Cinderella

Reviewed by Paula Citron

Cinderella
National Ballet of Canada
Choreography by James Kudelka
Music by Sergei Prokofiev
Starring Sonia Rodriguez, Guillaume Côté, Joanna Ivey, Tanya Howard, Rebekah Rimsay, Etienne Lavigne, Piotr Stanczyk and Lorna Geddes.
Four Seasons Centre
Nov. 11 to 20, 2010

James Kudelka’s 2004 production of Cinderella is a masterpiece. The brilliant choreography matches Prokofiev’s notoriously difficult score in perfect symmetry.

As with all Kudelka’s works, once an audience member has absorbed the big picture (which itself takes repeated viewings), one can begin to appreciate the individual details. The latter can be a life’s work because Kudelka’s choreography is so richly layered.

My concentration this time was on the neoclassical challenges of the fairy solos, the differentiation between the two pas de deux for Cinderella and her Prince, and the precise timing of the prince’s whirlwind tour around the world.

I could also mention Kudelka’s sparkling inventiveness for the stepsisters, their paid escorts, and their alcoholic mother. And then there is David Boechler’s inspired, individualized costume design.

Cinderella is a triumph for the National’s dancers and conductor David Briskin and the orchestra because Kudelka and Prokofiev are a divinely matched team.

Cinderella continues at the Four Seasons Centre until Nov. 20.