Something Doesn't Quite Fit

Michael Corder recently won a 1997 Olivier Award (British version of the Tony Award) for his choreography of Cinderella, and for the most part, it shows. The production, which makes its American debut this month at the Boston Ballet, has many enchanting and delightful facets. The company members perform their dual roles of dancers and actors with admirable ease. Despite some technical problems that took place during Act One of opening night, the set falls into place and takes the audience's breath away. The choreography itself dazzles, living up to and beyond Boston Ballet's usual high standards.

And yet, something dark lingers throughout the performance. Perhaps Prokofiev's score, which haunts even the most romantic moments at the flick of a violin bow, is partially to blame. Perhaps it's the costumes, dark navy uniform gowns for the ladies and drab tuxedoes for the men in the eerily-lit ballroom scene, also add to the mood. Perhaps the unexplained variations in the story-line, which Corder himself hopes create "a feeling of mystery and magic," cause a slightly unsettling feeling instead. Whatever the reason, Cinderella remains a delightful, if somewhat dark, performance piece.

Most people are familiar with the rags-to-riches fairy tale. However, Boston Ballet adds a few details which may prove confusing (and somewhat ethnically offensive) for members of the audience who are only familiar with Disney's version of the fairy tale. Cinderella's father is not dead, but very weak-spirited, and only watches sadly as the wicked stepsisters torment his daughter. Cinderella's late mother left her a locket, which the stepsisters try to steal from her. Cinderella gets a bit of revenge when the Dancing Master visits, for she learns the steps faster than her jealous stepsisters. When the Fairy Godmother arrives, she whisks Cinderella away to dance with the Four Seasons and their Cavaliers before arriving at the Prince's Royal Ball. After Cinderella runs away from the dance, the Prince falls into a deep slumber in which he dreams of Spanish, Egyptian and Asian princesses who tempt him, but cannot compare to Cinderella's beauty or charm.

Fortunately, these minor additions do not take away from the dancing itself, which could not be better. What is particularly complicated about Cinderella is that in telling the story, the dancers must emote and act as well as perform ballet steps. As Cinderella, Larissa Ponomarenko embodies innocence and beauty in their most graceful forms. She maneuvers through intricate steps and pirouettes with great spirit and energy. Equally graceful is the Prince (Patrick Armand), whose powerful leaps and emotional style lift him above the one-dimensional deux-es-machina role that he usually plays in other versions. Both the Dancing Master (Robert Wallace) and the Fairy Godmother (Kyra Strasberg) perform their roles with grace and dignity. Each of the Four Seasons and Cavaliers also dance with a deft combination of stunning beauty and breath-taking strength. In particular, Pollyana Ribeiro and Paul Thrussell, as the Autumn Fairy and her Cavalier, stood out with their exquisite dancing.

But the night belongs to the evil stepsisters, played by Adriana Suarez and Jennifer Glaze. Glaze, as the taller and clumsier of the two, sends the audience into guffaws with her ditzy facial expressions and ridiculously bad dancing. As the shorter and meaner daughter, Suarez is the kind of villain you love to hate--she pushes, pulls and grabs toys and fans away from her sister just as Glaze starts to admire them. The loudest applause came when the sisters try on Cinderella's lost slipper: Glaze finally fought back, slapping Suarez and pretending to throttle her. These two dancers combine impressive techniques with delightful acting abilities, making their performances the two most memorable of the entire ballet.

Yet despite the overflow of talent on-stage and the magnificent sets--the moon that morphs into a clock chiming midnight is particularly memorable--there is something important missing from Corder's Cinderella: color. Cinderella herself is obviously supposed to dress drably, but the rest of the cast does not fare much better. The costumes are elaborate enough, but they simply do not enchant the audience as much as those in last year's A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sleeping Beauty did. As mentioned earlier, the grand ballroom scene feels more chilling than charming, with such dark and uniform costumes on everyone present. The stepsisters' bright dresses of pink and yellow-green are the only burst of color found among the characters. The Fairy Godmother and season Fairies all don fine costumes, but not particularly appropriate ones. As the Fairies spin and twirl, the mere bits of colored netting covering their bodysuits quickly become tangled and difficult to see. In addition, both the Spring and Summer Fairies wear all-green ensembles, while the Winter Fairy and the Fairy Godmother herself have costumes in pale blue. While this is not a major flaw, it does make distinguishing between characters all the more difficult.

Another slightly offbeat characteristic of the ballet was the music. Prokofiev's three-act score of "Cinderella" fits some of the moods on-stage quite well, from lilting with the dancers' feet to thundering with the characters' emotions. But again, the music during the ballroom scene leaned more towards cruel sophistication than lighthearted dancing. Also, as Cinderella and the Prince embrace after finally reuniting, the horns and violins wail a mournful melody rather than a romantic one. This is not to say that Prokofiev's music is poor-far from that. But for a fairy tale with a happy ending, the choice of music, especially when combined with less-than-cheerful costumes, can only add to a slightly morbid effect.

Overall, however, Boston Ballet's current production of Cinderella is a delightful performance with only a few troubling quirks. The dancing and acting are marvelous; the sets are simply beautiful and the orchestra sounds magnificent, if a bit ominous at moments. Besides, a trip out to the Theater District would do anyone good at this stressful time of year. Take a break from studying, go see Cinderella, and enjoy a little theater magic. You may not live happily ever after, but you will definitely have a very entertaining evening.