Charlotte, the Nutcracker star

CHARLOTTE NEBRES danced her heart out with Diana Ross this summer at Camp Chautauqua – a performing arts camp in Upstate New York. Ross noticed the long dark curly hair of the mixed-race 11-year-old ballerina and her sister Libby, and called the two to the stage. As they boogied to Upside Down, Ross turned to Charlotte and told her she's going to be a star.

In September, Charlotte made history as the first girl of African descent cast as Marie, the lead for the New York City's Ballet's (NYCB) production of The Nutcracker. Not only is Charlotte a multi-ethnic child who identifies as black, but she has Trinidadian heritage.

A family dance

Charlotte's grandmother Claudia Marcelle, 73, grew up in Arima. She moved to New York in 1968 at 21 and worked as a clerk in NBC's legal office. Marcelle was living in the West Indian community in Brooklyn when she met her husband, Dr Terrence Marcelle, on Coney Island. He was an obstetrician-gynaecologist from San Fernando.

Their daughter Danielle met and married Joe Nebres, a lawyer of Filipino descent. The Nebres family of five live in New Jersey. Newsday spoke to Danielle Nebres on December 6 via a conference call at the School of American Ballet in New York.

Charlotte has been dancing since she was in her mummy's tummy. Nebres enrolled her first daughter, Libby, 13, in ballet as part of a mummy and me class. When she became pregnant with Charlotte, Libby was still in dance class.

"After Charlotte was born, I still had to take the older girl to ballet, so I put her (Charlotte) in a little sling and took her to the classes. Dancing was always a part of her life."

At six, Charlotte started studying ballet at the School of American Ballet, an elite classical school considered one of the best in the US.

All three of Nebres' children attend the school.
The girls attend school six days a week.

The School of American Ballet is considered a feeder school into the NYCB. Whenever the ballet has roles for children, students from the school are exclusively chosen.

"The kids are taught on a regular basis by a ballet mistress who works in liaison with the NYCB, so they have a fair idea of the crop of talent they're working with when professional productions come around."

For different productions, the ballet will ask for five to 20 students. But the Nutcracker needs to fill more than 100 children's roles.

"It requires a lot of children, so they actually hold a formal audition for that show unlike the others, where the teacher may just come, tap you and say, 'Would you like to perform this show?' Nutcracker is a little different. They have a big audition day."

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is a two-act Russian ballet originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892. It was adapted from ETA Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

George Balanchine, founder of the New York City Ballet, grew up in Russia and danced as the prince when he was 15. Since 1954 The Nutcracker has been in production by the NYCB.

The story surrounds Marie, whose parents host a Christmas Eve party. Herr Drosselmeyer, a toymaker, arrives with his nephew to the party and gives children toys. Drosselmeyer presents Marie with the Nutcracker doll. When the party ends, Marie drifts to sleep and a life-size Nutcracker appears along with rats and the Rat King. The Nutcracker battles the Rat King and slays him. He then transforms into a prince.

A Christmas tree raises and transports the prince and Marie to the Land of Sweets. There the two are entertained by characters such as the sugar plum fairies, angels and Mother Ginger's children – the Polichinelles – who dance for them. At the end of the dances, Marie and her prince leave the Land of the Sweets on a sleigh.

To audition, the children are sorted by their age group and put in appropriate roles.

This is Charlotte's third Nutcracker performance. She made her debut at nine as an angel, dancing in the second act.

"(The angel) is one of the youngest roles in the show, but it's not necessarily one of the easiest parts. That scene is like a milestone. If the kids can survive being an angel in the Nutcracker, they can do anything," Nebres said.

Charlotte was a girl in the party scene in her second year, appearing in the first act before Marie is presented with the Nutcracker doll.

This year, Charlotte planned on auditioning for a Polichinelle – a dancer
who emerges from the enormous hoop skirt of Mother Ginger to perform a waltz. While she was preparing for the role, her ballet mistress asked her to attend the party scene audition instead.

Though mildly disappointed, Charlotte went to the audition and danced her best. At the end, she was told she was their Marie.

"Marie is a beautiful role for any little girl who wants to be in ballet. They dream of being this little girl who the story is about.

"She couldn't believe it. She's a cool, calm and collected girl. I think that's the Trini blood in her. That was so unexpected, but a privilege we're so excited," Nebres said.

Making history

As news of Charlotte's roles circulated in the media, many people celebrated the diversity Charlotte brought. Misty Copeland, the first African-American woman to be principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have reached out to Charlotte through the school. She is yet to meet with them.

Being a black child, however, was not a determining factor for Charlotte to be chosen as Marie.

"It's not that they (the school) lack students of colour. They had a pretty large pool of children to pick from, but I think they were looking for a special combination. It's as much a dance role as it is an acting role, which is not easy for a child of 11, to be able to hold a stage."

Nebres said aside for Charlotte's acting aptitude and dancing skills, it was her daughter's discipline and dependability that made her a top choice to be Marie.

"They've gotten to know us over eight years – that's how long we've been at the school – and they saw the level of dedication and dependability we have. I think that's because both her father and I come from first-generation Americans of immigrant parents. We are very disciplined."

The Nutcracker premiered on November 30 and ends on January 5.

Since the children operate through the ballet school it is not a typical working child arrangement. Charlotte will do 25 performances and be paid US$10 per performance and $10 per dress rehearsal.

"They're getting so much valuable stage experience. To be able to perform in a venue like Lincoln Center, that says a lot about her ability to perform. That's professional training that's happening. If you've made it through the ballet school, there's a certain amount of discipline that leads to children being accepted into prestigious universities."

Dancing with Diana

Charlotte and Libby had to audition to attend Camp Chautauqua. Every summer the camp has high-profile performers entertain the campers as well as provide mentorship. This year Diana Ross was the headliner.

Ross is like a mythical figure for Charlotte. She's obsessed with anything to do with The Wizz and Michael Jackson. She also loves the ABC comedies Black-ish and Mixed-ish. Tracee Ellis Ross, Ross's daughter, is in those shows.

"It's this beautiful black family on primetime TV, so their eyes are glued to that show, and now they have the story of this little girl growing up, which is the pre-story of Diana Ross's daughter when she was a little girl growing up as a biracial girl."

Nebres said Camp Chautauqua is a predominantly white space, so the girls stood out in the camp when Ross laid eyes on them.

"You know how it is in America...So for a performer of colour, you see two little girls in the audience, you definitely rest your eyes on them. She said, 'Oh, I need those girls come up on stage.' She hugged them and said, 'My goodness, you're going to be a star.' Right there, Charlotte and I thought isn't that so nice?
Not realising she (Ross) may have set this whole thing in motion."

When she's not dancing

Charlotte is also a Girl Scout and enjoys camping, cooking and doing community service. Steven Universe is her favourite TV show. She's a big Broadway fan. Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen are her favourites. Her mum says she is considering a BFA in dance or theatre, but that decision is a while away for the 11-year-old.

She visited TT when she was four, but has little memory of the country except for the food, which she said was "really good."

Nebres is considering a family trip to TT after The Nutcracker run is over.