'Cinderella' comes to stage

Placer Theatre Ballet and a cast of 85 will present "Cinderella," an original staging of the classic fairytale May 18-20 at Placer High School.Though productions are performed in Auburn, the nonprofit company holds auditions and rehearsals in Rocklin. Not associated with any particular dance studio, PTB offers local dancers an opportunity to perform on a professional level with guest artists from all over the world.For "Cinderella," Bettina Sarmiento and Luke Jaffe return to the ballet after relocating to Rocklin from Kentucky following performances with PTB in last year's "Nutcracker.""One of the main reasons they moved here was to work with Placer Theatre Ballet and fulfill their dream to teach and direct ballet productions," said Boyanna Mitchell, who is in charge of media relations for PTB.Sarmiento, who was the Sugar Plum Fairy in "Nutcracker," trained at the San Francisco Ballet and has danced with Fort Worth Dallas Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Nashville Ballet and Ballet Iowa. She has had numerous roles on stages across the country and was awarded Outstanding Achievement in Ballet by the Filipino-American Association in 1995. She is the guest director/choreographer of "Cinderella" along with Jaffe.Jaffe, who was the Cavalier in "Nutcracker," has been dancing since the age of 4. A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Jaffe has danced in South Africa, Cleveland and Louisville. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dance, National School of Arts in Johannesburg and with the Bolshoi Ballet School. Jaffe also makes frequent guest artist appearances and teaches master classes in the U.S. and internationally.Although Sarmiento and Jaffe will not be dancing in the production, the cast will be joined by professional guest artists Mikelle Brukina, Tom Fillebown and Cassie Minehart.Brukzina, who will play the title character in "Cinderella," is originally from Lexington, Ky., but spent her high school career in Canada. After graduating from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Brukzina became a principal dancer with The Lexington Ballet, The Louisville Ballet and The National Ballet of Maryland. She also choreographs and teaches ballet.Fillebrown will play the role of the prince in the production. He hails from Rochester, Mass., and has been dancing since he was 9. He has trained at Stanley Holden Dance Center, The New Jersey Ballet and The Joffrey Ballet School. He has danced professionally with The Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, Nevada Dance Theatre and The Louisville Ballet.Minehart, who plays the fairy godmother, trained at the Pontecorvo Ballet Studios and danced with Gem City Ballet. She danced professionally with the Sacramento Ballet and has recently been teaching ballet in Rocklin and is a member of Ballet Rejoice.Of the 85 cast members, seven are from Granite Bay. These include Ashley Arrington (12 Hours), Rachel Finerman (Pumpkin), Madeline Frey (Little Mouse), Marissa Huang (Sprite), Kealy Jaynes (Royal Princess), Dani Nations (Royal Princess) and Hannah Silva (Sprite).The two stepsisters will be played by men, which is common on stage. Victor Ivaschenko of Citrus Heights and Craig Fay of Roseville, both veterans of PTB's "Nutcracker," will be playing the roles."It should be hilarious," said Mitchell. "They are really getting into their character roles. Whenever they rehearse, they have everyone in stitches."While Sarmiento and Jaffe direct some of the more advanced ballet scenes, PTB founder Pat Colgate remains the artistic director for the overall production."Pat is staging the show, which consists of some music from the 'Cinderella Ballet' composed by Prokofiev," said Mitchell. Colgate also designed and created new costumes for this production of "Cinderella." Colgate has created all of the costumes for PTB productions and as artistic director and founder has been making local dancing dreams come true for nearly a decade.PTB began performing its annual "Nutcracker" in 1999 and in 2000 added its first spring performance - "Alice in Wonderland." "Alice" was replaced in 2005 with the debut of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." "Alice" returned last year as the spring performance. This year marks the debut of "Cinderella" for PTB.As with any debut, it took a lot of work to pull off. In addition to yards of expensive fabric and countless sequins, PTB had some additional staging challenges.The coach was designed and built by John and Bonnie Daleo and Walt and Beth Schneider in the Daleos' garage. Both local couples are associated with the ballet. While the men did most of the building and engineering, the women did the artistic work and the upholstery. "It proved to be quite a feat to conceptualize, engineer and build such an elaborate fully-functioning stage prop in their garage with no blueprint and no previous experience in this kind of work," said Mitchell.She added that it is quite luxurious, too. "They made a concerted effort to insure that everything was smooth and cushioned to provide comfort to the passenger (Cinderella) and prevent accidental tears to her costume," said Mitchell.No doubt the same care will be taken with the audiences experience.Placer Theatre Balletpresents'Cinderella'May 18-20Placer High Theatre, AuburnFriday and Saturday 7 p.m.Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m.Tickets $10-16630-7820www.placertheatreballet.org