The Nutcracker is unquestionably a holiday tradition for both young and old. Families look forward to sharing the season with this yuletide treat, most of the time, making it an annual event. This year, The New York tradition has made history by casting its first black Marie, Charlotte Nebres, in the production.
In the production, which first hit the stage in 1954, the 11-year-old student of the American Ballet, also joins a very diverse cast: Tanner Quirk, Marie’s Prince in the ballet, who is half-Chinese; Sophia Thomopoulos, the ballet’s second casting of Marie, who is half-Korean and half-Greek; and Kai Misra-Stone, Sophia’s Prince, who is half-South Asian.
“It’s pretty amazing to be not only representing S.A.B., but also representing all of our cultures,” Nebres said in an interview with The New York Times. “There might be a little boy or girl in the audience seeing that and saying, ‘Hey, I can do that too.'” Nebres’ mother’s family is from Trinidad while her father’s side of the family is from the Philippines.
And of course, like many ballerinas, Misty Copeland, the first female African-American principal ballerina at American Ballet Theater, is her idol.
“I saw her perform and she was just so inspiring and so beautiful,” she told The New York Times. “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.”
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And of course, the young trailblazer is making a name for herself in this year’s production of The Nutcraker, just like her idol.
“It just feels like when I dance, I feel free and I feel empowered. I feel like I can do anything when I dance,” she told the Times. “It makes me happy, and I’m going to do what makes me happy. You don’t need to think about anything else.”
This is just the beginning and we cannot wait to see what the future holds for this amazing young talent.
Photos: @heathersten/nytimes
