Photo by Marianne Mess
From an actual carriage to an evil stepmother, the New Albany Ballet Company (NABC) débuts a classic fairytale this weekend: Cinderella.
Choreographed by Jimmy Orrante and Amy Tremante, the production is performed to the classic score by Sergei Prokofiev and features more than 200 dancers from the studios progressive and pre-professional divisions.
Tara Miller, the artistic director and owner of NABC, says the opening choreography pulls audience members in almost immediately.
“(The) first scene with Cinderella, her stepsisters and the stepmother is by far the funniest and most quirky 10 minutes of the ballet,” says Miller. “It pulls you in from the start and makes you want so much more. Each character is brought to life with such unique personalities. The steps complement the music, and the characters complement the story so well.”
The show also features two guest artists. William Newton, an NABC alumnus from BalletMet, will dance the part of Prince Charming; and Jim Nowakowski, also from BalletMet and a previous finalist on the hit FOX show So You Think You Can Dance, will perform the role of Dandini.
With Cinderella’s heartwarming storyline, magical characters and humorous scenes, this performance is sure to enthrall the audience, especially children.
“It will by far be the most entertaining performance we have ever staged,” Miller says. “There are moments of pure beauty, comedy and very talented dancing. … And our productions are always very entertaining for young children because they love to see children their own age perform.”
Cinderella will run Saturday, May 19 at 3 and 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 20 at 1 and 5 p.m. For information on tickets, click here.
Lydia Freudenberg is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.