Cinder Ella curators, Marilu Wiesner and Mira Treatman, worked in the pre-production process to find creative inspiration for the show. In order to give choreographers a specific but liberating task of creating work for this modern ballet, the ideas and images are both diverse and cohesive. The goal of the background information is help give every collaborator involved a sense of the world the audience is immersed in.
The ball scene will take place at the Apollo Theater in 1934. In this period it played a major role in the lives of many famous jazz musicians. The theater was built in 1917, but it was not until 1934 that jazz became the primary form of entertainment. This year also marked the first time the theatre became integrated. Prior to 1934 it was a venue for burlesque and theater. Ella aspired to sing at the Apollo despite knowing about the segregation of the theater.
The Prince
http://indianapublicmedia.org/
Benny Carter*, who will represent the prince, discovered Ella at age 16. She received her first big break at the Apollo Theater in Harlem when she won an amateur night contest and impressed saxophonist-bandleader Benny Carter. He referred her to drummer Chick Webb, which marked the beginning of her career. When Cinderella traditionally goes to the ball, the prince notices her. The same goes at the Apollo for Benny Carter. What captivates the prince in this production will be more than her beauty; it will be her talent and charisma.
*As we moved through the creative process we decided Louis Armstrong, though historically inaccurate to Ella's life, would be a more charming and well-known figure to use as the prince. Louis Armstrong sang some tunes with Ella, but worked with her mostly later in her career.
The Fairy Godmother
http://bretlittlehales.blogspot.com/
Connie Boswell was a singer who Ella looked up to as a young girl. She listened to her records with her mother before she died. Their vocal styles have some significant similarities. In our artistic vision the fairy godmother will represent Connie Boswell, one third of the Boswell Sisters. Much in the same way that the Fairy Godmother whisks Cinderella away to the ball, Boswell's music whisked Ella to a dream-like place in her imagination.