VAL CANIPAROLI’S A CINDERELLA - Canada's …rwb.org/uploads/documents/15_cinderella_studyguide_WEB.pdf · VAL CANIPAROLI’S STORY A ... Following her coronation in 1953, she bestowed

STUDY GUIDE

CINDERELLA

VAL CANIPAROLI’S

STORY

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A CINDERELLA STORY STUDY GUIDE | 1

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet

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Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally founded Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School nearly 75 years ago. The two women met when Lloyd was running a dance school in Leeds, England and Farrally was her student. They both immigrated to Canada in 1938, and settled in Winnipeg. There they offered dance classes to the community – starting out with only six students in their first year. Word quickly spread, however, and by year two their enrolment had grown and they were able to establish the “Winnipeg Ballet Club.”

By 1943, The Winnipeg Ballet was formed with all of its dancers coming from the Club. Six years later, the Company officially became a not-for-profit cultural institution. In 1951, the Company was invited to perform for then Princess Elizabeth during her visit to Winnipeg, just prior to her becoming Queen of England. Following her coronation in 1953, she bestowed The Winnipeg Ballet’s “Royal” designation.

Between the Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) School’s two divisions of study, there is a place for virtually every type of dance student: from preschoolers to adults, those new to dance and those aspiring to become professional dancers.

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PREPARING This booklet is designed to enhance the student’s experience at Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s performance of Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story. The activities and information included are organized to help students prepare, understand, enjoy, and respond to their experience watching the performance.

DURING THE PERFORMANCE: Enjoy the ballet! As part of the audience, your attendance is as essential to the ballet performance as the dancers themselves. Prior to arriving at the theatre, discuss proper audience etiquette using the keywords below. These steps will help students handle their feelings and enthusiasm appropriately. It is also very important to arrive on time or even early for the performance in order to allow enough time to settle in and focus on the performance.

CONCENTRATION: Always sit still and watch in a quiet, concentrated way. This supports the dancers so that they can do their best work on stage.

QUIET: Auditoriums are designed to carry sound so that the performers can be heard, which also means that any sound in the audience (whispering, laughing, rustling papers or speaking) can be heard by dancers and other audience members. Your movement or checking your phone and texting disrupts the performance for everyone, so always ensure that phones and other electronic devices are turned off during the entire performance.

RESPECT: By watching quietly and attentively you show respect for the dancers. The dancers show respect for you (the audience) and for the art of dance by doing their very best work.

APPRECIATION: Do clap at the end of a dance (when there is a pause in the music) if you feel like showing your appreciation.

“To enrich the human experience by teaching, creating and performing outstanding dance.”

Whether touring the world’s stages, visiting schools, offering rigorous dance classes for all experience levels, or performing at Ballet in the Park each summer, the RWB consistently delivers world class dance and instruction to the citizens of Winnipeg and far beyond.

To see the ballet

AFTER THE PERFORMANCE: Process and respond to the performance by engaging in class discussions or writing a letter to the RWB. We love to get feedback from our student groups.

WRITE TO:

At Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, our mandate is:

Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet 380 Graham Avenue Winnipeg, MB, R3C 4K2

[email protected]

facebook.com/RWBallet

twitter.com/RWBallet

instagram.com/RWBallet

pinterest.com/RWBallet

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Find out more about us at rwb.org.

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BalletThe First Ballet In 16th century France and Italy, royalty competed to have the most splendid court. Monarchs would search for and employ the best poets, musicians and artists. At this time, dancing became increasingly theatrical. This form of entertainment, also called the ballet de court (court ballet), featured elaborate scenery and lavish costumes, plus a series of processions, poetic speeches, music and dancing. The first known ballet, Le Ballet comique de la Reine, was performed at court in 1581 by the Queen of France (and her ladies) at her sister’s wedding.

The Sun King In the 17th century, the popularity and development of ballet could be attributed to King Louis XIV of France. He took dancing very seriously and trained daily with his dance master, Pierre Beauchamp. One of the King’s famous roles was the Rising Sun which led him to become known as the “Sun King.” King Louis also set up the Academie Royale de Danse (Royal Academy of Dance) in 1661, where, for the first time, steps were structurally codified and recorded by Beauchamp. These are the same steps

that have been handed down through centuries, and which now form the basis of today’s classical ballet style.

