Warm, Joyous, and Deeply Moving: PNB Revives Kent Stowell’s Beloved ‘Cinderella’

Pacific Northwest Ballet continues its 2025-26 season with the return of PNB founding artistic director Kent Stowell’s wondrous Cinderella. 

Last seen onstage at McCaw Hall in February of 2020, PNB’s production conjures enchantment from this best-loved romantic fairy tale by recalling Cinderella’s late mother in a tender memory scene and then returning her in the guise of the Fairy Godmother.

In this telling of Cinderella, choreographer Kent Stowell wanted the ballet’s focus to be on Cinderella: on the harmonious family that still lives in her memory; how she manages to cope with the dysfunctional family in which she now finds herself; and her dream of a love relationship inspired by the memory of her parents’ happy marriage.

Even the characterization of the “ugly” stepsisters is a human one. Unlike Sir Frederick Ashton’s Royal Ballet production, upon which many others have been modelled, the stepsisters in PNB’s version are not played with broad, over-the-top comedy by men en travestie, but by women – unattractive in their meanness and condescension to Cinderella and ridiculous in their affectations, but human. The final pas de deux in the ballet is not a “grand pas” in the classic style, but a natural and unaffected dance for our heroine and her Prince. According to Kent Stowell, the concluding pas de deux “is a picture of the very best adult love. I think it’s what we all really want. It’s what we mean by ‘happily ever after.’”

As if stepping into the pages of a beloved story book, the ballet’s breathtaking costumes by Martin Pakledinaz and sets by Tony Straiges, in union with Prokofiev’s evocative score, vividly illustrate the familiar narrative and supports a rich array of character roles, from silly stepsisters to tiny dancing pumpkins to a charming prince. And when her ivory carriage rolls to a stop at the entrance to a magnificent golden ballroom and Cinderella takes her first, shy steps into the midst of swirling, scarlet-clad dancers, all hearts go with her into this dream come true.

Cinderella runs for ten performances only, January 30 through February 8 at Seattle Center’s Marion Oliver McCaw Hall. Tickets start at $44. The performance will also stream digitally February 12 – 16; digital access is available by subscription only. For tickets and additional information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424, in person at 301 Mercer Street, or online at PNB.org.

Almost midnight: Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Angelica Generosa as Cinderella realizes she has stayed too long at the ball in Kent Stowell’s ‘Cinderella’. PNB brings back its production of the classic fairy tale for ten performances at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall, January 30 – February 8, 2026. Photo © Angela Sterling.