This is now my third experience of a production by the Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Theatre, and I’ve been finding each production more impressive — and more entertaining — than the last.  Cinderella, danced to the music of Prokofiev, is of course a fairytale, and the Sacramento Bee announced it as a “child-friendly” event.  Indeed, there were many children in the audience, both boys and girls, but there were also very many “unaccompanied” adults in what was a nearly-full Stage One at Harris Center.

The whole performance was simply charming, but we in the audience were captivated in the first few minutes when Cinderella went downstage to the right to a planter box, “watered” it, and up came a 3- or 4-year-old little girl, arms above her head.  Two more “flowers” appeared when watered, and this process was repeated for a planter box on the other side of the stage to continuing murmurs of delight from the audience.  The murmurs changed into gentle laughs when the girls picked up the planter box around them and scurried offstage.  It’s hard to imagine a more effective way to thoroughly win over an audience.

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

The story began in earnest with Cinderella’s harsh treatment by her stepmother and stepsisters, and much of the first few minutes were devoted to Cinderella’s sweeping the kitchen floor — and you have never seen such elegant floor sweeping.  Elisa Garr seemed to me to be the perfect Cinderella — with graceful, thoughtful, expressive, and controlled dancing — of course.  But I was equally impressed with her acting.  And I suppose it’s a strange thing to say about ballet, which is the epitome of physical discipline, but her performance seemed almost effortless and unstudied to me, and maybe that’s the ideal for every performing artist.   I felt much the same about Morgan Allen as the Fairy Godmother.  And it was in watching her that I was reminded that dancing is as much about what one does with one’s arms and hands as about what one does with one’s legs and feet.

Lady Tremaine, the stepmother, played by Christine L’Hermine Watkins Vlach was controlled and stern, even imperious, throughout the performance, but the ugly stepsisters were buffoons.  I guess it takes a man to make a really ugly woman, and the roles of Anastasia and Drizella were played to perfection by two men:  Los Angeles-based guest artists, Carwin Brice and Julian Sandoval.  It felt like they were on stage more than any other performers, and their clumsy, petulant, boorish antics were a constant source of delight for us in the audience.  It was broad comedy, indeed, but I dare say we all loved it.  And they were the perfect foil for the grace and artistry of the rest of the cast.

Prince Charming doesn’t appear until Act Two, but when Kristopher Reyes finally took the stage with his powerful leaps, it created quite a sensation and opened the door to a whole new vocabulary of expression, including the gorgeous lifts in many a subsequent pas de deux (hope I’m using the term correctly) with Elisa Garr.  These were some of the many moments during the performance that earned spontaneous applause.

The telling of the story gave many opportunities to showcase the talents of the 19 accomplished dancers who comprised the guest artists and “The Company,” many of whom were highlighted in solo roles.  Watching them, I couldn’t help but admire the discipline and dedication of all these performers.  I especially enjoyed their ensemble dances, including the extended ballroom scene during which the eight couples were so impressive in their precision.  But the appearance of groups of younger ballet students — usually on stage for just 30 to 60 seconds at a time — gave a refreshing surprise, with a youthful energy that complemented the formality of the older dancers.  So the Blue Birds, Kitchen Mice, Dragonflies, Butterflies, and Wind Fairies were always a welcome sight.

So much of Cinderella was just good theater, and there were many wonderful moments of awe for the audience, such as when the black wrap of the “old woman” was removed to reveal a stunning Fairy Godmother, or when Cinderella herself first appeared in her ball gown, along with the arrival of a very impressive coach, which actually brought cheers from the audience.  Set pieces and projections were notable, too, and the scene change from the kitchen to the forest elicited a “wow” from a man sitting near me.  The great variety of colorful and creative costumes added a great deal of visual interest, and it felt like the action was nonstop:  different dances, entrances and exits, comic interludes – always something new to engage one’s attention.

There’s something else, though.  Art is all about emotion, and there were a lot of emotional moments in this performance.  For one thing, I felt there was a believable chemistry between Cinderella and Prince Charming that was accentuated, of course, by their beautiful dancing together.  But when her hand was placed into his in the ballroom scene, it was a disarmingly touching moment.

There were many other intense moments.  I don’t know how tightly scripted the choreography is for a ballet like this, but I was impressed by many touches that seemed quite creative and appealing.  One was the approach of midnight at the ball when the music and dancing became foreboding and the eight couples stood still, moving their arms in sixths of a circle, the women in front of the men and moving their arms oppositely to their dance partner.  Another was the complex (and hilarious) choreography of the stepsisters.  One more was the tender moment at the end involving the lift of the Fairy Godmother by a quartet of male dancers.

This ballet was a pleasure from beginning to end with its gentle storytelling — seasoned with some delightful humor.  At the same time, it was fast-paced, colorful, dazzling — and elegant entertainment that anyone could enjoy.