From Russia with Love
If you’ve never seen a ballet, you could do far worse than the Mariinsky Ballet. Founded in St. Petersburg in the 1740s, the Mariinsky survived Russia’s sweeping winds of change, if not by name — it is still often referred to by its Soviet designation, Kirov — then by building on its cultural legacy. Nijinsky and Balanchine came out of Mariinsky, as did Nureyev and Baryshnikov — and in 2002, its
Cinderella launched choreographer Alexei Ratmansky to stardom. No stranger to short ballet abstracts, Ratmansky’s reputation has been built on his reboots of narrative classics. While his
Cinderella may be deemed an uneven triumph by ballet snobs, it remains a vivid display of musicality, sophistication, and humor. Drawing on Prokofiev’s dark score, Ratmansky sets Cinderella in a 1930s tenement. Her fairy godmother is a bag lady, her father is a drunk, her royal ball is ruled by bitchy fashionistas, and her prince peruses whorehouses. Ratmansky’s mastery of classical vocabulary is versatile, leaving ample room for surrealism and slapstick, but it remains undeniable.
— Silke Tudor
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