An 11-year-old girl has made history this holiday season as the first Black dancer cast in the leading role of Marie in “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.”
Charlotte Nebres, a student at the School of American Ballet in New York City, is one of two dancers alternating in the role of Marie for the New York City Ballet’s annual production, which premiered in 1954.
“It’s pretty amazing to be not only representing [the School of American Ballet] but also representing all of our cultures,” Charlotte said in a New York Times article published Thursday. “There might be a little boy or girl in the audience seeing that and saying, ‘Hey, I can do that, too.’”
“The Nutcracker” is on stage through Jan. 5.
