Cinderella never pointed her toes, sickled or pirouetted in the original Disney film, but for the Russian National Ballet, Cinderella is trading in her glass slipper and ball gown for pointe shoes and a leotard.
Although this is not the Russian National Ballet’s first performance at Ball State, it is the first for this glass slipper-wearing princess to premiere at John R. Emens Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for Cinderella are on sale for $5 in advance and $10 at the door for students.
The ballet performance will center on the story of Cinderella’s evil stepmother forbidding her of attending the Royal Ball. Characters such as the fairy godmother and mice duo Gus and Jaq will be recognizable from the 1950s Disney film, but the ballet will present a more archaic look at the original story.
“I think it is much more of a representation of the fairy tale [than the Disney movie],” Sarah Mangelsdorf, assistant professor of dance, said. “But I’m sure the story line will be very recognizable for everyone.”
Theater and technology design major Jackie Londino expects to see a side of the story that is unlike the cheery cartoon version that strayed from the Brothers’ Grimm.
“Disney’s version starts with a sad beginning and ends happily ever after,” Londino said. “I think this ballet performance will be different.”
First known as the Soviet National Ballet, the Russian National Ballet was founded in Moscow in the late 1980’s according to the company’s biography on Columbia Artists Management, a site that globally promotes the professional arts. The dance company included graduates from different Russian choreographic schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm.
Sophomore Communications major Jonnai Smith said she is attending Cinderella because it reminds her of her childhood when she dreamt of being a ballerina with pretty make-up and dancing on her toes.
“I’m expecting it to be the same story that I remember growing up,” she said. “Adding ballet to the storyline will make it even better.”
Bob Myers, director of Emens Auditorium, said all students have a reason to attend this ballet performance.
“This is a campus that take exercise physiology and wellness very seriously,” he said. “Accomplished dancers are athletes, and seeing them should be a treat for all students.”