The First Professional Dancers At first, ballets were performed at the Royal Court, but in 1669 King Louis opened the first opera house in Paris. Ballet was first viewed publicly in the theatre as part of the opera. The first opera featuring ballet, entitled Pomone, included dances created by Beauchamp. Women participated in ballets at court, but were not seen in the theatre until 1681. Soon, as the number of performances increased, courtiers who danced for a hobby gave way to professional dancers who trained longer and harder. The physical movement of the first professional dancers was severely hindered by their lavish and weighty costumes and headpieces. They also wore dancing shoes with tiny heels, which made it rather difficult to dance with pointed toes.

Revealing Feet and Ankles Early in the 18th century in Paris, the ballerina, Marie Camargo, shocked audiences by shortening her skirts to just above the ankle. She did this to be freer in her movements

and allow the audience to see her intricate footwork and complex jumps, which often rivaled those of the men. Ballet companies were now being set up all over France to train dancers for the opera. The first official ballet company (a collection of dancers who train professionally) was based at the Paris Opera and opened in 1713.

The Pointe Shoe By 1830, ballet as a theatrical art form truly came into its own. Influenced by the Romantic Movement, which was sweeping the world of art, music, literature and philosophy, ballet took on a whole new look. The ballerina ruled supreme. Female dancers now wore calf-length, white, bell-shaped tulle skirts. To enhance the image of the ballerina as light and ethereal, the pointe shoe was introduced, enabling women to dance on the tips of their toes.

Classical Ballet Although the term “classical” is often used to refer to traditional ballet, this term really describes a group of story ballets first seen in Russia at the end of the 19th century. At this time, the centre of ballet moved from France to Russia. In Russia, the French choreographer Marius Petipa collaborated

with the Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky to create the lavish story ballet spectacles such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker. Today, these ballets still form the basis of the classical ballet repertoire of companies all over the world.

One Act Ballets In 1909, the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev brought together a group of dancers, choreographers, composers, artists and designers into his company, the Ballets Russes. This company took Paris by storm as it introduced, instead of long story ballets in the classical tradition, short one act ballets such as, Schéhérazade, Les Sylphides, The Rite of Spring, Firebird and Petrouchka. Some of the worlds greatest dancers, including Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), Vasslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) and choreographers Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942) and George Balanchine (1904-1983) were part of Diaghilev’s company.

DID YOU KNOW … ? Dancing ballet puts a lot of wear on a dancer’s shoes. Some dancers need to get new shoes every week!

SEE FOR YOURSELF! Do a search for images of ballet dancers throughout the ages. Can you notice the differences in costumes over time? What do most dancers wear today?

ABOUT


The career of a dancer is relatively short and it is not unusual to spend more years training than dancing professionally. As in Olympic-level sport, the movements demanded of the human body in ballet are very specific and require great precision and care. For that reason, the physique must be prepared for a professional ballet career at a young age.

The professional training period usually consists of at least seven years of intensive, precise work. Ideally, girls and boys should begin their professional training by age ten. Training is a very progressive process. The young professional student begins with daily classes, practicing the basic ballet positions and movements, learning body placement and how to move through the space with balance and artistry. As the student progresses, time spent in classes each week increases, as do the difficulty and extensiveness of the skills taught. In addition to daily class in classical technique, students also receive instruction in variation (solo) work, pointe (dancing on the toes), pas de deux (a dance for two), character (ethnic), jazz and modern dance.

Prior to the introduction of pointe work, a number of criteria must be considered. These include the amount of previous training, a dancer’s strength and ability, as well as age as it relates to the bone development in the dancer’s feet. Pas de deux and repertoire (the collection of different ballets a dance company performs) are introduced only when the student has adequate strength, ability and training.

Students who graduate to a professional ballet company usually begin dancing as a member of the corps de ballet (ensemble). After a few years, corps de ballet members whose artistry, technical ability, musicality and ability to communicate with the audience set them apart may be promoted to first or second soloist. Finally, the highest achievement in the company, the position of principal dancer, is attainable by only a few select dancers.

