Georgina Butler reviews English National Ballet’s Cinderella in-the-round at the Royal Albert Hall.
English National Ballet’s Cinderella in-the-round reimagines the rags-to-riches story as a stunning fairy tale for our times.
Inspired by the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, choreographer Christopher Wheeldon develops a quirky narrative centred around humanity and nature. In short, Cinderella’s compassion, creativity and courage – combined with a little mystical assistance from her dearly departed mother – help her make her own magic.
Wheeldon devised his imaginative interpretation in 2012, as a co-production between Dutch National Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. He has revisited it for English National Ballet, restaging it as Cinderella in-the-round at the Royal Albert Hall.
The Royal Albert Hall is a gloriously distinctive London venue, renowned for its domed roof, regal interior and vast oval-shaped performance platform.
Such a substantial space showcases Wheeldon’s gift for using fluid movement to generate swirling patterns of ensemble dancers. They flood the stage with colour and charisma when embodying the changing seasons in the first act. Later, they grandly sweep across the dancefloor as waltzing courtiers in the palace ballroom.
More profound interactions between key players do not translate quite as effectively in-the-round, simply because they are dwarfed by the surroundings. This is a minor grumble though; the central characters are generally well-developed and always beautifully danced.
The title character is presented as a forlorn but resilient girl who must cope with losing her mother to tuberculosis and being persecuted by a stepmother and two stepsisters.
Cinderella spends her childhood visiting her mother’s grave and, from the tears she cries, a magnificent tree grows. This tree, four Fates who watch over Cinders, and an assortment of weird and wonderful forest creatures all help Cinderella grow into a kind-hearted young woman who appreciates and understands the miraculous dance of life. Exactly the type of girl a down-to-earth prince could easily fall in love with…
It is a touching tale, exquisitely told through three acts of captivating dance and impressive stage craft. Lavishly detailed digital projections are accompanied by a few striking pieces of scenery that are rolled into the performance space.
Truly magical moments transpire with deceptive ease, particularly when Cinderella’s horse-drawn carriage is conjured up by the dancers with little more than four wheels and a billowing sheet of golden yellow silk.
Without a doubt, Cinderella in-the-round is a thoroughly enjoyable narrative ballet, staged in an incredible venue. It has all the humour, inventiveness and intrigue needed to make it equally engaging for children and grown-ups. The dancing is dazzling. Prokofiev’s dramatic score is played live, to stirring perfection, by English National Ballet Philharmonic. And the crystal clear storytelling lucidly communicates the power of love - maternal love, self-love and romantic love.
Watching this ballet is a surprisingly intimate and immersive experience considering the cavernous arena it is performed in. What’s more, thanks to the diverse entrances and exits Wheeldon incorporates, dancers regularly glide past those of us lucky enough to be seated in the stalls. You almost feel as if you could get up and join them – quite an appropriate feeling for a ballet about seizing the day and making the most of an invitation to a ball!
> English National Ballet's Cinderella in-the-round continues at the Royal Albert Hall until Sunday 16th June 2019.
> English National Ballet will perform Le Corsaire at Milton Keynes Theatre from Wednesday 20th November 2019 until Saturday 23rd November 2019.
Le Corsaire is a thrilling ballet about Conrad, a dashing pirate, and his love for feisty Medora, a beautiful harem girl. This swashbuckling drama features plenty of adventures on the high seas - kidnap and rescue, disguise and conspiracy, love and betrayal. Not to mention a breathtaking shipwreck...
Georgina Butler is a journalist, a dance writer and a dance teacher who specialises in teaching classical ballet. Click here to learn more about her. Follow her on Twitter @GeorginaLButler and Instagram @glbdancewriter
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