Dartmouth dancer takes centre stage with Ballet Jörgen's Cinderella
Cinderella's glass slipper may not make the most comfortable ballet shoe, but the fairy tale certainly makes for a good ballet as the show takes centre stage in Halifax this week with a Dartmouth dancer as part of the magic.
One of Canada's premier ballet companies, Ballet Jörgen, is bringing the fairytale to Halifax for two performances with Symphony Nova Scotia.
Reviewers have called it a "honey of a production -- one that brings magic back to the ballet stage."
Dartmouth dancer Hannah Mae Cruddas will perform the role of fairy godmother.
"As a dancer, I find a lot of the movements that I do quite challenging," the 21-year-old told CBC's Mainstreet.
"I'm able to delve into a strong side and a very delicate side of this character. The fairy godmother is very commanding and strong in her movements, but then she also has a very kind heart and she wants to be able to share her magic with Cinderella. So I love being able to balance both of those."
In Ballet Jörgen's version of Cinderella, the fairy godmother also makes a pass at the prince after Cinderella loses her glass slipper at the end of the palace ball.
Began training in Halifax
"I wind up meeting the prince in the forest, trying to bewitch him to make him believe that he's falling for another beautiful maiden, but I'm actually just testing his love for Cinderella," Cruddas said.
Her last performance with a prince on stage happened not that long ago, during her debut as Clara in Symphony Nova Scotia's annual production of The Nutcracker.
Performing smaller roles such as a mouse and one of Mother Ginger's children in The Nutcracker as a kid made the experience of coming back to dance the role of Clara all the more special.
"I had always dreamt of doing that, and had kind of watched and tried to learn some of the choreography as a kid. So coming to it as a professional, it was a lot of fun because I kind of knew some of the choreography already."
Cruddas began her dance training at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts School of Dance in Halifax and at the Leica Harder School of Dance in Dartmouth.
In 2009, she joined Canada's National Ballet School in Toronto.
She was a member of Ballet Jörgen's junior company, then an apprentice, before becoming a company dancer in 2012.
"What drew me to dance initially was the grace and the beauty of it. But now I see that there's so much more," says Hannah Mae.
"There's so much strength. There has to be a real fire and drive behind it, which I love being able to incorporate in what I do every day. I'm just so blessed to be able to do what I love every day."
Ballet Jörgen and Symphony Nova Scotia present Cinderella at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 17 and Saturday April 18.
