Cinderella’s Ball in Washington

The Washington Post columnist Sarah Kaufman wrote that “(Cinderella’s) great hope, as Maria Shirinkina made clear, was for freedom. In a world of tight, clenched body language, freedom equates to grace. And so we saw Shirinkina tentatively soften and round her movements in her first solo, and then produce a glorious, full-blown unfolding of grace in her dance at the ball with Vladimir Shklyarov’s Prince. Shklyarov, who made a blazing entrance in white (...) responds to Shirinkina by toning down his astounding virtuosity. In the ballet’s final moments, as Shklyarov opened up and grew more tender, you saw anxiety pass through Shirinkina, and then float away. And the two ended up in each other’s arms ... on the floor. Not exactly a fairy-tale ending. But this was not exactly a fairy tale – it had hard edges, like life.”

In the Maryland Theatre Guide Mark Beachy noted that “In the Mariinsky Ballet’s production of Prokofiev’s Cinderella, you won’t find a pumpkin that turns into a carriage; nor will you find mice that turn into horses. What you will find is a fresh and sophisticated new interpretation of an old classic.
“Yekaterina Kondaurova is absolutely marvelous as the selfish and arrogant Stepmother. What made her performance so good was that her character-infused dancing was not limited to just the arms and legs. Her facial expressions and comical twists and turns of the head gave details to her performance which made her a step above as the Stepmother. Choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s strongest attribute was his ability to infuse character into every dancer’s role. This was most successfully done when the slow-witted sisters, Kubyshka (Yekaterina Ivannikova) and Khudishka (Margarita Frolova), were unable to learn the steps taught by the dance teachers (Nadezhda Batoeva, Islom Baimuradov) as they prepared for the ball. The tripping and falling and sliding was most comical!
“Maria Shirinkina in the title role as Cinderella danced with such feminine grace that her fluid movements could be compared to that of silk blowing in the wind. Her Prince, played by Vladimir Shklyarov, entered the stage strong and powerful, impressing the audience with a variety of leaps, jumps and spins. Together, Maria and Vladimir were paired nicely; her grace and his strength.
“With its fresh and sophisticated new interpretation, the Mariinsky Ballet’s Cinderella is truly wonderful. In the end, Cinderella does get her Prince and they all live happily ever after.”

In her review for the internet magazine DCMetroTheatreArts.com, critic Carolyn Kelemen lavished praise on the Mariinsky Ballet’s dancers, stating that “Maria Shirinkina and Vladimir Shklyarov perform a beautifully staged pas de deux, reminiscent of other great lovers like Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland...
“Their bodies melt as the violins echo such sweetness. They soar together when the French horns and woodwind instruments crescendo. Shklyarov reminds one of a young Baryshnikov when he pulls off multiple pirouettes, then turns to his lover (or perhaps the audience) with an awesome smile and a cocky ‘look-at-me’.
“When Cinderella and her Prince fall in love in a midnight waltz to Sergei Prokofiev’s luscious score (performed live by the Kennedy Center Orchestra, conducted by Mikhail Agrest), that’s the time to sit back and sigh and to marvel at the stagecraft and delight in the chemistry of the young couple dancing on stage.”