THE LIFE OF A DANCER

ESTABLISHING DANCE IN NORTH AMERICA

Almost all contemporary ballet companies and dancers are influenced by Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. The first visit by this company to North America in 1916-1917 stimulated great interest in ballet. Dancers from the Ballets Russes were instrumental in furthering this new interest in ballet. For example, dancer George Balanchine went to the United States and founded the New York City Ballet (originally called the American Ballet). He became renowned for perfecting the abstract ballet and for establishing neo-classicism through his choreographic masterpieces such as Serenade, Agon and Concerto Barocco. Ninette de Valois and Marie Rambert also went on to found, respective, England’s Royal Ballet and the Rambert Dance Company. It is from these English roots that two English Women, Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farally, founded the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in 1939 (the oldest ballet company in Canada). Celia Franca also came to Canada and in 1951, she founded The National Ballet of Canada in Toronto. Some of the worlds greatest dancers, including Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), Vasslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) and choreographers Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942) and George Balanchine (1904-1983) were part of Diaghilev’s company.

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THE POINTE SHOE Proper footwear is the most important piece of attire for ballet dancers. There are many different kinds of dance shoes, including ballet slippers, character shoes/boots and jazz shoes. Perhaps the most well-known shoe is the pointe shoe (the shoes for dancing on the toes) of the female dancer. Making pointe shoes is a difficult and precise art. For each size of pointe shoe, there is a basic form called the last, upon which the shoe is molded. Sizes generally range from 1 1⁄2 to 5 1⁄2. To build the shoe, the shoemaker uses several layers of fabric, starting with a cotton lining and a flannel-type fabric to form the slipper. In the toe section, seven fabrics of varying thickness are bonded together into a block form with special glue. Finally, the shoe is covered with satin, glued together, dried and stitched for strength.

Each individual dancer has specific requirements for her shoes. For example, the width of the block required may vary from dancer to dancer. The vamp (length of the shoe covering the toe), the width and height of the heel and the stiffness of the leather sole may also be tailored to fit an individual dancer’s needs. (It is interesting to note that there is no designated left or right shoe in the pair.) The shoemaker will put his mark on each completed shoe, along with the size and brand name. Dancers come to rely on a specific maker and are usually hesitant to have anyone else make their shoes. Most pointe shoes are a basic pink colour and can be painted or dyed to match a particular costume.

Dancers also make further adjustments to a completed pointe shoe. Some dancers prefer the sole to be more flexible and the box to be much softer than those in a brand new shoe. A number of methods, such as beating the shoe on the floor, slamming the pointe in a doorframe or even pounding it with a hammer will achieve the softening desired! Dancers sew their own ribbons on the shoes, and in some cases, sew on elastics to help hold the shoe securely to the foot. Dancers keep their shoes clean using a special cleaning fluid. All of this care is taken for shoes that will probably last for only a few performances, and often, if a particular role calls for a great deal of pointe work, for only one performance. A dancer rehearsing a role calling for a lot of pointe work could go through four to six pairs a week, with each pair costing approximately $75.

BALLET Shoes

SLIPPERS, BOOTS AND SHOESMale dancers wear a soft ballet slipper, a tightly fitting shoe made of fabric or leather. The slipper has a pleated toe rather than the hard fabric block of the pointe shoe, and a pair will usually last from one to three weeks. Women also dance in the soft ballet slippers in roles where no pointe work is required.

A character or jazz shoe is worn in many modern ballets. The female character shoe is very much like a street shoe and comes in similar sizes. It has a low heel and a strap or tie to secure it to the foot. The men’s shoe also resembles a street shoe but has a soft sole like that of a ballet slipper. The jazz shoe worn by both male and female dancers resembles a flat street shoe, but is actually a specialized dancing shoe. Some ballets also require dancers to wear soft leather designed boots.

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Other forms of dance include modern, jazz, character and folk dance. Each of these forms has unique historical characteristics and artistic ideology. While classicism still plays a major role in most North American ballets, many choreographers incorporate these other techniques to introduce variation into their work.

Modern or contemporary dance originated in the United States and Europe in the 19th century in opposition to the classic-academic dance (or danse d’école) as set up by Beauchamp in the French court of Louis XIV. The first pioneers of modern dance were interested in breaking away from the rigid forms of classical ballet. Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) for example, was inspired by Greek dances of antiquity; she danced barefoot and wore revealing costumes. Ruth St. Denis (1879–1968) was inspired by eastern art. With modern dance, movement became freer. For example, in modern dance the torso can move without restriction whereas in ballet, the back is almost always held straight. In modern dance, movements also became more “earth-bound”, as opposed to ballet where movements are light and “air-bound”.

