BalletMet to present re-imagined version of ‘Cinderella’

Alexis Schupbach
Thu, 07 Apr 2022 01:57:23 +0000
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BalletMet will present “Cinderella” at the Ohio Theatre Friday through Sunday. Pictured: Caitlin Valentine and David Ward. Credit: Courtesy of Lydia Weyrich

A classic fairy tale will soon come to life when BalletMet presents “Cinderella” at the Ohio Theatre.

BalletMet will present the recently re-imagined fairy tale and ballet Friday through Sunday on the Ohio Theatre stage. Caitlin Valentine, a company dancer performing the role of Cinderella, said the ballet follows along with the age-old fairy tale, but with some new twists and added elements.?

Edwaard Liang, the artistic director of the BalletMet, has added his own take on the story by re-imagining specific scenes within the show to add more depth, include more dancers and add a sense of humor, Valentine said.?

“I think Edwaard has really tried to, like, root ‘Cinderella’ in real human emotions,” Valentine said. “It’s really fulfilling as an artist to play Cinderella in Edwaard’s version.”

In the ballet, Liang said he aims to give Cinderella more emotional depth by showing her mother’s death and the emotional trauma she deals with after the fact.?

“Every year she goes to this gravesite, and during this time, she sees this young girl in the woods, and it looks like her and she doesn’t understand,” Liang said. “So it’s kind of like a fantasy flashback where she meets her young self and she relives what has happened in the past.”?

BalletMet also features an accompanying academy where young dancers are occasionally given chances to perform in the company’s productions, Liang said. In this production of “Cinderella,” there are several scenes incorporating the young dancers, which Valentine said adds something special for the company dancers as well.?

“There’s just a ton of kids too, which is really fun,” Valentine said. “To have the story ballet, but have involved children too, I think it just makes it more, like, special for the company dancers too.”

Despite an emotional backstory and portrayals of bullying in “Cinderella,” Valentine said the ballet also includes a good amount of humor within the choreography.?

“I just think Edwaard’s choreography and the way that the dancers play the stepsisters is absolutely hilarious,” Valentine said. “The audience just really loves it too. So it’s a really fun element, even though they’re evil stepsisters, they are quite funny.”

Although there have been several iterations of the “Cinderella” ballet over the years, Liang said he was easily able to make this ballet feel like his own due to the moldability of the score.

“Some create their own characters, some follow Disney,” he said. “It’s really what’s great about the Prokofiev score. It really lends to creating your own version of ‘Cinderella.’ ”

However, Liang said putting on a full-scale production such as “Cinderella” in the midst of a pandemic is far from easy, especially when involving kids.

“We haven’t done a big-scale, full-length like this since ‘Nutcracker,’ so it’s physically and mentally taxing for the artists,” Liang said. “We’ve had a very intense four weeks of rehearsal.”

Pandemic-related restrictions do have a silver lining, Valentine said, as wearing masks during rehearsals has improved the dancers’ staminas and increased expressiveness in their movement.

“For the shows, we unmask, but I think it allows for more expressive movements because you’re really trying to still tell the story, even with half of your face covered,” Valentine said. “And then, when you take your mask off, it’s like there’s even more, sort of, movement to your emotions.”

Valentine said “Cinderella” utilizes several elements — including humor and the inclusion of young academy dancers — to make the show accessible and enjoyable to people of all ages and level of exposure to ballet.

“This is such a fun, family-friendly ballet, I think. Edwaard’s version brings together so many different elements of, like, kids from the academy and beautiful company dancing and comedy and sadness,” Valentine said. “It really brings everything together.”

Tickets to “Cinderella” start at $37 and can be purchased on BalletMet’s website.