![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thehub.dallasisd.org\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Azaria-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cI love the idea of being a Black dancer on pointe. We don\u2019t see that a lot \u2013 especially people our age who are dancing in the lead roles adults do,\u201d said Azaria B.\u00a0<\/p>\nAzaria, along with Aniyah W. and Micah W. are lead dancers in the Espresso Nutcracker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Produced by Dallas Black Dance Theatre, the performance features over a dozen dancers from Booker T. Many are upperclassmen who are taking on leading roles like the Sugar Plum Fairy, Chinese Tea, Dance of Reed-Pipes, and Waltz of the Snow Flakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing, going from being a little kid who dreamed about being a lead one day to becoming a lead,\u201d Aniyah said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Booker T. alum, Eaglin said coming back to Booker T. is like coming home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot much has changed since I graduated, and that\u2019s what I love about it. You can still hear music in the hallways and see dancers practicing,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the dancers in Espresso Nutcracker, planning and preparation start in May every year. Then, once the winter season hits, students juggle academics like end of year exams and projects and responsibilities as performers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done the Nutcracker a few times, so it gets easier,\u201d said Micah. \u201cOriginally, it was a lot to balance, but you learn how to manage everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her advice is to make sure students are taking care of themselves mentally by prioritizing friendships and doing things other than dancing and studying.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important you don\u2019t do the same thing everyday,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And as the curtain falls, it\u2019s the backstage moments and the bonds that are formed that step into the spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Nutcracker is a rite of passage for dancers. Everyone has a Nutcracker story,\u201d Walker said. \u201cWe make sure we have a space where our kids can feel valued, appreciated, and seen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those efforts are felt throughout the stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great memory to look back on,\u201d Micah said. \u201cI enjoyed my last years as a high schooler and connecting with friends, doing what I love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, dancers are breaking barriers. \u201cI love…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":459851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,1596,1322,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-459850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-featured","11":"tag-texas","12":"tag-tx","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-united-states-of-america","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115751517913586331","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}