BY POPULAR DEMAND, MOSCOW FESTIVAL BALLET’S ACCLAIMED PRODUCTION OF “CINDERELLA” RETURNS TO THE MAC JAN. 14
By popular demand, Moscow Festival Ballet returns to the McAninch Arts Center (MAC) with one of the world’s most beloved stories, “Cinderella,” Sunday, Jan. 14 at 2 and 6 p.m. More than 50 of the company’s highly skilled dancers will grace the stage in Prokofiev’s lavish, highly entertaining full-length ballet hailed by the Durham, North Carolina Chronicle as Journal as “An impressive performance of a classical ballet, energized with dramatic expression and sensational steps.” Prior to the evening performance, there will be a free MAC chat at 5 p.m. led by Dr. Kelly Stokes, Community Engagement Coordinator with Salt Creek Ballet and adjunct Humanities faculty member at College of DuPage.
At the heart of “Cinderella” is the classic fairy tale about a hopeful young woman, her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, a fairy godmother and a handsome prince that has captivated young and old alike since the 17th century. Although this Cinderella has the familiar elements of the glass slipper and a magical spell that ends at midnight, it also introduces some new characters including four fairies who change the seasons as they dance to help the Cinderella’s fairy godmother change rags into a formal gown.
The ballet was first choreographed to Prokofiev’s score in 1945 by Rostislav Zakharov and this choreography serves as the base for Moscow Festival Ballet’s production. Rather than focusing on details of the story of Cinderella’s rise from rags to riches, the production offers an abundance of lively, entertaining dance mixed with majestic and sophisticated touches of traditional pantomime performed against a lush and colorful setting.
Moscow Festival Ballet Artistic Director Sergei Radchenko graduated from the Moscow School of Dance in 1964 and went on to work with the Bolshoi Ballet for 25 years. Upon leaving the Bolshoi, he founded Moscow Festival Ballet in 1989, envisioning a company that would bring together the highest classical elements of his former company within the framework of Russian classic ballet. Since its inception, Moscow Festival Ballet has toured throughout Europe, Asia and the United States performing such favorites as “Sleeping Beauty,” “Swan Lake,” “Don Quixote,” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
Tickets
The McAninch Arts Center located at 425 Fawell Blvd., on the campus of College of DuPage, presents Moscow Festival Ballet’s “Cinderella” Sunday, Jan. 14 at 2 and 6 p.m. Tickets are $49 for youth and $59 for adult. Prior to the evening performance, there will be a free MAC chat at 5 p.m. For tickets or more information visit AtTheMAC.org or call 630.942.4000.
About the MAC
McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage, located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 236-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, classrooms for the college’s academic programming and. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.
The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information visit AtTheMAC.org, facebook.com/AtTheMAC or twitter.com/AtTheMAC.
