NYC Ballet Casts 11-Year-Old Ballerina as First Black Nutcracker Lead

The New York City Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker.” has for the first time in 65 years, cast a black dancer to play Marie.

Dance seems to be diversifying fast and it is embracing the difference that makes us so unique as a nation. Four years ago, the American Ballet Theatre made history by promoting an African American as the principal dancer for the first time in its 75 year history. Now, 11-year-old Charlotte Nebres will also be making history as the first-ever black girl to play Marie in the production “The Nutcracker.” The role debuted back in 1954 and has never featured a black Marie in its 65 years of dance.

Nebres, who is a student at the School of American Ballet, was only six years old when the first female African American became principal at American Ballet Theater. And she recalls being inspired by her. “I saw her perform and she was just so inspiring and so beautiful. When I saw someone who looked like me on stage, I thought, ‘That’s amazing.’ She was representing me and all the people like me,” she told the New York Times.

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The New York City production will feature a diverse cast alongside Nebres this season. The young leads include Marie’s Prince in the ballet, Tanner Quirk, who is half-Chinese; the second casting of Marie, Sophia Thomopoulos, who is half Korean and half Greek; and the fourth Kai Misra-Stone, who is half South-Asian and will play Sophia’s Prince. The four leads will alternate the roles of Marie and the Nutcracker Prince in the production.

Nebres’ Father’s family is from the Philippines, while her mother Danielle Nebres comes from Trinidad. She was also a dancer as she grew up and she admits that she was surprised to learn that her daughter got the role. Talking to the Times, she said, “With that poker face of hers, she said, ‘Well, I’m Marie.’ And I just thought, ‘Oh my goodness — they really did it.’ I couldn’t believe it.”

Source: NYC Ballet Casts 11-Year-Old Ballerina as First Black Nutcracker Lead