The Kennedy Center presents Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella a little over a year after the revival’s debut in London. Bourne (who won a Tony Award® for both Best Choreographer and Best Director for Swan Lake) has choreographed for his company, New Adventures, a re-imagined version of this classic fairy tale while maintaining tradition by using Sergei Prokofiev’s famous score. Prokofiev created this composition during the Second World War, which is what inspired Bourne to set his telling of the story during that period of our history. In fact, Cinderella falls in love with not a Prince but rather a Royal Air Force pilot, their romance interrupted by the London Blitz.
Was this dark period in our history, somehow captured within the music? I felt that it was, and the more I delved into the Cinderella story, it seemed to work so well in the wartime setting. Darkly romantic in tone, it speaks of a period when time was everything, love was found and lost suddenly, and the world danced as if there was no tomorrow.
– Matthew Bourne, Director of New Adventures
The choreography is supported by Lez Brotherston’s costumes and sets, Neil Austin’s lighting, and Duncan McLean’s video and projection design.
Cinderella will be at the Kennedy Center from January 15-20, 2019. Before the matinee performance on January 19, there will be a mini-performance featuring local youth as part of the company’s Curtain Raisers program. This educational component of New Adventures gives young dancers an opportunity to work with company professionals; they will demonstrate the new choreography they have created based on the themes and movements found in Cinderella.
For a more in-depth look about Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, check out the video below.
Source for The Kennedy Center presents Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella: The Kennedy Center | Featured Photo of New Adventures in Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella © Johan Persson
