Performance: Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella
Performed by: The Dutch National Ballet
Date: 11th July 2015
Location: London Coliseum, London, United Kingdom
Seat: Balcony, Row F, Seat 38.
Rating: 5/5
Okay, it't not technically musical theatre, but it was on a stage, I was watching so in my books it counts! There is absolutely only one word for this performance. Incredible.
It's such a shame that it has finished in the UK now because otherwise I would urge absolutely everybody to go and see it. It was beautiful. The ballet was choreographed by the wonderful Christopher Wheeldon, (who actually came out at the end!) and was set to Prokofiev's Cinderella score composed between 1940 to 1944, probably one of Prokofiev's most popular compositions.
The Dutch National Ballet were beautiful. Every single move was just stunning, there were moments where I was almost brought to tears at the sheer wonder of the dancers. The costumes and sets designed by Julian Crouch reflected the magical and fantastical nature of the fairy tale and complimented the dancers, enhancing the sheer beauty of the dancers and the production.
Christopher Wheeldon took a slightly different take on the original fairy story. Wheeldon used the idea of nature, Cinderella's deceased mothers spirit and four 'fates' to watch over the main character replacing the Fairy Godmother figure. Initially I was hesitant to this idea, having been so familiar with the original, but actually felt that this idea worked much better. In particular, the one scene which really consolidated this was the dress-making scene in which Cinderella is made a gown to attend the Prince's ball with. Wheeldon created the image of nature with dancers dressed in the colours of seasons representing woodland fairies, contributing further to the magic of the ballet.
However, always saving the best for last, I am yet to mention the most incredible scene of the whole ballet.
The scene was created independently from the rest of the ballet by Basil Twist, who also created the tree representative of the mother's spirit. This particular scene was Cinderella's journey from the woods to the ball in the carriage. The carriage itself was made completely from the dancers, holding wheels and spinning them, and others at the front dressed as horses. Cinderella herself was lifted above them with her cloak billowing out, giving the impression that she was flying with the carriage. The scene was inventive, magical and just wonderful. As the scene before the interval, it definitely left the desired effect, leaving me and the rest of the audience in awe and wonder.
I genuinely don't have a single criticism about the ballet itself, it was beautiful, the music was perfectly fitting, the choreographing was exquisite and the costumes were wondrous. The only unusual thing about the performance was its length and the fact it had two intervals. I have never experienced two intervals before and felt it was a little unnecessary breaking up the dancing and the flow of the performance. If it ever comes back to London, or the UK at that, I urge all to go and see it!
