It wasn’t until a few minutes before the curtain went up that it really sank in for Ella Murphy that she would be performing as Marie with the New York City Ballet. Even after weeks of rehearsals, the Wilton 7th grader hadn’t quite processed that it was really happening until she took to the stage on the opening night of “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.” 

“It was nerve-racking, but exciting too,” Murphy said.

The 12-year-old Wilton resident had been a fan of “The Nutcracker” ever since she was a toddler. Murphy describes seeing the New York City Ballet’s production for the first time as a “magical” experience.

“My mom and nana took me…I still remember the (dance of) snowflakes so clearly. I just knew I wanted to be up there doing that one day. I was so obsessed I actually refused to leave after the curtain call and had a full tantrum because I didn’t want the magic to end,” Murphy said. 

Murphy took the stage in late November as part of the production of the holiday classic. She plays Marie, a young girl who receives a magical nutcracker for Christmas. The show runs at the David H. Koch Theater at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City through Jan. 4, 2026. 

This is Murphy’s fourth time in the New York City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.” In 2023 and 2024, she was cast as a “party girl” and in 2022, she was a bunny. She has been part of productions like “Coppelia” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Her sister, Liliane, is also learning ballet at the New England Academy of Dance in New Canaan and will also take to the stage for its production of “The Nutcracker” as a “party girl.” 

The 7th grader at St. Luke’s School in New Canaan said that the “special” role of Marie is different from what she is used to, as it involves a lot of acting and she began rehearsals in October. Marie ends up traveling with her nutcracker to a magical realm where she meets the other characters in the show after the nutcracker battles with the evil Mouse King. She added that there have been times she took dance class six days a week at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center. 

“Spoiler alert, in my role, there isn’t that much ballet dancing…It’s actually a lot of story, so having never acted, I had to learn fast…I like bringing my imagination, my version of Marie, to the stage with my energy. I feel fully prepared and give it my best every show and jump as high as possible,” Murphy said.

Murphy said that she found out she got the role while having dinner with her friends and could not contain her excitement. 

“I was speechless, then totally screaming with joy. Honestly, it’s such an honor to be on the stage with NYC Ballet in this iconic show. I was just so happy to be considered; it felt amazing that they could see me in the role of Marie,” Murphy said. 

Murphy said that she continues to be inspired by her fellow New York City Ballet dancers and teachers. This isn’t the first time the role of Marie in the New York City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker” has been played by a girl from Connecticut. Last year, it was played by Ridgefield’s Stella Tompkins. Murphy also noted that one of the dancers who plays Frau Stahlbaum, Marie’s mother, Mary Elizabeth Sell, is from Wilton. 

“I am inspired by all those Connecticut dancers with big dreams who went before me,” Murphy said. “Some people get excited and say Marie is a dream role, and I get why it’s so special and beautiful. But honestly, the real leads, the main roles, are the NYCB dancers. They’re the ones I look up to every day. I’m just a kid in 7th grade doing the thing I can’t imagine my life without. I have to dance. This is just the beginning of a very long journey for me.” 

The dancer added that she hopes that those who watch the production feel the same “magic” that she does. 

“If my dancing can make one little girl or boy, maybe even a grown-up watching from the audience or sneaking a glance backstage, feel like they belong, or that they could try, even for a moment, to embrace the magic, then I feel like I’m doing something good. That would mean more than any casting decision,” she said.