This past holiday season, ballet history was made when New York City Ballet’s annual production of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” featured 11-year-old Charlotte Nebres, the first Black ballerina cast as the classic’s lead since it was first produced sixty-five years ago, in 1954.
Nebres played the ballet’s central figure, Marie, a little girl whose Christmas is brightened by the gift of a toy Nutcracker. The ballet is filled with the stuff of children’s fairy tales. There is a dream sequence with a towering Christmas tree, a battle between giant mice and toy soldiers led by the Nutcracker, an enchanted snow-covered forest, dancing snowflakes, a Land of Sweets with a Sugar Plum fairy and waltzing flowers. In the ballet, Nebres holds the Lincoln Center stage with ease and grace.
While much of the media coverage of Nebres focuses on the fact a Black youngster “breaks the color barrier” and stars in this time-honored ballet classic, Charlotte captured its importance when telling a New York Times reporter how she felt watching Misty Copeland become the first Black ballerina American Ballet Theatre chose to make a principal after 75 years: “I saw her perform and she was just so inspiring and so beautiful. When I saw someone who looked like me onstage, I thought, that’s amazing. She was representing me and all the people like me.” Nebres probably spoke for many aspiring Brown-skinned ballerinas when she added, “I feel free and I feel empowered. I feel like I can do anything when I dance. It makes me happy…” But, she also reminded us of the many little girls and boys before her who, though equally talented and capable, had been locked out of that world simply because of the color of their skin.
Let’s face it, until recently, for many Black parents the predominantly white world of ballet didn’t make their child’s dream of becoming a ballet dancer a realistic career choice. So, to get Nebres’ parents perspective on the fact NYCB finally chose to permit a lovely, young, gifted and Black ballerina to play the lead in its production of The “Nutcracker,” The Amsterdam News recently spoke to Charlotte Nebres’ mother, who, herself, studied ballet at a young age.
Q: Charlotte has such a lovely stage presence. How long has she been dancing?
Ms. Nebres: Charlotte started dancing while she was in my stomach. I would take her to the Mommy and Me ballet class I attended with her older daughter before and after she was born. Then, when she was 6 years old, she started with the Children’s Division of the School of American Ballet, the feeder school for NYCB. Some of the kids are asked to participate in productions, like The Nutcracker, beginning around age 8. At age 9, Charlotte appeared in the ballet as an angel. The following Christmas she was one of the little cousins at the party. This year, she’s Marie, who the story centers around. She’s also been in Midsummer Night’s Dream and had a leading role in Sleeping Beauty where she was Little Red Riding Hood. She was pretty magnificent in that and that was my first inkling she might be in the running for some sort of lead role. I didn’t realize before that she could hold the stage in that way, but it was really delightful and mesmerizing to watch.
Q: Has NYCB talked about a career trajectory for Charlotte?
A: We really haven’t. She’s in the Children’s Division now. It’s an honor to be part of that. Her sister is in her first year in the Intermediate Division at SAB, so we’ve sort of had those discussions, very cautiously for her. But, for Charlotte it’s a little early.
Q: It’s wonderful that you, as her parents, are so supportive of your children’s dance aspirations.
A: We think it’s great for their development and there is so much to learn from this sort of study. The discipline they get from dance is tremendous. Growing up in dance I had some experience and got to know how brilliant and disciplined dancers are.
Q: But there is also the question of it being a viable career.
A: Of course, there is the need to have a tangible career path or academic track for our children. Both my husband and I are first generation Americans. Our parents were immigrants to this country, mine from the Caribbean (Trinidad) and his from Asia (Philippines), so that comes with a certain amount of expectation that my husband and I dealt with growing up. My husband’s mother and father are both physicians and my father was a medical doctor, so they had ambitions for us in that way, so both of us ended up going to college and grad school. But we also understand that, in this country, there are many paths to success and as parents, we’re trying to have a balanced approach to what our kids seek for their future and how we can assist them.
Q: How is Charlotte handling this newfound attention?
A: The best part of it is how this whole Nutcracker run has been structured: there is no downtime. Also, social media hasn’t come into their lives in a big way. There are no accounts on Instagram or those other outlets. We’ve also focused on casual family-oriented down time with her sister and little brother —crafting, watching a few TV shows, doing musical theatre, sing-a-long type things. She’s been pretty insulated, in fact, I don’t think she understands what’s happening. I don’t either, really. (chuckling)
Q: I understand she recently got a chance to meet Misty Copeland and that made a strong impression on her.
A: Misty was so wonderful. Obviously, she’s been where Charlotte is as a young performer, so she very thoughtfully asked that no one mention to Charlotte ahead of time that she was going to be in the audience. After the Matinee the NYCB folks told her, ‘There’s a special guest who wants to meet you.’ Then they asked, ‘Would you like to meet Misty Copeland?’ Charlotte burst into a radiant smile and said, ‘Of course.’ There was a crowd of beautiful people of color standing on stage clapping and there was Misty with her arms outstretched reaching out to Charlotte, and then that warm hug. It was very sweet and so surreal. Charlotte was overwhelmed with excitement and love. It was so special. She was very giddy and happy.
Q: Now, like Misty, Charlotte is part of a unique moment in the history of Blacks in ballet in America. Do you talk to her about that?
A: I think there’s a sort of innocence that Charlotte still has but she is aware and it has come up at the ballet school. The SAB Alumnae Advisory Panel on Diversity has brought in graduates who’ve shared their experiences and I’ve made sure Charlotte and her sister go. She got to meet Aisha Ash (the beautiful Black ballerina whose picture was featured with the New York Times article “Where Are All The Black Swans?”) Ash talked very frankly about her experience as a student and NYCB company member and about the pain she experienced, and, obviously, as a family of color we’ve discussed race and how it plays into our daily lives.
They’ve also seen the women of color currently in NYCB, like the gorgeous dancer India Bradley and Rachel Hutsell. They see how glorious they are on stage, but they have also started to notice who’s in the company, who’s a soloist, who’s a principle. So, now they say ‘Well, we think they’re fabulous, but is the company going to promote them?’ I’m hoping that, as young girls, they’re not disappointed. I hope Charlotte and her sister get the correct message from watching some of these young rising ballerinas and see that progress can happen the way it happened with Misty. I have my fingers crossed that we’ll have some good news about some of those young ladies that will affirm for my daughters that, ‘Oh, yes, there’s space for me.’
Q: What advice would you give to other Black parents of daughters and sons who aspire to careers in ballet?
A: I would say it’s really important to know as a parent that while we have ideas for our children and we want to mold and shape them, that we can also learn from them. Also, when one child has a unique opportunity, it’s important for the whole family to participate because the others can also learn and potentially learn from that, too.
Q: And, when it’s a history-making event that potentially plays a pivotal role opening doors for others?
A: I’m so honored NYCB chose Charlotte. Of course, there have been other children before who were ready to handle this experience but, my daughter has been lucky. She’s so happy about it and now, thanks to this moment, other children waiting in the wings can hope.