Virtual Museum

Cinderella

About the Ballet

As one of the oldest and best-known tales in the world, Cinderella has been diffused through countless cultures. Versions of the story are present in Africa, Asia, Europe, India, North America, the Middle East and Indonesia. Charles Perrault, the well-known author of Tales of Mother Goose, was the first to publish his version of the Cinderella story in Europe, and as such, it is one of the best-known tellings of the tale.

The first ballet based on the story was performed in 1815 in St. Petersburg followed by Cendrillon in 1822 in London with choreography by François Decombe Albert. In the first half of the 20th century a number of well-known choreographers created versions of the tale, including Andrée Howard and Michel Fokine, but none have survived. Sergei Prokofiev created a score for a full-length ballet based on the story of Cinderella in 1945 which was used by two Russian companies. Shortly thereafter Sir Frederick Ashton became the first Western choreographer to use Prokofiev’s score for Cinderella at Sadler’s Wells Ballet in England. Following Ashton’s production a number of versions have been staged in the Western world including Ben Stevenson’s 1970 version for the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., which has been performed by a number of companies including the English National Ballet, Boston Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada before it was replaced with James Kudelka’s version in 2004.

View the exhibit now

Ballet Notes

Get more insight into the production - Ballet Notes are detailed guides to the company's dynamic repertoire. Read the synopsis and articles and view more photos in the Cinderella Ballet Note.

Read the 2010 Ballet Notes

Read the 2014 Ballet Notes