Cinderella Opens at PNB

Principal dancers Seth Orza and Maria Chapman with company dancers

Tonight marks the opening of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Cinderella, the whimsical tour de force choreographed by Kent Stowell. After nine years in the dark, the ballet will make its McCaw Hall debut.  

I was fortunate enough to attend an in-studio rehearsal last week, and sitting behind Kent Stowell and Francia Russell as they watched and directed the dancers was an amazing experience. 

On display was the side of ballet that no one sees on the stage, including the painstaking hard work, the minor slip-ups and all the sweat. These dancers make it look so easy, so effortless when fully costumed on performance night, but in the studio one can see what ballet really is, minus the extreme Black Swan stereotypes. 

The duet of Cinderella and the Prince (there are six pairs altogether for the run of performances) practicing on the night of our in-studio were principals Batkhurel Bold and Carla Körbes, both stunning dancers with a playful on-stage chemistry. 

Visually, Körbes is perfect for the title role, with naturally golden hair and a round, innocent face. Even in rehearsal she throws herself fully into the part (and who wouldn’t with Stowell and Russell looking on?), flirting with those watching and exuding a youthful energy into the small crowd.

Batkhurel is the epitome of athleticism, and yet he is as graceful as any of the women sharing the stage, landing his leaps and jumps softly and with ease. I could not keep my eyes off him.

The evil stepsisters Lindsi Dec and Chalnessa Eames had us all in fits of laughter with their crooked dancing and awkward competition for the prince's attention, but even their awkwardness had the underlying balletic quality that comes with years of technical training. 

A storybook ballet such as Cinderella is just as much about the acting as the dancing, and even though the company did not rehearse in costume, it was easy to imagine them whipping across a full set in their jackets and skirts, performing the enchanting story with just as much enthusiasm. Not solely a children’s tale, Cinderella promises to be a visually stunning tour de force for romantics of all ages. 

Photo © Angela Sterling