Dance Theatre of Tennessee Presents CINDERELLA, 5/4-5

Dance Theatre of Tennessee invites you to witness the most famous curfew of all time as they present the charming re-telling of the classic fairy tale filled with romance, comedy, mesmerizing dance, and hilarious fun for all. Beautiful and grand, funny and touching, with a majestic score from Prokofiev, Cinderella has been called the perfect ballet experience for newcomers, young audiences and seasoned ballet aficionados. Performances will be on May 4, 2013, tonight, 7:00pm and May 5, 2013, Sunday, 2:00pm at Father Ryan HS Auditorium, 700 Norwood Drive, Nashville, TN.

Led by longtime Nashville Principal Dancer and Artistic Director Christopher Mohnani, Dance Theatre of Tennessee (DTT) is Middle Tennessee's newest force in dance and theater entertainment. With its mission of "bringing ballet to the people," DTT continues to offer cutting edge choreography while honoring time-tested classics.

Cinderella, along with its handsome prince, magical fairies, glittering costumes, and graceful dancers will be filled with lots of laugh and humor. "That is exactly why Cinderella is such a fun ballet to present," Mohnani shares. "Everyone knows the story; you don't have to go to ballet lessons to understand it. It has a clear storyline, it's funny and it engages the whole crowd no matter who you are."

The humor explains Mohnani comes courtesy of Cinderella's interactions with her wicked stepsisters and stepmom. First staged in 1945 at the famed Bolshoi Theater in Russia, it has almost been a ballet tradition to have the stepsisters perform in travesty. In Dance Theatre of Tennessee's version as choreographed by Tom Pazik's (Atlanta Ballet), it is no different. The stepsisters are going to be portrayed by two male dancers and all done en pointe (on toes). It is a hilarious and exaggerated showing of the difference between good as personified by Cinderella and evil as seen from the antics of the stepsisters. "Rehearsals are always interrupted by loud fits of laughter watching male dancers attempt years of pointe shoe training in just several hours," explains Mohnani. "I think that alone is worth the ticket price."

Cinderella will of course have its share of beautiful dancing to the lush melodies of Prokofiev, set and scenery by local artists Gregg Colson, Randy Purcell and Ken Walls, and costumes and wigs by another local favorite Jamie Lynn Scott. Cinderella is being staged by former Atlanta Ballet Principal Ballerina and Ballet Mistress Kathryn McBeth Hutcheson.

Tickets are available by visiting www.ticketsnashville.com. General admission tickets are $22.50 for adults and $17.50 for children if bought online and are $25 $20 for students at the door. Children activities happen 30 minutes before the performance and includes creating your own ballet slipper, story time and cast photos. Dance Theatre of Tennessee's "Cinderella" is presented in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission and Hotel Partner Hotel Preston.

For more information, visit www.dancetheatretn.org, www.facebook.com/dancetheatretn, call at 615-391-5500 or email at dance@dancetheatretn.org.

Dance Theatre of Tennessee (DTT), the non-profit performing arm of (AAPAS), is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded; to expose new audiences to the diversity and beauty of dance; to provide affordable, accessible professional performances; to offer superior academy training; to foster enlightened outreach programs; and to bring eminent national/International Artists, choreographers, & premiere works to the Mid-state area.

Dance Theatre of Tennessee has been recently ranked first by a competitive, citizen-reviewed process through the Metro Nashville Arts Commission and has consistently been named as one of Nashville's Top 15 Performing Arts organizations based on performance quality, overall business acumen and audience reach touching over 20,000 people through it's performances and over 10,000 students through its outreach programs the past two years.

Photo Credit: Janice Abbott and Abbott Photography

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