Cinderella, English National Ballet - reviewed

Cinderella
English National Ballet
Coliseum, London
11th August 2010

Cinderella. A broomstick and a glass slipper. The moral of the story ?  Ladies - be a bit more careless with your shoes and you never know who might turn up.

Michael Corder’s choreography begins with Cinderella alone at the fireside, missing her dead mother and cherishing a locket that belonged to her. Is it possible to clean, musically ? Daria Klimentová does, swopping dust motes with musical notes. The fireside scene looks dusty and faded brown with an almost comically over-sized door; I’ve never understood why the two Stepsisters want to spend so much time in the kitchen, but they do.

Daria Klimentová as Cinderella

Photography throughout zxDaveM

Corder’s genius is to play the Stepsisters as properly mean-spirited, squabbling attention-seeking brats which is much more in tune with modern families today. With an imperious bullying mother , none of them have any time for Cinderella and yet they taunt her continually with their invitation to the ball. Don’t they have any friends ? Probably not. Sarah Mcllroy and Adela Ramírez couldn’t have danced more superbly or in character if they’d tried. Ramírez has light, fast feet and whip-cracking changes of direction do not faze her; she is in her element here. 

Klimentová has silken commas for feet and in her Cinderella rags they mark her out as someone very special. The dress itself is a little too rustic and stiff; flowing faded elegance fits better in this once grand house – even if the silk has been attacked by a cheese cutter.

Daria Klimentová with her Stepmother Jane Haworth (middle) and two Stepsisters Sarah Mcllroy (left) and Adela Ramírez (right)

Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, Begoña Cao, has beautiful lines hampered by a shiny, scrappy costume better suited to the Cirque du soleil acrobats, and the same goes for all the Season costumes.  Their headdresses firmly belong in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Cao will dance Cinderella in today’s matinee (with the fabulous Esteban Berlanga as her Prince) and I’d recommend that you see them if you can. Berlanga danced one of the Prince’s Companions, alongside James Forbat, and both were exemplary; matching pace and height with clever partnering. Because they are both in dazzling white, with An Officer and a Gentleman feel about them, they both out-dazzle the Prince who finds himself in cream. A dash of gold suits Vadim Muntagirov but he hasn’t much to do – this is Cinderella’s night.

Cinderella's Stepsisters Adela Ramirez and Sarah Mcllroy vamp it up

As Cao appears through the fog on stage, through the huge kitchen door, Klimentová can only sense her presence, and together they dance with the magic. When the Fairy Godmother is finally revealed to her, Klimentová watches as the Seasons and their Cavaliers dance for her. Aside from the distracting costumes I think it’s a mistake to give the Fairy Seasons a Cavalier; it clutters up their lines even more and the staccato rhythm danced by most of them did nothing to imbue the choreography with expressions of the weather and it confused the audience who often had no idea whether they had stopped or simply paused. Fairy Autumn (Shiori Kase and Daniel Kraus) has the most emphatic ending, and Jenna Lee had a notable debut as Fairy Winter.

Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother - Begoña Cao

This scene is also missing a transformation, and it’s not the only one. Once the Stars, with their beautiful tutus, have arrived – and Ruth Brill really has arrived – Cinderella is whisked away by coach at such speed that even the Seasons had trouble seeing the way over her billowing veil. And where is the pumpkin ?  There must be a pumpkin.

Shiori Kase as The Autumn Fairy and her Cavalier Daniel Kraus

The Act 11 ball scenes are some of the best of the evening; delicately sparkling deep blue dresses for the ladies against a rich blue cloth and the obligatory sparkly chandeliers. This is our first glimpse of Muntagirov since his successful Swan Lake debut in June, and he looks every inch this Prince. He is less smiley this time, more earnest and his partnering has a smoothness topped with a new, confident flourish.

The Spring Fairy, Anjuli Hudson and her Cavalier Nathan Young

Juan Rodriguez, as The Dancing Master, takes the place of the Jester seen in other productions, and I found that I didn’t miss the Jester’s high jinks. The interactions between the Stepsisters and their teacher were more down to earth & held my attention far more; they were more human and believable in a story about faeries and stars. It's hard enough trying to believe that anyone really would be that careless with a shoe without having to suspend belief altogether with pantomime dames and Harlequins.

The Stepsisters - Adela Ramirez (in orange) and Sarah Mcllory (in red) with The Dancing Master Juan Rodriguez

The Stepsisters have gaudy costumes in orange and red with bows in all the wrong places but boy do they make the most of the choreography here to the extent that you can forgive a loud costume. They spend their time trying to impress anyone and everyone, and the Prince has quite a task keeping away from their flailing limbs and grasping claws.