Jazz dancing, like jazz music, evolved from African tribal dances and rhythms. African-Americans adapted the African dance technique of isolating individual moving parts of the body to the needs of their new social surroundings. The name “jazz” first surfaced in 1917.

OTHER FORMS OF DANCEDuring the 1920s North Americans introduced jazz into various forms of vaudeville show business, eagerly adopting this style.

Character dance is a general term for all kinds of dance that reside outside the bounds of the classic-academic dance, which derive from traditional and national sources. Character dance is usually done as a form of entertainment for an audience. Examples include the Italian Tarantella, Hungarian Czardas and the Polish Mazurka.

Folk dance has developed within the traditional environment of ethnic peoples. Coined in the 18th century, “folk dance” is a term that differentiates “dances of the people” from the more regulated dance of higher social classes. Folk dance occurs primarily for its own inherent enjoyment or for an attached social significance, rather than for an audience. American Square dancing and English Morris dancing are two typical examples of folk dance.

As you can see, the world of dance is an interconnected whole with a rich history of tradition which has been passed down from generation to generation. Within the dance world there are no boundaries of nationality or race, making the art of dance a truly global experience.

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CHARACTERS

NANCYA young woman whose life is like a Cinderella story

BOBA young man accustomed to being the centre of attention

DOGNancy’s faithful companion

FATHERA wealthy entrepreneur who travels for business

STEPMOTHERAn aristocrat and haughty gold-digger

STEPSISTERSSpoiled and mean brats

THE GODMOTHERWho makes wishes come true

ACT I

PROLOGUE:The hum of the television is an almost constant presence and source of delight for Nancy, a solitary young woman whose mother has passed away and whose father is frequently gone on business. Although she is often alone, she is not lonely; she has the companionship of her faithful dog and the household staff, all of whom dote on her. And she spends hours in front of the television, which sparks her imagination – particularly the announcement of the upcoming broadcast of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

SCENE I: THE FAMILY ESTATEThe servants busy themselves, happily preparing for the return of Nancy’s father from his most recent trip. No one is more excited than Nancy. But a chill descends when she sees that her father is not alone; he is accompanied by a new wife, her two daughters and her ever-present cat. The new family uneasily gets acquainted.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Val Caniparoli MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS & ORCHESTRATIONS: Ron Paley

SCENIC AND COSTUME DESIGN: Sandra Woodall LIBRETTO: Sheryl Flatow & Val Caniparoli LIGHTING AND SOUND DESIGN: Alexander V. Nichols

Nancy discovers that her father must leave again on business, and they bid each other a bittersweet goodbye. The servants, having been inhumanely overworked by the stepmother, are so frazzled that they quit. Nancy is left with the responsibility of cleaning the house. Her stepsisters are enjoying the television, now in their control, when the program they are watching is interrupted with tragic news.

SCENE II: THE FAMILY ESTATE–A FEW DAYS LATERThe stepfamily devises a plan to poison the dog, who outsmarts them and escapes. Nancy searches for him, to no avail. Her search is interrupted when the doorbell rings and a messenger appears with invitations to the big winter dance.

SCENE III: THE DANCE STUDIO The stepfamily heads off to a dance class to brush up on their skills before the big event. The stepmother forbids Nancy from attending, but she defiantly follows them. The class is in progress when a handsome young man named Bob appears in the doorway. Every woman in the room is spellbound. All the women vie for his attention, none more so than Nancy.

SCENE IV: THE FAMILY ESTATE The stepmother and stepsisters primp and prepare for the big evening. As the three women are about to leave, Nancy emerges from her room, ready to accompany them. But her stepmother orders her to stay home and continue working. Left alone, Nancy cannot hide her desolation. In the depths of her misery, her godmother appears.

SCENE V: A GARDEN The godmother uses her special gifts to transport Nancy to a magical garden filled with enchanting creatures – all of whom look vaguely familiar. Together with the godmother, the animals lovingly transform Nancy into the belle of the ball. The godmother warns her that she must leave the dance before midnight, for at that time the magic will reverse itself. The girl happily agrees, and under the light of a blue moon, departs for the dance.

