ABT 2015 - Cinderella

My last ballet of the season!  Sadness.  But at least I ended on a truly wonderful note.  I was supposed to see Cinderella last Tuesday night, but since my mom and nephew were still in town, I exchanged my tickets to Thursday night.  I was fortunate enough to see a glorious guest artist bring out the magic in the rest of the ABT company.

 

Cinderella is such a pretty ballet, with gorgeous quick steps and luxurious pas de deux.  The set, costumes and lighting are especially magical in this ballet, especially at the end.  The Stepsisters add some bawdy comedy, the beautiful fairies add superloveliness and the ladies dancing as Stars were stunning.  Their choreography is so unusual and they make it sing.

photo credit: Andrea Mohin

Our most important star, however, was guest artist Marianela Nunez, from the Royal Ballet.  She was spectacular.  So melancholy in the opening scenes and so full of wonder and joy in the ballroom and with her Fairy Godmother.  And just oozing love for her Prince, beautifully danced by James Whiteside.  Nunez was so stunning, it's hard to describe.  She was so musical and buoyant.  Her feet fairly flew across the floor and her spins were so exact, yet seemed spontaneous.  All of her steps seemed to flow from story and character.  It was fantastic.  Plus, she's gorgeous.  Why are all ballerinas so beautiful?  it's just not fair.

James Whiteside was an elegant partner, very gentle and loving, he held his Cinderella so tenderly.  And his solo dancing was free and easy.  He was just wonderful.  Isabella Boylston was a terrific Fairy Godmother, with superior footwork and a twinkle in all of her steps.  I loved the fairies, especially Spring, beautifully danced by Cassandra Trenary.  My ABT MVP, Roman Zhurbin, was incredible as one of the Stepsisters - I'm telling you, if he were an actor on Broadway, I'd continually give him a Tony.  His acting is so specific and true, every time.  And he had terrific chemistry with Craig Salstein, who was the other Stepsister.  Sometimes, their choreography goes on a bit too long, but they made every moment count.  The audience ate them up - they even continued their hijinks through the curtain call, which was very funny.

The famous entrance of Cinderella into the ballroom was enchanting and just a beautiful moment that will stay etched in my brain forever.  Such delicate steps done surely and with emotion - lovely.  That Frederick Ashton (the choreographer) - he sure knew what he was doing.

I am bereft that I'll need to wait until the fall for the next ABT season.  But there will be some exciting things coming, I'm sure of it.  ABT has promoted a couple of lovely dancers to principals, so I'll be able to see new dancers try on iconic roles, and some of my favorite young dancers in the corps de ballet have been moved up to soloist status.  I'm hoping the new chemistry in the company will take my mind off missing Julie Kent.  Fingers are crossed and my heart is already pounding in anticipation for the next season of beautiful dancing...

I don't think I'm going to see any theater for a bit - I'm busy preparing for an extended work trip to California.  Unfortunately, my tablet died so I probably won't be able to blog while I'm there.  So...you may not hear from me (beyond an autopost or two) for awhile - take care while I'm away, please!  :)