When I found out that Marianela Nuñez was performing in American Ballet Theater's Cinderella, I couldn't help but buy a ticket to see her perform!
Her artistry and sense of emotion in Cinderella's first solo seemed to make time stand still, as the entire theatre became absorbed in her beauty.
Despite cleverly crafted scenery, involving a flickering fire in the hearth, the technical aspects of the production were somewhat underwhelming. When the time came for her to transform Cinderella's pumpkin into a carriage for the ball, the Fairy Godmother playfully lobbed the pumpkin offstage; it was replaced from the wings by a silver carriage. Perhaps an onstage transformation would've been more exciting- something akin to Birmingham Royal Ballet's gargantuan growing tree in the Nutcracker would've given the ballet that elusive "wow factor".
The highlight for me, in the ball scene, was Gabe Stone-Shayer's spectacularly springy Jester; he displayed fabulous charisma and stage presence, as well as excellent elevation, with particularly impressive straddle jumps.
At the ball, the corps de ballet danced in white tutus; my instinctive thought was of the snow in Nutcracker; I couldn't quite fathom the relevance of snow in a ballroom, until I looked at my programme, to see that they were not snow, but stars. Nonetheless, I didn't really see why stars would be in a ballroom either!
A highlight of the final act was Nunez' double ménage of pique turns in her solo; she demonstrated incredibly impressive speed and control.
In the curtain calls, the entire theatre seemed to give a standing ovation- which beautiful Marianela certainly deserved.
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