SynopsisA CINDERELLA STORY


ACT II

SCENE I: THE STARLIGHT BALLROOM The dance is in full swing when Bob makes his entrance; once again he takes over the room. At last Nancy arrives, and time seems to stop. She appears vaguely familiar to Bob, and as he gazes on her now, he is smitten. When at last they meet, they heat up the evening with a pas de deux.

Nancy and Bob have eyes only for each other. Nancy loses track of time, and is shocked when she hears the first of twelve gongs counting down to midnight. As the last gong sounds, she runs into the open elevator with Bob in pursuit.

SCENE II: A CORNER OF THE ESTATE / SOMEWHERE IN A PARK Unbeknownst to each other, Bob and Nancy simultaneously reminisce about the evening and their lost love.

SCENE III: THE FAMILY ESTATE It’s the day after the dance, and the stepsisters, consumed by jealousy, torment Nancy with renewed vigor. As the stepmother intervenes, they all stop to listen to a special television announcement about a

Synopsis ContinuedA CINDERELLA STORY

handsome young heir who is asking his mystery woman to rendezvous with him that evening in the ballroom.

The stepmother and stepsisters have the same thought; they cannot let Nancy out of the house. Before the unsuspecting girl realizes what is happening, the stepfamily is upon her and ties her up. They believe that with Nancy out of the way, they have a chance with Bob. But after they leave, an old friend returns to set Nancy free.

SCENE IV: THE BALLROOM Bob is alone in the ballroom, when the elevator doors open and a mob of young women swoop down on him. Each girl has done her best to look like Nancy, in the belief that she can trick Bob into believing she is his lost love. But no one dances like his mystery woman. Suddenly the elevator doors open again and Nancy appears.

SCENE V: A GARDEN The godmother, with assistance from the animals, again transforms the surroundings into a magnificent outdoor setting. A gold moon shines down. As the stepmother and her daughters leave town, Nancy and Bob settle in to watch Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.… And they lived happily ever after.

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Cinderella may well be the most durable and popular heroine ever created. Every country, every culture, every generation and every genre can lay claim to her, even though she might go by a different name and face travails that share few similarities to the Charles Perrault fairy tale or Walt Disney’s animated movie.

It’s been estimated that some 1,500 variations on the story exist, dating at least as far back as the ninth century to a Chinese folk tale called Yu Yang Ts Tsu. In that version the girl is named Yeh-hsien, and over 1,100 years later, some of the details of the story are strikingly familiar; a wicked stepmother, a wish granted, a ball, a lost shoe, a prince. A short list of other cultures and countries with a claim on the story includes Russia, Norway, Serbia, Greece, Denmark, Portugal, the Middle East, Chile, India, Vietnam, Japan, Scotland, Ireland, England, Italy and the Himalayas. There is a Canadian version about a Native American warrior named Strong Wind, “known for his wondrous deeds,” who marries the youngest of three sisters, a mistreated, Cinderella-like figure. Countless movies and/or plays are indebted to this timeless tale, including Pygmalion, The Slipper and the Rose, Maid in Manhattan, My Fair Lady, Sabrina Fair (stage), Sabrina (film), The Glass Slipper, Ella Enchanted, Working Girl, Pretty Woman, Ever After, and the gender-bending Cinderfella, with Jerry Lewis in the title role. There are operas by Massenet (Cendrillon) and Gioachino Rossini (La Cenerentola). And ever since Serge Prokofiev composed his superb score for ballerina Galina Ulanova and choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky 60 years ago, numerous productions have been mounted by ballet companies all over the world – but not until October 2004 by Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

Artistic Director André Lewis had long hoped to give the Company a Cinderella of its own. But he wanted a fresh take, a deviation from the standard production. So when he invited Val Caniparoli to choreograph a full-length Cinderella for RWB, his one stipulation was that the music for the ballet be something other than Prokofiev.

Val was immediately intrigued. Despite his admiration for Prokofiev, he was not interested in following the blueprint for the ballet laid out in the music or working on a composition that had been used by so many other choreographers. He has always challenged himself musically and he

wanted to set his ballet to a score that was unexpected, creating from the ground up a more contemporary Cinderella.

At the same time that he was asked to choreograph Cinderella, Val received an invitation to contribute a piece to a gala benefit program celebrating the centennial of Richard Rodgers’ birth in 2002. Knowing he is a fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, I suggested he consider that score for his ballet. His response was an emphatic no. But in the process of choosing material to use for the gala, he began to warm to the notion of Cinderella danced to Rodgers music. He invited me to write the libretto for the ballet, and work with him on selecting music.

