SCARSDALE, NY (December 8, 2025) — A New Rochelle High School senior who was recently crowned homecoming king will trade his crown for a wooden head next weekend when he stars as the Nutcracker in the Coleman School of Dance’s first production of the holiday classic in a decade.
Cordell Waldron, a principal dancer with the Coleman Teen Dance Company for the past three years, will perform alongside Camila Oceguera as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Dec. 14, 2025, 3 p.m. show at the Bendheim Theatre at the JCC, 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale.
Waldron, who dances in the acclaimed PAVE performing arts program at New Rochelle High School, has won Arts Night for best choreography two years in a row. His most recent piece focused on mental health awareness.
“Cordell says he loves to come to dance because his fellow dancers are like his family,” the program notes state.
The production, presented by the Coleman School of Dance, features choreography by Rose Barbantan, Jenny Coleman, Christie Coleman and Susanna Procario-Foley, with re-staged variations from The Royal Ballet, NYC Ballet, Australian Ballet and Bolshoi Ballet set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s score.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children ages 10 and under, available at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdBzMAW_LqnL3uRUDh0naQbnhGm-mfVM5jtlyyYhHQ9OOuqpA/viewform.
“The most important part of dance for me is the artistic communication and the social experience I’ve received from it,” Oceguera said. “I’ve made best friends that I know will be with me for the rest of my life.”
This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.