Corder’s Cinderella is much like the wedding phrase-‘Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue’. Old tale, new choreography, borrowed sets and costumes (including blue ballroom gear) from a previous ENB production.
The tale
It may be an old tale but Corder has put his own interpretation on it.His Cinderella is passive and allows her attractive but mean stepsisters to dominate and humiliate her and he uses the moon as a metaphor which turns into a clock when full and is personified as the fairy godmother.The national dances that indicate the search for Cinderella were re-introduced to strengthen the last act.
The steps- loads of them
Corder’s work is often described as choreographically rich. You are certainly not short changed in steps,his solos are crammed with them and include many of those which are demanding and awkward to do- but are not always exciting to watch. The one notable exception is Cinderella’s fiendish manege in the first act that had gasps of ‘Ohmygod’ from the ballet students in the audience.There are contrasting pas de deux for the seasons which show smooth lyrical elegance in summer and sparky staccato precision in Autumn. It does provide a vehicle for all the company to show what they can do.
The dancers
The stamina sapping title role (Cinderella doesn’t leave the stage for the whole of the first act) was done by Monica Perego with her usual gutsy panache. However, for me Cinderella is not the same without her being the little stepsister – she is a ball of fury and a spoilt little madam throughout.Great entertainment. Elisa Celis although an excellent dancer did not bring this quality to the role and Maria Ribo Pares as the tall stepsister was not quite dippy enough.The best of the Cinderella’s is Daria Klimentova with her precise footwork, exquisite arabesques and gentle nature.
The Prince could so easily be overshadowed by his 2 tall, dark,handsome and talented friends (Alexis Oliveira and Cameron Mcmillan) because they had better choreography to show off with.However, this was not the case for Vladislav Bubnov, the tireless professional who danced the lead 3 nights in a row. His distilled stage presence, superb presentation of tricky adage work and acting were magnificent-He was the only character who showed people skills strong enough to stop the stepsisters fighting !
The production
The overall impression of this ballet is richness and quality. It is musical and charming without any pantomine humour and will appeal to adults (especially ballet lovers) as well as children.
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