For the first time in 65 years, the New York City Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" has cast a black dancer to play Marie.
Charlotte Nebres, an 11-year-old ballerina who is a student at the School of American Ballet, will star in this year's production, which debuted in 1954, The New York Times reported.
Nebres’ father’s family is from the Philippines, while her mother’s family hails from Trinidad, the newspaper reported.
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"It (role) is (a big deal)," Charlotte told the Times after a recent rehearsal. "But to me, it's just how I grew up, so it's not really different to me."
The cast of this year’s “Nutcracker” will represent a diverse mix, the newspaper reported.
Nebres’ Prince, Tanner Quirk, is half-Chinese. Sophia Thomopoulos, who will also play Marie (all children are double cast in the production), is half-Korean, half-Greek. Sophia’s Prince will be played by Kai Misra-Stone, who is half-South Asian.
Charlotte's mother, Danielle Nebres, was also a dancer while she was growing up. She told the Times she was surprised when her daughter came out of the audition and said she had won the lead role.
“With that poker face of hers, she said, ‘Well, I’m Marie,’” Danielle Nebres told the newspaper. “And I just thought, ‘Oh my goodness — they really did it.’ I couldn’t believe it.
Charlotte was surprised to learn she was the first black to win the role, her mother said.
"(She said) wow. That seems a little late," Danielle Nebres told the Times.