Central dance ensemble is performing the familiar story of “Cinderella.” But don’t think about the classic Disney Cinderella because this one is based off of the story written back in the 1600’s.

Tyler Lovie, junior clinical physiology major, plays the role of the prince.

“I wanna say it’s love at first sight ‘cause that’s exactly what happens,” Lovie said.

We all know Cinderella is a story about overcoming the adversity in our lives, but other major themes include love, staying true to yourself, and having courage. Lovie has been rehearsing since January, and is confident in delivering the best performance of his life.

This isn’t Tyler’s first show, he has practiced ballet for a year and a half.He’s also starred in the “Nutcracker” and “The Arabian.”

“I think the hardest thing was learning how to move in such a ‘princely’ fashion,” said Lovie. “Men can do ballet and it doesn’t have to be like super feminine or anything. You can be masculine and manly in a ballet even wearing tights and stuff.”

Cinderella is played by Jada Terry, who is a running start student here at Central and loves ballet. In fact, she loves ballet so much, she’s been dancing since she was four years old.

“Alice in Wonderland,” “The Nutcracker” and “Sleeping Beauty” are just a few of her performances which highlight her career on stage. Terry loves a challenging role, so she couldn’t resist taking on the part of Cinderella.

“Cindy’s choreography is challenging for sure,” Terry said “As we progressed through it, it was more about figuring out how I’m supposed to feel in each part, and the artistry, and things like that.”

Cindy Bruns is experiencing her first show at Central as its artistic director for dance ensemble. Prior to this, Bruns was assistant choreographer with the Wildcats for five years.

“We chose Cinderella because it’s a fun family ballet,” Bruns said. “It was an opportunity to really highlight the dancers we have in our ensemble this year.”

This ballet is not just any ordinary take on “Cinderella.” The director made a strong lead in how unique their performance is compared to other plays or even Disney’s twist towards a timeless classic.

“This ballet’s more based on the original story written in the 1600’s. The story of “Cinderella” actually has more elements to it than what Disney brought to life,” Bruns suggested.