From the wings: Behind the scenes of the Appalachian Ballet Company's 'Cinderella'

Amy Morton Vaughn paced the darkened stage in a whisper, ruffling her skirt, kicking her toes in the air and motioning with her hands while wordlessly mouthing her lines.

It was the Appalachian Ballet Company’s opening night of the classic "Cinderella," and the longtime artistic director quietly rehearsed her role as the evil stepmother just moments before the curtains brushed open.

“This is my first time dancing on stage since 2012,” she noted, but her time away from the stage didn't show once through her flawless, exuberant performance.

A dancer, choreographer and teacher for over 30 years, Morton Vaughn has been the creative director of the Appalachian Ballet Company since 1997, helping to set the vision for productions of classic ballets like "Cinderella" and her favorite, "The Nutcracker," which the company performs annually.

"I like to change it up each year and watch the dancers develop from their first year at (age) 10 or 11 to their senior year in high school. (It's) fun to see them grow as artists," Morton Vaughn said.

She's also chair of the advisory board for The Clayton Center for the Arts and has received the Individual Artist Fellowship from the Tennessee Arts Commission.

As the buzz from the growing audience swelled, Morton Vaughn was joined behind the curtain by Kylie Morton Berry, her eldest daughter, a reputable dancer in her own right who directed this year’s production and previously danced for the Charlotte Ballet. Laura Morton La Russa, Morton Vaughn’s youngest daughter, joined them onstage; she headlined the show as Cinderella, with husband, James La Russa, as her Prince Charming, making this performance a uniquely family affair.

This was an especially meaningful production for “Ms. Amy,” as Morton Vaughn is known, but not just because of family connections or her distinguished history with the dance company.

Morton Vaughn vividly remembers March 13, 2020, the day before COVID-19 shut everything down. 

“It was just one scheduled production that happened to be on the last night everything was open, and we put on a really special performance,” Morton Vaughn said. “And we haven’t done a production of 'Cinderella' since then, until tonight.”

After slowly rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic’s lasting effects, the Appalachian Ballet Company dazzled this March with their first performance of the classic ballet in four years.

This year’s "Cinderella" showcased dancers ages 10-63. Regardless of the dancer’s age, it takes a steady commitment and hard work behind the scenes, all the while living busy lives as full-time students and dancers. The older dancers in the show rehearsed four days per week in addition to a longer Saturday practice, while the younger dancers carved out time twice a week until the performance date neared; then it was all hands on deck.

Backstage, dancers costumed as mice skittered down the hallway from the dressing rooms, where horses, fairies, and guests of the king and queen’s ball squeezed together, giggling and putting finishing touches on their hair and makeup.

Hannah Barber,a 21-year-old who played the joker in the evening’s production, did intricate eye makeup in the mirror while a nearby sugarplum fairyput the finishing touches on her hairand had a quick bite from Chick-fil-A.

In a different dressing room down the hall, sequined, ruffled dresses were carefully steamed by wardrobe fitters and freshly curled tendrils of hair tumbled down the dancers’ backs, ready for the stage.

The audience was spellbound by the dancers’ delicate pliés and pirouettes and howled with laughter at their wordless comedic performances.

Kylie Morton Berry jumped up and down and clapped during the final scene of the evening’s performance as a huddle of sequined costumes swarmed around her in the stage wings. The atmosphere just offstage was frenetic and bursting with an electricity that could only reverberate from a live performance.

The dancers curtsied gracefully, bowing their heads in appreciation for the audience’s applause, as another successful performance came to a close.

“We are just this little diamond in Maryville,” Morton Vaughn said proudly.

The Appalachian Ballet Company, in its 52nd year of production, regularly performs with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in Maryville and beyond. You can see the company’s contemporary show, "Blue Jeans and Ballet," in the fall, followed by a performance of "The Nutcracker"at the Clayton Center for the Arts come December, with tickets going on sale over the summer.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Go behind the scenes of an Appalachian Ballet Company production