Fantasy and reality intertwined at the March 14 premiere of the Boston Ballet’s 2024 production of “Cinderella,” where every scene sparkled with breathtaking dance and a spellbinding set, and a classic love story was performed delicately and dreamily. The stage of the Citizens Bank Opera House went from a dusty living room to a grand ballroom, a place of hopelessness to one of romance. Through graceful movement and magical stagecraft, the familiar story of a turn of fate created a feeling of wonder the audience enjoyed for a dreamlike two and a half hours. The production, which ran from March 14–24, was a captivating journey into enchantment, fitting perfectly into the company’s impressive repertoire.  

Cinderella is a folk tale with thousands of variations about a romantic story of a girl’s shift from a servant to a princess. The 1950 Disney animated film was based on French author Charles Perrault’s version of the story, Cendrillon, which introduced components such as the fairy godmother and the glass slipper to the tale. The original premise, dating back to Greek philosopher Strabo’s “Rhodopis” sometime between 7 B.C.E. and 23 A.D., involved a girl who loses her sandal and eventually marries the king after he finds the shoe in his possession and discovers her to be the owner. The story has gone through many iterations across cultures and thousands of years, though it always centers around a lost shoe and a metamorphosis from rags to riches.