Val wanted to use just a few songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella – from the very beginning, he did not want to be beholden to that material – and essentially create a new score culled from the composer’s body of work. We listened to dozens of CDs, and it quickly became apparent to both of us that much of the Rodgers and Hammerstein canon had to be eliminated from consideration. We didn’t want songs that were overly familiar, or so intertwined with a specific show that they’d seem out of place in the ballet. “Some Enchanted Evening,” for instance, might seem like the perfect song for Cinderella to meet her prince, but it’s so well-known and so inexorably linked to South Pacific that we didn’t think it would work in a different context. The same was true for numbers like “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” “Climb Every Mountain” and on and on.

So we focused on the classic songs of Rodgers and Hart, most of which were written in the 1920s and ’30s. Dozens of these songs are standards, but because most were written for shows that are today unknown and un-revivable, most people, sadly, are not familiar with them. And when the songs are known, they are not associated with the musical in which they originated. This gave us carte blanche to choose the most appropriate material. As we listened to these witty, sexy, funny, wistful, heartbreaking, elegant, jazzy songs, we realized they had all the colours and emotions we hoped for in the ballet. Ultimately we decided not to use the Cinderella score; with just a few exceptions, most of the songs heard in the ballet were written by Rodgers and Hart.

Yet that 1957 telecast of Cinderella informs the entire ballet. Television was still a novelty in the ’50s, when

The HistoryCINDERELLA BY: Sheryl Flatow - Librettist


people would happily sit and stare at test patterns. So a musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, then the most famous songwriting team in the world, and starring Julie Andrews, who had leaped to stardom a year earlier in My Fair Lady, generated a level of excitement unfathomable today.

A Cinderella Story is set in 1957, and unlike the telecast or most versions of the Prokofiev ballet, we strove to create an immediacy and familiarity, beginning with the characters names: no Cinderella, no Prince, just Nancy and Bob. Along with set and costume designer Sandra Woodall, and lighting and sound designer Alexander V. Nichols, we wanted this version of Cinderella to convey a heightened – and very elegant – sense of reality. The iconic image for all of us was Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, and Sandra was particularly inspired by the couture houses of the ’50s, by Givenchy, Dior and Balenciaga. Ordinary sights and sounds further help establish a very real sense of time and place, which in turn will hopefully make the surprises that much more surprising, and the magic that much more magical.

Once we had an outline for the story, we began to select the music. Although there are no vocals, we tried to pick songs with lyrics that in some way match the moment, so that anyone familiar with the words would understand the reason a particular

song was chosen. (There’s a song called “This Funny World” that begins, “A mop, a broom, a pail,” which we were originally considering using. But we were certain that just about no one would know the verse begins with those words, and the joke would be lost. The song didn’t make the cut.)

Val wanted the music arranged into a blues and jazz score, and when he met Winnipeg pianist and bandleader Ron Paley and heard him play a few bars, he knew that no one was better suited for the job. “Ron’s contribution to the ballet cannot be overstated,” he says. “His work is incredible.” Despite the jazzy nature of the score, A Cinderella Story is very much a classical ballet, albeit one that encompasses various forms of ballroom dancing.

“It’s so interesting to me how many different permutations there are of Cinderella,” Val says. “And regardless of how the story is told, it always seems to strike a chord. I hope this ballet will be reassuringly familiar to people, in the sense that it’s got the stepfamily and the lost shoe and the ball and magic and romance – just like that Chinese story had a thousand years ago. But at the same time I hope everything about the ballet is a constant surprise; the story, the music, the choreography. I want to meet people’s expectations, and surpass them.”

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The History ContinuedCINDERELLA


THE GOLDEN ERADuring the 1950’s the economic austerity of World War II was replaced with one of the largest booms in American history. This era, sometimes called Post-War America, saw a surge in wealth and consumerism in contrast to the insidious backdrop of the Cold War.

A population explosion, known as the Baby Boom, drove the expansion of iconic North American-style suburbs of sprawling individual family homes. Developers such as William J. Levitt produced enormous numbers of identical suburban homes cheaply, allowing a growing middle class to purchase their own home to house their expanding families. As the population moved out of city centres, new businesses sprung up in the suburbs, and so the shopping mall was born.

