Ballet British Columbia

presents

Moscow Classical Ballet's

CINDERELLA

April 16-18, 1998

Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver

DELIGHTFUL SHOW FOR YOUNG AND OLD

by Ed Farolan

This immortal fairy tale came alive again with this magnificent production by the Moscow Classical Ballet, accompanied by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Conductor Pavel Salnikov.

In Friday's show, Natalia Ogneva as Cinderella graced the Queen Elizabeth stage with her flawless movements; Ilgiz Galimullin as the Prince, despite his 34 years, radiated the optimism of youth with his delightful steps.

Cinderella's comic sisters ('Angry Girl' Natlaia Jarkova, 'Grimacing Girl' Susanna Avetissova) and comic stepmother (Galina Lapina) all performed wonderfully, and received warm applauses for their feats. Fairy Godmother Natalia Korneeva was beautifully dressed in blue and danced wistfully with the other fairies.

The set was both magnificent and creative. It was interesting to see the simple 'magic' of the pumpkin turning into a stage coach. The lighting and costumes were simply marvelous.

In an interview by the Westender, this ballet company's General & Artistic Director Vladimir Vasilyov moaned about the result of Perestroika in Russia: "Before Perestroika, we never thought that we had to earn money; it was always given by the government. Now we have democracy and we have to make money...and there's only one way to survive in Russia: to be good".

The company nowadays spends more time abroad trying to survive economically. They've just toured Italy and India, are now touring North America, then travel through the former Soviet Union, and in the fall, perform in China, Switzerland and France.