Review: Nashville Ballet's Lushly Romantic CINDERELLA Opens the New Season

From the very first moment - when principal guest conductor Nathan Fifield raises his baton and the musicians of the Nashville Symphony play the very first notes of Prokofiev's lush score - it becomes apparent that Nashville Ballet's Cinderella is going to be something very special. And so it goes for the next two-and-one-half-hours: All the way to the final tableau in which the lovely young woman (danced with power and grace by the always-superb Kayla Rowser) finds herself upon a swing in an altogether bucolic setting, with the comforting and loving arm of her dashing prince (Judson Veach, handsome and steadfast) gently caressing her.

With Paul Vasterling's contemporary take on the ages-old story of the young girl (resigned to a life as a drudge in a household in which she was once considered a princess by her beloved father), who manages to overcome the various obstacles thrust in her path and who retains a sense of wonder and whimsy despite the life she is forced to lead, audiences are presented with an altogether engaging and accessible Cinderella - her story hews close enough to what you've come to know over time, but there is enough "new" in this retelling to make you feel as if you're first encountering her story - who refuses to accept her lot in life and seems determined to forge a new direction.

Vasterling's Cinderella is one for a new millennium: She is far more forthright and ambitious, certain of herself and her abilities (not so unlike the luminous Rowser, as a matter of fact) than the fictional character we've come to know. Rather, this Cinderella is a role model for all the would-be princesses in the audiences at TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre (and more than a few budding young princes, I would suspect) for this weekend's season-opening production.

Vasterling's expert eye allows the entire company to be shown off to perfection on the stage, his intimate knowledge of his dancers' talents and abilities allowing them to soar theatrically and artistically, and his choreography for Cinderella showcases their strengths, building upon the interpersonal chemistry providing the glue that connects their various personalities, an attribute that elevates their performances.

To be certain, it's a wondrous flight of fancy that Nashville Ballet takes audiences in its first production of the 2016-17 season, resplendent in its design aesthetics (Scott Leathers provides the illuminating lighting design; the costume design (by Judanna Lynn for The Washington Ballet) is perfectly lovely, capturing the fairy tale-like mood of the piece; and the scenic design (by James Kronzer for The Washington Ballet and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre) provides the perfect setting for this iteration of Cinderella, one that somehow captures the ephemeral nature of ballet, its history and traditions, while offering a glimpse at the future of the dance in the process.

When Cinderella leaves the prince's opulent ball on that fateful midnight, she leaves behind not a glass slipper but a café-au-lait ballet slipper for the prince to use in his search for the woman who has captured his heart so completely.

Rowser and Veach are ideally paired as the regal pair: Her exquisite line and amazing extension are shown off to perfection, thanks to Vasterling's choreography, and Veach's elegant performance gives him the opportunity to be so much more than the mere presenter of the beautiful Rowser. Instead, he displays his own tremendous talent in ways both artful and athletic. Together, the two dancers transport audiences to another plane of existence, one in which beauty and art combine to create a transformative tale of romance, love and, yes, redemption. Rowser so effectively telegraphs Cinderella's dramatic arc in her performance that one witnesses the character's ascent to the role in life she was meant to play.

The radiant Rowser and the charming Veach lead a company that seems to boast a treasure trove of riches: the beautiful Alexandra Meister is wonderful as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, dancing with elan and power; Katie Vasilopoulos is strikingly strident as her stepmother, dripping disdain for her late husband's progeny while moving about the stage with haughty elegance; and the four seasonal fairies who help out with Cinderella's transformation from charwoman to would-be pretender to the throne are danced with resolute, yet lighter than air, grace by the gloriously gifted Mollie Sansone (Spring), Julia Eisen (Summer), Julia Mitchell (Autumn) and Daniella Zlatarev (Winter). The four women are paired with Brett Sjoblom, Aaron Steinberg and Nicolas Scheuer as their respective cavaliers (Zlaterev, for whatever reason, has no cavalier with which to partner, perhaps because the Winter fairy is all about "girl power" - at least that is my take on the matter) and the men display equal excellence in their performances.

And while Cinderella is dreamily beautiful, eye-popping gorgeous and wistfully romantic from start to finish, there are three dancers who inject some comic relief into the proceedings, helping to propel the story along its merry way, as it were. Christopher Stuart and Jon Upleger play Cinderella's stepsisters, with a modium of wickedness to be sure, but perhaps most importantly with generous dollops of madcap, over-the-top antics that lets each of the men (two of Nashville Ballet's most accomplished principals) show off a side of themselves they rarely get to do - not the man-in-a-dress part, but instead the broadly comic and completely funny personalities each of these amazing men possess.

But it could well be Augusto Cezar, as the royal jester, who commands the stage with confidence and aplomb, demonstrating his masterful talent with thorough commitment and a stage presence that is nothing short of electrifying.

Every year, Nashville Ballet's season-opening production heralds the start of a new theatrical season in Music City, giving audiences a inspiring treat to start off a new year of performances that are certain to delight and enthrall. Cinderella is certainly no exception to that rule and, if form follows function, it trumpets a season of entertainment that will have audiences returning to the theater for years to come.

• Cinderella. Choreography and story by Paul Vasterling. Music by Sergei Prokofiev. Featuring the Nashville Symphony. Presented by Nashville Ballet at TPAC's James K. Polk Theatre, Nashville. Through September 18. For details, go to www.NashvilleBallet.com; for tickets, go to www.tpac.org. Running time 2 hours, 30 minutes (with two 20-minute intermissions).

All photos of Nashville Ballet's Cinderella by Karyn Photography

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