12 Youngsters Star in New York City Ballet’s ‘The Nutcracker’

This year’s production of ‘The Nutcracker’ at the Lincoln Center has already impressed dozens of audiences.

The New York City Ballet production stars 12 highly talented children from Brooklyn Heights, Gravesend, Bay Ridge, Clinton Hill, Kensington and Williamsburg. Marie is played by ten-year-old Fiona Brennan from Bay Ridge.

“It’s very fun to be out there on stage doing what you’ve rehearsed” she said. She added that the rehearsals are difficult, but performing for a crowd makes it worth it. “It’s very fun to do and fun to be in” she said.

The performances have more than 150 dancers and musicians from the New York City Ballet. They also alternate between two groups of 50 children for their 47 shows, which end on December 31st.

This year, the Nutcracker ballet was showed in more than 600 theaters on Tuesday. International showings are also scheduled for after Thursday.

Garielle Whittle is the children’s dance instructor for the show, and has been an instructor at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center for almost thirty years. She explained that she chose each child for their roles, and that they practice three hours a day for six weeks before the show.

“The roles are not easy” she said. “It takes a long time to teach but it’s worth it. They really learned how to do it.”