written by: Melody Kester
Ballet West has brought back the classically beautiful Cinderella choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton with the music of Sergei Prokofiev. This version was first performed in 2013 by Ballet West—the second company in America to be given the rights to perform this particular ballet. I was happy to see it back again. There is nothing like a beautiful fairy tale to put you in a romantic mood during February—the month of love.
Opening night was filled with the magic that surrounds a fairy tale. Arolyn Williams, Cinderella, made the transition from housekeeper to beautiful princess believable and seamless. Her prince Rex Tilton was royal, dashing and strong. Emily Adams was magical in her role as Fairy Godmother.
The Season fairy—which has been one of my favorite parts of this ballet—was danced beautifully. The Spring Fairy, Sayaka Ohtaki, Summer Fairy, Beckanne Sisk, Autumn Fairy, Katherine Lawrence, and Winter Fairy, Allison DeBona, all made you feel like you were in the season they were dancing.
Cinderella’s stepsisters were danced by Beau Pearson and Christopher Rudd and were so entertaining and funny that they practically stole the show. All the little girls around me dressed in their fancy dresses got a big kick out of the stepsisters. The little girl in front of me was laughing so hard that even when everyone else had stopped laughing she still was chuckling. The stepsisters were definitely a huge hit.
Christopher Sellars was brilliant at The Jester, entertaining and very athletic. The Corp de Ballet made a perfect back drop to the stars of this performance. Along with the gorgeous costumes and sets that were on loan from The Joffrey Ballet, Cinderella was simply stunning in so many ways.
Cinderella will be performed again February 15-17 and February 23-25 with matinees on both Saturdays. If you are attending these performances please beware of Ballet West Gives Back: The Godmother Project. Please bring food items to place in the Utah Food Bank barrels in the lobby to help those in need. Please see balletwest.org for more details.
