Syracuse City Ballet’s production to showcase ‘Cinderella’

Playing at The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater on March 14 and 15, Syracuse City Ballet’s production of “Cinderella” will be the company’s third performance of the season, following “Dracula” and “The Nutcracker.” Choreographed by Kathleen Rathbun, the company’s founder and artistic director, the ballet features 50 artists including Syracuse City Ballet dancers and students. 

The costumes are designed by ballet master Aldo Santiago. The production also features classic hand-painted sets. Felipe Panamá, the company’s marketing associate and photographer, said this is a novelty today because many productions have switched to using projections in order to reduce costs.  

“We feel that the value of the hand-painted craft is getting lost, and I feel like it adds a lot to the feeling and atmosphere of a ballet, especially like ‘Cinderella,’” said Panamá, who also plays the male counterpart of the Spring Fairy. 

Claire Rathbun, Kathleen’s daughter, stars as Cinderella. Rathbun moved to Philadelphia when she was 16 to go to a specialized dance school. She went on to dance in the Washington Ballet, where she performed in their productions of “Swan Lake,” “Sleepy Hollow” and “Alice in Wonderland.” She also performed in the Broadway production of “Cats.” 

Claire said she is excited to be back in Syracuse and sees this as a way to give back to her city.  

Manoela Leopoldino, who plays the role of the Spring Fairy in Syracuse City Ballet’s production of “Cinderella,” executes a grandjeté. Courtesy of Felipe Panamá

“I’ve been a part of the Syracuse arts throughout my life,” she said. “But this is a huge deal, because this is the first time that Syracuse has its very own ballet company. There’s representation from all over the world, and I consider it so incredible and lucky for the city of Syracuse to have this.” 

For Isaac Lee, who plays the male counterpart of the Summer Fairy in this production, this will be his first major production. Lee is a former student of the Houston Ballet Academy. He said he is happy about the representation in the show and how it defies traditional gender roles. 

 “Although fairies are more of a female role, traditionally, I think that it’s important for males to be represented and to represent our masculinity on stage,” Lee said.  

The male fairies are a huge part of the production’s aim of reimagining representation because they represent romantic and platonic love between two people, Claire said. She feels that the best way to depict this is incorporating a male fairy, as it also breaks the gender norms and stereotypes connected to fairies.    

“The first thing they think when they think of fairies are little females with wings on and they’re very nymph-like, but in this production the fairies are telling Cinderella that, like, everything in her life is gonna be okay,” Claire said. “They’re teaching her about love and about how things always will get better.”