RAPID CITY, SD – The timeless tale of a glass slipper and a midnight deadline came to life Tuesday night as the World Ballet Company brought its production of Cinderella to the Fine Arts Theatre at The Monument.

The performance drew a capacity crowd. While the crowd included fans of all ages, there was a particularly high number of young girls dressed in their favorite princess attire, adding to the evening’s enchanted atmosphere.

The production featured a global cast of dancers, but it was Andrea Lassakova who commanded the stage as the Fairy Godmother. Her performance was excellent providing the necessary grace and poise to ground the show’s more fantastical elements. The dancers, Ekaterina Lukianova and Igor Leushin portraying Cinderella and the Prince were also standout performers. 

While the ballet is rooted in classical tradition, this version leaned into slapstick and Broadway-style comedic relief. Much of the laughter was prompted by the antics of the stepmother and the stepsisters, whose over-the-top performances provided a sharp contrast to the elegance of the leads. 

The enthusiastic turnout in Rapid City stands in direct contrast to recent comments made by actor Timothée Chalamet, who sparked controversy when he questioned it’s relevance “I don’t wanna be working in ballet or opera or, you know, things where it’s like, ‘Hey, keep this thing alive though it’s like, no one cares about this thing anymore,'” Chalamet recently stated during an industry event.

The response from Rapid City suggests otherwise. The local audience demonstrated that the world still cares about ballet, as the performance concluded with a thunderous standing ovation from the packed house as the cast took their final bows.