On Friday night, Ballet Jörgen came to Jasper presenting Cinderella the ballet. The community appeared to like it, as the frequent phrase of the evening was “we need more of this type of thing in Jasper.”

Sometimes you learn things at these events. For instance the program said the story of Cinderella “has been with us since the Pharaohs of Egypt.”

This presentation of Cinderella went against the popular Disney version in that there was no pumpkin. Instead this show tried to demonstrate the qualities of the earlier story, said Jörgen.

Yet most are generally familiar with the tale. Cinderella is basically a prisoner in her own home. The Stepmother and the Stepsisters torment her trying their best to break her spirit. However, Cinderella’s unwavering strength and courage takes her beyond all odds, and with a little help from some fairies, she manages to capture Prince Charming’s heart.

Interestingly, Bengt Jörgen played the mother. He is also the artistic director and choreographer of the ballet.

The story was well portrayed with facial expression and character interaction. For example, the nauseating stepsisters were humorous in the way they dominated the highly uninterested suitors.

The dancing was quite good, although sometime it didn’t synchronize with the music.

It was difficult to get the full effect of the character movements since the feet were hard to see.

Understandably Jasper is a small town without a proper venue, but seating arrangements could have been made to enhance the experience.

Jörgens interpretation of this classic story was, without a doubt, captivating, expressive and fun.