11-Year-Old Ballerina Charlotte Nebres Makes History as First Black Lead in NYC Ballet’s The Nutcracker

She’s just eleven years old and just made history.

Charlotte Nebres is starring as Marie, the young heroine of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, which opened Friday at New York City Ballet. She’s the first black ballerina to be cast in the lead role for the prestigious company. The Madison, NJ native’s barrier-breaking achievement is a milestone for the holiday-themed production, which dates back to February 2, 1954—when Balanchine put his own spin on E.T.A Hoffman’s 1816 scary fairytale after dancing in Marius Petipa’s adaptation in 1919 when he was 15. Set to Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky’s classic score, Balanchine’s The Nutcracker features…READ MORE