BANGOR – Bossov Ballet’s “Cinderella” is poised to pirouette into Bangor at 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday, March 26-27, at the Bangor Opera House.

“I see Cinderella not as a fairy-tale character but as a real person feeling, experiencing and moving among us,” said Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, who wrote the score and inspired the version the Bossov Ballet will perform.

Andrei Bossov, who has rehearsed his troupe of dancers since January and will direct the Bangor performances, learned and performed “Cinderella” in St. Petersburg’s Kirov Theater, the very place Prokofiev intended to open when he began work on “Cinderella” the winter of 1940.

Bossov said his “Cinderella” will evoke a combination of laughter and tears, every emotion heightened by the power of the music and the finesse of the dancing. The story is not only appropriate for children, it also is the essence of childhood dreams, he said.

Ancient fairy tales were morality tales designed to teach as well as to entertain. Refusing to be embittered by her stepsisters’ cruelty, Cinderella persists in her kind temperament and does her work dutifully. She is rewarded by divine providence in the form of a fairy godmother.

The emotion of romance with the prince is strong, but Cinderella is stronger and when midnight comes, she is faithful to the godmother’s admonition.

The combination of powerful music and meticulously trained dancers is spellbinding, officials said. The harp is plucked gently as Cinderella, alone, looks into the fire as the time of the ball draws near. An eerie, piercing, high note heralds the arrival of an old beggar woman. The music becomes magical and dreamlike and in a flash, the old woman becomes a beautiful creature in a shimmering gown – the fairy godmother.

At the ball, the bright and dazzling waltz gains in force as the guests are caught up in the romance. Clocks tick loudly. Trumpets warn of approaching midnight. Cymbals crash as Cinderella turns from the prince’s arms and flees into the night, leaving behind the slipper that will show the prince to his destiny.

Andrei Bossov came to the United States in 1991 after 20 years as a principal dancer and choreographer with St. Petersburg’s Kirov Ballet, formerly the Imperial Ballet of Russia founded by the Russian royal family in 1738. It was there that Bossov established an international reputation.

Bossov formed the Bossov Ballet Theatre in 1996, which has studios at Maine Central Institute where dancers from throughout the United States board while they prepare for professional careers in dance.

A command performance of “Don Quixote” for Jamie Wyeth of the Farnsworth Museum’s Wyeth Center in Rockland filled the 800-seat house at Rockport’s Strom Auditorium in September 2002. The “Nutcracker” performed in Bangor in December 2003 was described by a Bangor Daily News reporter as “altogether charming” and the dancers as “strong and elegant.”

Principals in the two casts that will perform “Cinderella” in Bangor include: Anna Marie Cowan of Petal, Miss., and Laura Thorup of Orleans, Mass., as Cinderella; Michael Dunsmore of Anchorage, Alaska, and Calder Taylor of Enfield, N.H., as Prince Charming; Peter Chamberlin of Augusta, a Bossov protege who danced professionally with Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio, and is currently completing a degree in dance at Suny Purchase University, New York; Ann Husted Durham of Rochester, Minn.; and Beverly Jensen of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, as the stepmother; and Amy Brown of Vassalboro; Samantha Bryan of Pittsfield; Lena Konetchy of Roscommon, Mich.; Sabrina Lord-Linde of Pittsfield; and Stephanie Pouzol of Orrington as stepsisters.

Tickets are $15, $12 for children under 12 and seniors age 62 and over. Tickets also will be for sale beginning March 22 at the Bangor Opera House. Call the Bossov Ballet at 487-6360 to obtain more information.