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In fashion a move away from wartime rationing and conservatism saw greater excess and experimentation. New synthetic fabrics brought new possibilities. Luxury items like washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions became common symbols of economic status. Suburbanization led to an explosion of automobile sales and manufacturing, and the rise of ‘hot rod’ culture.

With this new-found prosperity, more and more North Americans defined themselves as middle class. Although the boom exhausted itself in the 1960’s, this period was formative in the North American psyche and remains a much lauded Golden Era of North American culture today.


THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGETelevision was a transformative force in mid-century North America, and this relationship is at the heart of A Cinderella Story. Society’s norms, values, and ways of doing things change along with technology - think of how the internet, cell phones, and social media have changed the way we live.

The Golden Age of Television encompassed the 1950’s and 1960’s as television became the dominant form of home entertainment in America. Famous series such as The Twilight Zone and I Love Lucy aired along with film classics like The Wizard of Oz and Shakespearean plays. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella aired on CBS on March 31, 1957, to an audience of more than 107 million viewers. The 1957 version wasn’t recorded, but a remake was launched in 1965 which was so popular it became the most watched non-sports special to air on CBS television until its record was broken in 2009.

Marshall McLuhan, the Canadian philosopher and communication theorist, coined the phrase ‘the medium is the message’ in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964, to describe the interconnected relationship between content and its medium. The medium not only changes how we perceive content, it changes the content itself. Consider how television might influence the color of costumes (designers might opt for costuming that shows well on screen, for example) or how a story may be redacted to fit within a timeslot, like when a book is adapted into a movie. Ballet, by comparison, uses a certain repertoire of dance and relies on movement and mime, rather than dialogue, to tell a story.

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ACTIVITY Watch the TV version of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella and consider how television influenced the classic story. By comparison, how does ballet shape the story? Is one medium more suited than the other?

MODERN ADAPTATIONS OF CLASSIC STORIESThey say there are no new stories. Can you match these stage and film re-makes with the original stories that inspired them?

A West Side Story Cinderella

Ever After The Odyssey

O Brother, Where Art Thou? Pygmalion

Clueless Emma

10 Things I Hate About You Romeo and Juliet

My Fair Lady The Taming of the Shrew


At the end of the story, Bob and Nancy sit down in front of the television to live happily ever after. What does this say about them? What does happily ever after mean to you?

What would Cinderella look like if it took place today? Pick your favourite scene and act, dance, or write out your interpretation as a screen play.

Define these terms and discuss how they relate to the ballet:• Americana• Kitsch• Jazz• Musical• Adaptation• Campy• Mime• Self-referential• Pop culture• Conventional

Post-war American saw a surge in advertising – and consumerism – as wondrous new products like televisions, washing machines, vacuums, and shiny new homes in the suburbs hit the market. Find examples of advertisements from this era. What kind of ‘happily ever after’ were they selling? Why do you think these messages resonated?

Research western fashion from the 1950’s. Can you see this era’s influence on fashion today? Draw and design your own costumes for the characters from A Cinderella Story.

How would the story be different if it were set during out current time period?

Write a revised version of a well-known fairy tale of your choosing. Change the characters, perspective, settings, beginning, and ending to fit with the new time period. Your class can assemble all of your stories into a book.

Watch or read another version of Cinderella (refer to our History of Cinderella section for inspiration) and compare it to RWB’s A Cinderella Story. How are the characters, plot, and settings different?

Investigate Cinderella-type stories from around the world. Consider the cultural backgrounds and how they affect the story and use a Venn diagram to compare the stories to RWB’s A Cinderella Story.

CLASSROOM Activities

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LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! Write to: Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet | 380 Graham Avenue | Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 4K2 [email protected]

LIKE ALL LIVE PRODUCTIONS, EACH BALLET PERFORMANCE ONLY HAPPENS ONCE.

It is a combination of the performers on stage and the audiences in front of them that make each performance unique.

For this reason, it is in the audience’s best interest to be visibly and audibly attentive and appreciative – the better the audience, the better the performance on stage will be.

Documents

VAL CANIPAROLI’S A CINDERELLA - Canada's …rwb.org/uploads/documents/15_cinderella_studyguide_WEB.pdf · VAL CANIPAROLI’S STORY A ... Following her coronation in 1953, she bestowed