New York City Ballet Casts First Black Lead Ballerina in ‘The Nutcracker’

Looks like for the first time in history The New York City Ballet will have a Black ballerina  playing lead for The Nutcracker.

Charlotte Nebres will be making history as the lead ballerina for The Nutcracker. The 11-year-old ballerina, who will be playing the role of Marie, is a student of Dena Abergel’s School of American Ballet which is a feeder school for The New York City Ballet. This would not be Charlotte’s first time performing in The Nutcraker. Last year she performed in the production, along with a production of Sleeping Beauty.

 

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IN THE NEWS // The four School of American Ballet @sab_nyc children who alternate the roles of Marie and the Nutcracker Prince were recently profiled in The New York Times by Gia Kourlas. She sat down with them to discuss the rehearsal process, their lives off-stage, and their roles in the ballet.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ When asked about why ballet is important to her now, in this moment, 11 year-old Charlotte Nebres, pictured here in rehearsal for her role as Marie, said:⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ “To me, it just feels like when I dance I feel free and I feel empowered. I feel like I can do anything when I dance. It makes me happy, and I’m going to do what makes me happy. You don’t need to think about anything else.”⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Photo: Heather Sten @heathersten for The New York Times @nytimes⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ See these very young dancers, who are the heart of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker®, now on stage through JAN 5. Tap the link in bio for tickets and more information.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ #nutcracker #nycbnutcracker #thenutcracker #nutcrackerballet #holidayseason #georgebalanchinesthenutcracker #ballet #dance #balletdancer #dancelife #balletlife #instaballet #dancers #choreography #balanchine #nycb #nycballet #newyorkcityballet #newyorkcity #linkinbio #schoolofamericanballet

A post shared by New York City Ballet (@nycballet) on Dec 1, 2019 at 9:20am PST

Charlotte has stated that famous ballerina Misty Copeland is someone who inspires her and she looks up to. With Nebres making this milestone she will be inspiring other little girls around the world, especially other young Black girls who dream of being ballerinas.

We hope to see more of Charlotte Nebres and wish her the best of luck in her upcoming role. Shows will run through Jan. 5, 2020 and tickets can be purchased here.