Ballet’s all-children production of ‘Thumbelina’ means orchestrating more than 30 children younger than 12, a collaboration made possible by tireless artistic director Maggie Wall (not pictured) and the dedication of dozens of parents.Wall tastefully paired the classical music of Ottorino Respighi to Andersen’s story.

If there is one character that strings it all together, it is Christian herself, who remains uncommonly poised through it all. Completely lost in her character, she is clearly a child who loves ballet and the performance.

“If I have a bad day, I come here and I feel happy. I forget all the bad things and I just dance,” says Christian, bobbing back and forth, still clearly excited from her afternoon rehearsal.

Then she suddenly stops and her face dissolves into a wide grin. “It makes me laugh too!”