A review of
Pacific Northwest Ballet in "Cinderella" by Helene Kaplan for
danceviewtimes.
On opening night, Carla Korbes and Karel Cruz danced Cinderella and Prince, with Carrie Imler as the trio of protectors. As a pair Korbes and Cruz have a glowing warmth and simpatico. There is little traditional mime in "Cinderella" -- the Jester has most of it -- but there is plenty of physical characterization, at which Cruz excels. (Last season, when he danced in the foreboding central pas de deux in Lopez Ochoa's "Cylindrical Shadows" with his wife Lindsi Dec, it was heart-wrenching.) Korbes' dancing is intrinsically warm, with a creamy quality complemented by Carrie Imler's own, and when she eschews glamor, like in this role, she is a sunny presence. Her approach here was to be and to absorb, and she basked in Imler's regal softness towards her and in the Prince's love for her.