Young dance prodigy who loves to play 'tag' is back in Wilmington's ‘The Nutcracker’

A young dancer with Wilmington Ballet is back for another season of “The Nutcracker,” coming to The Playhouse on Rodney Square on Friday through Sunday.

The 8-year-old dancer, Lamar "LJ'' Jr. Marshall, learned a valuable lesson after he blew up on social media last year, a viral dance sensation who also caught the attention of major news outlets.

In the process, the rising star discovered the price of becoming a great professionally trained dancer might be too high.

LJ was initially so excited to join last year’s “Nutcracker,” according to his mom, Ramona Grayson-Brown.

In late 2021, LJ was thrust into the national spotlight after former Miss Delaware Sophie Phillips, now the 8th District state representative, recorded video of him dancing at a community garden event his grandfather created in Wilmington. Phillips uploaded the footage to social media and it went viral.

But once he started rehearsals as a dancing candy cane, he began singing a different tune.

“He would say, ‘I want to be with my friends,’” explained Grayson-Brown, a native of Wilmington who now lives with her son in Elkton, Maryland. “I tried to explain to him that they’ll be around. But he doesn’t understand that right now.”

Benjamin Sterling Cannon, executive and artistic director with Wilmington Ballet, noticed LJ’s commitment to dance was taking a toll on the young prodigy, so he gave him a smaller role in this year’s “Nutcracker.”

This allows LJ to have a bit more freedom as the artistic director doesn’t want to discourage him from ballet, which is a strict and demanding art form, he said.

Child dancer goes viral

LJ is a self-taught dancer and acrobat with a knack for doing flips and crazy splits. He learned his moves from studying videos on YouTube.

Yes, he has his own phone.

Wilmington Ballet alum Akua Noni Parker saw the footage and shared it with the dance academy.

The ballet company offered LJ a one-year scholarship to their school. He also landed a role in their 2022 production “The Nutcracker.”

Before LJ’s “Nutcracker” debut, he ended up in a media frenzy and was covered by top outlets including ABC News and Newsweek.

LJ’s mom said it was “exciting, and a different experience” for her, getting a taste of the limelight. But for LJ, it was only “a little bit fun” because he felt he was working too hard to master his ballet role.

His mom said her son was just out of his comfort zone. “They had [LJ] working, basically, and he doesn’t want to put the work in."

But Cannon said he is impressed with how LJ thrived in a dance classroom and rehearsal setting, an environment the kid wasn’t used to last year.

“He’d just soak up the energy and would run around and play,” the artistic director explained. “But the minute he started learning choreography, he’d pick up everything, and he never forgot it.”

Wilmington Ballet holds a 'Nutcracker' record

Wilmington Ballet holds the title for the longest-running production of “The Nutcracker,” starting from 1967, Cannon said.

After the pandemic struck in 2020, the dance company still managed to deliver “The Nutcracker Experience,” a week’s worth of virtual performances and events in and around Wilmington. It featured dancers in prerecorded and live videos.

This weekend, Wilmington Ballet’s multicultural cast in “The Nutcracker” includes esteemed ballerinas of color Ingrid Silva and Georgina Pazcoquin, starring along with Miranda Silveira Templer. Templer is coming from Denmark to join the company in the show.

Cannon said their production of “The Nutcracker,” in collaboration with Wilmington Ballet Orchestra, is the only one in the state that features a live orchestra. It also includes Wilmington Children's Chorus.

LJ wants to be a gymnast?

This weekend LJ is set to return for “The Nutcracker,” where he dances as part of the party scene. He told his mom he wasn’t going. But she insists he'll be there.

The dance prodigy seems more interested in exploring the world of gymnastics. And Cannon understands that.

Cannon said he told LJ’s mom when he initially met her that he doesn’t want to push her son into doing something he’s not interested in, but wants to help him explore new opportunities.

The artistic director said LJ’s one-year scholarship to Wilmington Ballet has since morphed into a lifetime one at the school. Through the scholarship, he's also learning acrobatics.

The 8-year-old dancer is still finding himself. Right now, he’s looking forward to the simpler things in life: playing games with his little buddies.

“I like to play on the trampoline, play tag and hide-and-go-seek.”

Wilmington Ballet's "The Nutcracker" is coming to The Playhouse on Rodney Square (1007 N. Market St., Wilmington) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18. Tickets are $28 to $53. For more info, visit thegrandwilmington.org or (302) 888-0200.

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Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Young viral 'Nutcracker' star 'LJ' returns with Wilmington Ballet