The world of ballet is filled with fairy tales. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Swan Lake, The Red Shoes,and Hansel and Gretel are just a few fairy tales that have been told through dance. Peggy Finlayson, a former dancer, is hard pressed to choose her favorite fairy tale. “Tchaikovsky’s music for Sleeping Beauty is gorgeous,” she said. “If I were going to see a ballet performed, that’s the one I would choose.”
In her experience as a dancer, however, Cinderella is probably her favorite. She was one of the youngest dancers in her company – only about 12 or 13 years old – when they performedCinderella. She remembers that a list would be posted on the wall and the dancers would crowd around to see where they were cast. Peggy was thrilled to get the role of “Midnight.”
Peggy also likes Cinderella’s centrality to her own story. She said, “I think every little girl likes these stories. I love when Cinderella’s fairy godmother rescues her. She gives Cinderella a beautiful dress and the opportunity to go out into the world and have her own adventure.”
Peggy also had the opportunity to play the Disney princess Jasmine at the El Capitan in Hollywood for the premier of the Disney movie, Pocahontas. “I was always a dancer for Disney, not a specific character,” remembers Peggy. “I was called in to be a princess for emergency situations, which was a lot of fun. It was such a wonderful feeling to see the kids recognizing you as the character, and getting so excited to see you. It was great to be that person for them.”
