From cross-cultural beginnings…

Growing up, Michael’s parents encouraged him to follow his passions, wherever they may lead.

-Born on October 14th, 1998 and raised in Cranford, New Jersey

“Raised in Cranford, NJ, the second child in a family of four siblings, Nigro remembers his first performance experience at age five. “ I tried to sing ‘Red and Black’ from Les Misérables, but I kept forgetting the lyrics. Everybody laughed at me, and I cried.  It was a frightening experience.”

Nigro recalls how he often felt he did not quite fit in with his classmates.  He was active as both a varsity athlete (wrestling, soccer, football, lacrosse) and a singer, dancer, actor, and he refused to be pidgeon holed as a jock or an artist only. “There was a cultural divide in my town.  The sports people would ask ‘Why are you doing theatre and ballet?’ and the theatre crowd would say to me ‘Why are you playing sports?  What’s a sport?”  It was a viewpoint Nigro did not understand.  “To me it is all art. I am expressing myself with my body and mind through art.”

Nigro persisted in embracing both throughout his public school years, though he admits that some of the experiences and name-calling were hurtful.  “Some things [like dance] are seen as outside the norm of what a male is supposed to be.  That’s sad.” However, he feels the world changing around him.  “When I was growing up, I felt pushed back from one side or the other, but as I have grown, I feel the world has grown with me. It seems now is an opportune time for people like me to bridge that divide. I have been doing a training program at Broadway Dance Academy, and one of the most important things I have learned is not just about doing the steps correctly but rather about telling a story in dance and being athletic and artistic at the same time.  That was music to my ears.’”-Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold (Scene 4)

Michael spent years straddling between his commitment to sports and his strong interest in theater.

-Wrestled for twelve years, played soccer for ten, lacrosse for four, and football for two

-Got his first professional acting job in the eighth grade, touring with the Radio City Rockettes

-Performed on NBC with Carrie Underwood his freshman year

-Earned All-State status as a varsity wrestler his junior year

Today, Michael continues to explore every possible opportunity to create art and bring it to life.