The Nutcrackers first Black leading female Charlotte Nebres will remind you of Kamala Harris.
In 2019 Charlotte Nebres made headlines for becoming the first Black Marie in George Balanchine’s version of “The Nutcracker” with the New York City Ballet.
Charlotte Nebres, who was just 11 years old, would play Marie, the heroine of the famous ballet.
She told the Times she was first inspired by Misty Copeland, who became the first Black principal at the American Ballet Theatre when Nebres was 6.
Ballet is known for being a Eurocentric discipline, with dancers of color often facing discrimination for their skin tone and body types.
“I saw her perform and she was just so inspiring and so beautiful,” Nebres told the Times. “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 described her passion for ballet.
“To me, it just feels like when I dance I feel free and I feel empowered,” Nebres told the Times. “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.”
In a 2019 interview with the Today Show Nebres spoke about her leading role.
“It’s pretty amazing to be not only representing South Asians and Blacks, but also representing all of our cultures,” Nebres told “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.'”
“I just want to make sure, yes I am the first Black Marie, but I also want to make sure I’m not the last”
Fast forward to 2020, Charlotte Nebres was captured with excitement to see Kamala Harris speaking on becoming the first Black female Vice President and stating “but while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.”
Nebres captioned her moment saying, y heart skipped a beat when I heard Kamala Harris say this. She is my hero.”
