This was a special experience for me because I had the privilege of going backstage before the performance began. I found the cast and crew extremely gracious and surprisingly relaxed to have visitors so close to the start of the show. Still, there was a bit of pre-curtain anxiety as the Winter Fairy had been injured the night before. Her role was split between two other dancers, and they dropped a small part, knowing that the audience would hardly notice. And to boost everyone's morale, Winter Fairy Julia Neal was there backstage on her crutches. It was fun to see the cast gather in a large circle on the stage — almost like a sports team would — to get a few inspirational words from the "coach" (Deirdre Hawkins) and then hold hands and crowd to the center of the circle with an enthusiastic "woo."

There was a large, excited audience at this first of two performances. It was so large in fact that I had to go to the back of the 700-seat theater to find an open spot. (What's convenient about ballet is that you don't have to sit where you can hear lyrics or dialog because there are none.)

As I listened to the overture of Prokofiev's music I reflected what a great vehicle a show like this is to familiarize kids with classical music — not just the young performers but also the young children in the audience. And there were scores of them. Perhaps some were dance students, others friends of cast members. But there could also have been many who came just to see the show because this is a very child-friendly ballet: familiar plot, lots of broad humor, young love, dazzling costumes, and dancing by people close to their own age.

(Click here to open the program in a new window.)

Let start by taking a look at the humor. It comes mostly from the "ugly" stepsisters, and it takes a man to make a really ugly woman. These parts were played by Tony Nguyen and Jacob Montoya. Their bios were not given in the program, but Montoya is a faculty member at the Hawkins School, and the choreographer of that brilliant show called "Human Nature" that was staged last April. To top off this humorous casting, the part of the sisters' mother was played by Will McCray, an African-American, unlike his two "daughters."

It takes a good actor to succeed at comic acting, much of it improvised as I would imagine. And it takes a good dancer to be really clumsy — and these men succeeded on all those counts, as you could tell from the peals of laughter from the audience, especially from the children. The men’s buffoonish acting and dancing, which essentially started the show, enhanced the grace and beauty of the serious dancing that was to follow. The part of Cinderella on Saturday night was played by Beth Pierson, and as I watched her mopping the floor in the first scene, it struck me that she "danced" with the graceful movements of her hands and arms long before she danced with her feet and legs. I even noticed artistry in her pretending to sew a torn cloth and in the expressiveness of her face.

Cinderella's first few moments on stage were, of course, only the harbinger of so much excellent dancing to come. It was remarkable in a way to consider that virtually all these performers were students at the Hawkins School, none older than high school age and many much younger — and here they were performing a traditional ballet. That this could work so impressively is no doubt due to the choreography of Deirdre Hawkins which, against the framework of the ballet itself, gave the performers routines that would take account of their current skill level, while stretching and challenging them. From my point of view, it was an authentic presentation of this classic, and it was very engaging to watch.

But what made it so engaging? In a ballet, I think one could say that the choreography is the dialog. In the scene, "Cinderella Dreams of the Ball" and the "Gavotte," I noticed what seemed to me an extraordinarily large "vocabulary" of dance moves or steps that captured one's attention — completely apart from the skill with which they were performed. And that skill was evident in the precision and grace shown by so many of the dancers. Early on I was impressed by the ensemble dancing when the action moved to "The Forest." And I must add here, what a pleasure it was to watch Florence Wu as the Fairy Godmother. Not only was her dancing excellent, but her beatific smile was like icing on cake, and cake is infinitely better with icing.

"The Forest" was the opportunity to showcase the solos of the Fairies of the Seasons: Noelle Zimny, Amber Clay, Sierra Holiday and stand-in Winter Fairy Gwendolyn Austin (who learned her part 2 hours before curtain). Each of them charmed the audience with a dance that announced their foreshadowing gifts to Cinderella: slippers, crown, pumpkin and dress train. Each of these was delivered by a pair of "mice" — presumably beginning dance students or the cutest pre-school recruits they could find. The first pair of mice drew oohs and aahs from the audience, and they were indeed a delight — especially when one or two would steal a look at the audience or when one tripped and fell and recovered quickly, earning some good-natured applause. Incidentally, once in a while, I noticed an older dancer losing their balance, but true to good training and character, they never lost their composure.

With the excellent dancing, evocative set, and bright, colorful costumes, I wrote in my notes as Act I came to a close: "The elegance of this production is unmistakable."

Act II introduced two characters about whom I must comment. First is the Court Jester played by Isabella Blakeney. There was something commanding and confident about her dancing, and her athleticism was truly impressive. And Noah Mackes made such a perfect Prince. He seemed unusually tall for a dancer, and that made his initial solo the more striking. He and Beth made an extraordinarily handsome couple, and their performances together added to the authenticity of this production with lifts and other athletic moves that one would expect to be performed only by older dancers. These displays earned cheers from the audience, in which I thought I heard mostly young voices. Many of these moves were strength moves for Noah that typically focused attention on Beth. Watching her I could see the years of dedication to her art reflected in her composure and attention to detail.

“The Ball” was full of comedy and drama. The stepsisters clomped around in high heels, flirted and were generally obnoxious, with Jacob Montoya ending his routine with a jump to splits that gave a hint of his true skill. Then as the clock struck midnight, the lights went down and the whole company moved their arms as if they were the hands of a clock. It was truly spooky, and I wouldn't have been surprised if some young ones in the audience looked away or sought comfort from a nearby parent. And as Act II closed, the drama couldn't have been higher as Noah stood upstage and elevated, framed by a doorway with a blue background amid the darkness, holding the single glass slipper above his head.

Act III began with a cute sketch in which 8 girls tried on the glass slipper, each clowning around to the delight of those of us in the audience. A solo by Cinderella followed, and watching Beth perform moved me to write this about her in my notes: "I'll confess that I've felt some ballet solos to be tedious. But taking into account her choreography, grace, vitality, skill and demeanor, I never tired of watching her."

The Prince's Visit was characterized by more comedy from the stepsisters and the pinnacle moment when the shoe fit Cinderella. It was all a fantasy, and a very familiar one, but I doubt anyone in the audience could have helped being moved by that moment. Then after the brief celebratory dance by the Village Girls, we had the pageantry of the Amoroso: all performers dressed in white (except the Fairies of the Seasons), dancers carrying candles, the Fairy Godmother standing out in front of a background of sky, low theatrical fog: it was all quite grand, so why wouldn't the audience cheer? Cheer we did, though I felt a pang as I looked over the program and noted that several key roles would be performed by others on the following afternoon: Cinderella (Elizabeth Le), Fairy Godmother (Kate Montana), and Court Jester (Michaela Terner). I wished I could have seen and appreciated their work in this production. Maybe I shouldn’t have felt bad, though. The Hawkins School has two performances coming up this spring: “Uncharted” featuring the Hawkins Contemporary Jazz Company (April 15 & 16) and “Rhythms of the World” featuring the Hawkins Tap Company (May 21). Maybe I’ll get my chance to see the dancers I missed at one of those performances — and another look at the fine young performers I saw tonight.