Sparks from Cinderella

It’s Sunday. My wife is nursing a cold. My five-year-old daughter keeps giving me pleading looks. What to do but go see Cinderella (and get a picture with the prima ballerina)?

Pastel by Degas

That would be Melody Staples who made a charming Cinderella, not only with her bright-eyed demeanor, but because of her ability to combine story-telling with dancing. She nicely captured, while underplaying, the innocence of a fairy-tale princess. (You can read her talking about the character here.)

According to my daughter, however (and she’s an expert when it comes to this story), the bad sisters were “too much.” When I asked her what she meant—and without her realizing that the dancers were male—she said they were too “silly.” In her experience, of course, the sisters are bad, not silly. And what makes them bad (I know because I’ve read her the story umpteen times) is their selfishness and jealousy and resulting cruelty.

It’s not easy to convey that combination of emotions in an adult drama, much less in a children’s ballet. It’s even more arduous for male dancers in drag to strike just the right vein of catty vituperation. Almost the only way to go about it is with humor, which, as my daughter perceived, renders it silly. Nevertheless, Steven Hammell and Stephen Gabriel as the sisters did silly very well. Mr. Gabriel in particular was a commanding presence. It’s always nice when you can’t take your eyes off a performer because you don’t want to miss anything he does. Mr. Gabriel also made comic look easy, which is difficult to do.

Dance-wise, the brightest spot of the day for me was Alexander Collen who played the jester. Regardless of his late start in professional ballet—a nice story to read about on choreographer Jill Eathorne Bahr’s blog—Mr. Collen is a rare breed who combines musicality, perfect timing, and seamless grace in his ability to manage not only the right movements, but all the transitions between them. He’s a pure dancer and fun to watch.

You might also enjoy George Hubbard’s review at PostandCourier.com.

Charleston Ballet Theatre
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