Kean Stage Presents Russian National Ballet's CINDERELLA Tonight

The Russian National Ballet will perform Cinderella, an enchanting fairy tale of everlasting love at Kean University's Wilkins Theatre tonight, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. Cinderella intertwines comedy and drama with color and grace in this rags-to-riches story proving the power of dreams. Set to the lyrical and jubilant score by Prokofiev, this time-honored ballet will delight audiences of all ages with its magic, beauty and romance.

The Russian National Ballet Theatre under the artistic directorship of Elena Radchenko was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union's ballet institutions were exercising their new-found creative freedom by starting new, vibrant companies dedicated not only to the timeless tradition of classical Russian Ballet but to invigorate this tradition as the Russians began to accept new developments in the dance from around the world.

The company, then titled the Soviet National Ballet, was founded by and incorporated graduates from the great Russian choreographic schools of Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. The principal dancers of the company came from the upper ranks of the great ballet companies and academies of Russia, and the companies of Riga, Kiev and even Warsaw. Today, the Russian National Ballet Theatre is its own institution, with over 50 dancers of singular instruction and vast experience, many of whom have been with the company since its inception.

Wilkins Theatre is located on Kean University's main campus at 1000 Morris Avenue in Union, N.J. Tickets are $35 Standard; $20 Senior, Student, Child and are available at the Wilkins Theatre Box Office on campus, by calling 908-737-SHOW (7469), and online at www.keanstage.com.