COVID Christmas comeback: New York City Ballet dancer savors dream in fleeting Nutcracker return

“I finally feel like I’m back.”

Emilie Gerrity could have been speaking of many things. Perhaps New York City, the adopted home she’d fled during the first COVID-19 outbreak. Maybe Fiorello’s, the bustling Broadway café that she frequented in more carefree days.

Yet two hours removed from commanding the Lincoln Center stage as Sugarplum Fairy in New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker, Gerrity’s meaning was obvious. Her eyes were alight, her face still flush with the adrenaline of a live performance as she took a seat at the bar.