“Is ballet for me?”
That’s one of the questions on the homepage for The World Ballet Series’ production of Cinderella. When I saw that the show was coming to the Bushnell Theater in Hartford for a one-night performance, I bought my ticket immediately. I’d never been to the ballet before, and to be honest I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy it. This was a great opportunity to find out either way.
I’ve written before that I like to go into events with no context. For this performance, that’s something of an understatement. I had no knowledge about ballet other than what I’d learned watching Black Swan over a decade ago. I’d heard the word “pirouette” before, but had no idea what it actually was. I’m only slightly embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know that ballet performers don’t speak until after the performance had started.
But those knowledge barriers didn’t get in the way. In a word, the show was awesome. I mean that in the literal sense of the word; I was left in awe at the incredible level of skill, balance and strength that every dancer on stage displayed. I don’t know much about the particulars of ballet, but I do know what thousands of hours of practice looks like. I know how much pain and sacrifice it takes to make the human body do the impossible, to leap in gravity-defying ways and stretch and contort into impossible forms.
On top of the talent the performers displayed as dancers, they were also actors, which only added to my admiration. After all, the performance was not simply a recital where the dancers demonstrated their technical skill. They had to tell a story as well, without words. The performers brought the story to life with style and humor.
The standouts to me were Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters. They harried Cinderella with the perfect amount of haughty superiority and playful maliciousness throughout the performance, but were able to turn on a dime into fawning sycophancy when the Prince entered the story. While every performer was outstanding, many of the other roles were static. Cinderella’s stepfamiliy’s ability to characterize their shifting roles through body movement alone was impressive.
Cinderella was a fortunate choice for my first ballet, as I already knew the story and it was easy for me to follow along. But the production acknowledges that interpreting story through dance can be difficult, so the show’s website offered a synopsis for audience members to follow along with. The combination of accessibility, familiarity and storybook fun made the ballet an excellent beginner’s choice. I could see that the other audience members had the same thought, as the theater was full of children of all ages,
So back to the original question: Is ballet for me? Emphatically yes, it is. I was enchanted by Cinderella in a way that not even the classic Disney movie made me feel. It made me want to watch more ballet. I want to go to a show with a live orchestra. I want to see a performance where I don’t know the story beforehand to see how well I can follow along. I want to have a night out on the town in New York or Boston and end it with a beautiful performance. I can’t wait to go to another one, and I hope that you consider attending a ballet performance too.
NEXT: The Bushnell Center for Performing Arts hosts the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Elgar’s Enigma, Sept. 29-Oct. 1.
Jamil tries to reconcile with man’s best friend at the Bark Twain Bash.
