11-Year-Old Charlotte Nebres is making her ancestors proud and making History as she is staring as Marie, the young heroine of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at New York City Ballet.

It opened on Friday and she is now officially the first Black lead of this ballet for this renowned company.

The Root wrote:

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 the New York City Ballet’s entire roster of more than 150 dancers and musicians, as well as more than 125 children, in two alternating casts, from the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet.

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IN THE NEWS // The four 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

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

See more: https://www.theroot.com/11-year-old-ballerina-charlotte-nebres-makes-history-as-1840128043