The classic fairy tale of Cinderella graced the stage of Boston University’s Metcalf Hall through a performance of Boston Ballet dancers Wednesday night.
Representatives from the dance company performed excerpts from the newly revamped program by James Kudelka for more than 400 community members. The full ballet debuts Oct. 13 at the Wang Theatre. The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center hosted the event and has brought student previews to the university for the past few years, Gotlieb Archive Managing Director Vita Paladino said.
Paladino said the presentation acted as a working rehearsal for the dancers and gave the audience the opportunity to see the creative process.
“Tonight is going to be like a classroom,” she said.
Paladino said the event was meant to open students up to new art forms and expose them to professional dancing. The performance of Cinderella would show them that fairy tales can be modernized, she said.
Dancers from the ballet performed a short, dressed-down excerpt, with Dance Master Tony Randazzo stopping them to comment on the tempo of the music and to correct mistakes.
Costume Manager Charles Heightchew presented a few costumes and explained how the costumes were updated to the modernized version.
The dancers also took questions from the audience, including questions about what the rehearsal process is like and what it’s like to dance in a single point shoe – which happens when Cinderella loses her glass slipper.
One young audience member stood on a chair to speak into a microphone and asked the performers “Can you dance again?”
Ballet Associate Director of Public Relations Sheryl Flatow responded that the audience member has to buy tickets to the real performances at the Wang to see the whole ballet.
DFP Contributing Writer Benjamin Walker contributed to this report.