Dying Oklahoma girl, 9, achieves lifelong dream to appear in Nutcracker
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A dying 9-year-old Oklahoma girl achieves her lifelong dream of appearing in Nutcracker: She will appear in every ballet as a newly created character using an antique wheelchair
- Olivia Francis, 9, dreamed of dancing in the Nutcracker, but just a year after taking up ballet she was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition.
- Olivia’s mother, Mary, approached the Oklahoma City Ballet to see if they could cast her in their production of The Nutcracker.
- The ballet created a new role just for Olivia: a girl named Marie who uses an old-fashioned wheelchair.
A dying Oklahoma girl’s lifelong dream of dancing in the Nutcracker has come true thanks to the hard work of her mother and the local ballet.
Nine-year-old Olivia Francis had long dreamed of dancing in the Christmas ballet. But just a year after she began taking dance classes, the young woman was diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia, a rare and terminal neurological condition that affects her ability to walk.
But Olivia’s mother, Mary, wanted her little girl’s dream to come true and reached out to the Oklahoma City Ballet to see if they could help.
Working together, they were able to create a new role just for Olivia: a girl named Marie who uses an old-fashioned wheelchair.
Olivia Francis, 9, left, had long dreamed of acting in the Nutcracker, but just a year after starting dance classes, she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease.
The young woman’s dreams finally came true this year when the Oklahoma City Ballet included her in their production of the holiday show.
The ballet created a role just for her: a girl named Marie who uses an old-fashioned wheelchair.
Olivia said she cried when she heard the news that she would finally be able to perform on stage alongside her fellow dancers, a dream she first wrote about in her first grade notebook, according to OKC FOX.
She then made her ballet debut on December 10 and will continue to perform on stage until December 18.
Olivia said KOCO the role of Clara’s sister is not how she imagined it would be in the Christmas production, but she said, “I’m so grateful.”
She noted, “I’m mostly just acting, but there’s a part where I can dance.”
And when she gets up to dance, Racheal Nye, the school director of the Oklahoma City Ballet, said, “Everybody’s got their eyes on her.”
“It’s really something to see her on stage,” he said. “She has inspired everyone around her.”
Olivia’s mother, Mary, said seeing her daughter dancing on stage brought her to tears.
Olivia, pictured left in her wheelchair, made her debut on December 10 and will continue to play the role until the show closes on the 18th.
For Mary, the sight brought tears to her eyes.
“It’s so exciting,” she said, revealing that her excited daughter told her, “Mom, they’re trying to make me famous.”