The Kansas Youth Dance Company will bring the fairy tale classic “Cinderella” to the Bowlus Fine Arts Center stage Thursday and Friday.
The curtain rises at 7 p.m. with tickets available for $10 apiece at the door, or at Mike’s Carpet World in advance.
“The kids have put in an lot of extra hours,” said Jesse Cooper, KYDC instructor.
The extra demand is twofold. First, because the dance company had never done a spring show before, work began almost immediately after the troupe completed its Christmastime performance of “The Nutcracker.”
Second, with spring break beginning Saturday, Cooper bumped up the show a week ahead of schedule.
Roughly 40 dancers, ages 6 to 18, of almost exclusively company dancers are a part of the production, Cooper noted.
A trio of KYDC dancers have featured roles.
Zoie Stewart portrays Cinderella, while Chelsea Lea and Mackenzie Weseloh are her evil stepsisters.
Cooper will be a featured performer as well, portraying the prince in one of his first dances since he was critically injured in a car accident in March 2011.
In addition, two new performers, Blayke Reynolds and Kalob Cleaver, Iola High School students, have been added to the roster.
They had bit parts in “The Nutcracker” and asked to be a part of “Cinderella.”
“We’re glad to have them,” Cooper said.
The production features a combination of experience and youth, he said. Rehearsals have lasted up to eight hours a day on weekends.
“It’s primarily a ballet, but with a showier quality than classical ballet,” he said. “There are lots of comedic points with character acting.”
There is no dialogue, but spectators will have no trouble following the story.
