The Wilson Center on Saturday show night was buzzing with excited energy. By 6:30, a conglomerate of show-goers had gathered and were moving about the lobby in anticipation. A great many months were about to pay off. Cinderella was about to begin and I was about to witness one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.
Cinderella was so engaging in its experience. An immaculate retelling of a beloved classic and a conduit for so much emotion, the performance was beyond any words I could hope to put in print. Lost in the perfect harmony of exquisite coordination, gorgeous costumes, playful comedy and just about the most heavenly music I've ever heard, I found all my highest expectations exceeded tenfold. The stage was like a canvas, the dancers like brushes, their movements like paint–the show was a masterpiece. Through the allure of the ballroom’s delicate grandeur, the hilarious theatrics of the stepsisters, and the love between Cinderella and the Prince, City Ballet’s flawless skill was portrayed in a performance so far beyond these insufficient words.
Before the show, walking through the parking garage, I passed a mother and her young daughter. The daughter, who was giddy with excitement, was dressed in a full Cinderella costume. I can only imagine that little girl’s face when my friend came on stage as Cinderella. For everyone in the audience it was like stepping into a Disney movie. Enchanting in not just her movements but her presence alone. Someone turned to me and said, “she’s the closest thing on earth to a real life Disney Princess.” Something in the way she moved was so divine that it made me feel as if I was floating through a dream. I was completely enamored with the profound talent and dedication displayed on that stage. It was beautiful, ethereal, and infinite. In her final performance at the Wilson Center, she was the art and the artist.
In a similar way, The Prince was as charming as ever. Flirting about the stage in an air of pride and delight with these gravity-defying movements you’d really have to see to believe. But it wasn’t the beauty of his movements that stood out, it was his chemistry with Cinderella. Their lovely friendship offstage had become this believably radiant love onstage. Together their connection was this binding force that tied the whole performance together in a brilliant way, touching each and every viewer in the Wilson Center that night.
The seeds planted months ago, Cinderella was a flower blooming before my very eyes. I feel so sorry for anyone who missed the blossom. My friend told me at the end of the rehearsal weeks ago that it's a custom of ballet to tell your instructors “merci”. It’s tradition, she said. To City Ballet, all the talented performers, teachers, and loving souls involved, I say Merci for Cinderella - A performance words struggle to describe yet memory will fail to forget.
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