Begoña Cao as the Fairy Godmother and the four Season Cavaliers - Nathan Young, Fabian Reimair, Daniel Kraus and Zhanat Atymtayev

Once Klimentová is wearing a tutu she instantly becomes a ballerina and in this scene Cinderella needs to look, initially at least, awe-struck and mesmerised by the grandeur and the Prince. From her entrance borne aloft, Klimentová dances as though she belongs there and never had a single sleepless night wondering whether her Prince would ever arrive. And her dancing ! Her beautiful arms phrase the music and those turning silken commas work their magic so that Muntagirov is helplessly under their spell, as are we. Together they weave their magic in the Pas de deux to the softly tinkling Prokofiev score, with assured partnering for the most part and lovely variations.

But the clock is relentlessly ticking and Cinderella has forgotten the golden rule. As she flees, there is no big reveal back into her rags, and the dropped shoe has in fact already been carefully placed on the step.

Vadim Muntagirov as The Prince

Act 111 is overlong – the whole ballet could be cut by 40 minutes and no-one would mind – and the Prince embarks on a worldwide search for his love. The ballroom couples reappear, masked this time –how is that going to help the search?

Vadim Muntagirov as the Prince with Ruth Brill as one of the Stars behind

Adela Ramírez returns as the Spanish Princess and Sarah Mcllroy as the Egyptian Princess and along with Stina Quagebeur as the Oriental Princess they confuse the Prince until he finally wakes up. All are outdone by Chantel Roulston and Nicola Henshall as the Handmaidens in wispy costumes with sharp footwork and flowing port de bras.

Jenna Lee debuts as The Winter Fairy with her Cavalier Zhanat Atymtayev

Meanwhile, Cinderella is back at the kitchen fireside, dreaming of her night at the ball. I didn’t get any sense here of her gradually remembering the events unfold, and her other slipper is right by the fireside staring her in the face so there is no accidental discovery of it either.

Daria Klimentová

When the Prince arrives to tempt the Stepsisters to try on his half of the pair of slippers, hardly requiring the slightest of effort on his part, they have a high old time on the stools but thankfully it’s less pantomime than it would had they been en travesti.

Vadim Muntagirov as The Prince and Daria Klimentová as Cinderella

Cinderella dances beseechingly around the Prince but she is in the wrong clothes and he doesn’t notice her, until eventually he does spot her standing next to her Father and asks her to try the slipper. The resulting Happy Ever After is nicely done, with the Fairy Godmother, the Stars & the Seasons finally bidding the moon farewell, heralding the beginning of a new dawn.

The Fairy Godmother - Begoña Cao and the Stars

Cinderella is in rep until Sunday 15th August with their 60th Birthday performance on Saturday 14th August when you too can go to the ball & enjoy a party after the show with the company dancers and staff (if you've got deep pockets or know someone who has).

Swan Lake, English National Ballet, reviewed

Swan Lake
English National Ballet
Royal Albert Hall
9th June 2010

60 Swans

Photograph :  Patrick Baldwin

English National Ballet’s in-the-round presentation of the classic Swan Lake story has been made for the vastness of the Hall’s stage. It’s an unforgiving and exposing place – you need to be really on your game to do well here. Vadim Muntagirov, our Prince for the night, is 20 and only a year out of school. In that time he has skipped 8 years in the corp de ballet (Carlos Acosta did the same and was in the audience) and has been given five principal roles. This was his debut as Prince Siegfried.

This production was developed to attract newcomers to ballet. Judging by the audience it probably has – the ushers were endlessly running around, repeatedly asking people to stop taking photographs and using flash – something that wouldn’t usually be necessary. Why is it an issue ? Flash is dangerous for dancers. Imagine if you were spotting a turn (which means picking a spot in the distance and using it as a marker of where you are, as you quickly whip your head around whilst turning) and a flash bulb went off, obliterating your spot – it could result in one of the dancers being injured. Even professional photographers don’t use flash with dancers in rehearsal or performance.

That said, the theatrical spectacle is undeniable. I could do without the jugglers and acrobats, probably even the children too, although it is good that they have stage experience in this way. It’s enough that you have eight Cygnets instead of four, four Lead Swans instead of two and a Pas de Douze instead of a Pas de Trois. The sets are minimal, and with no wings the cast have the tricky job of making some entrances and exits via the auditorium, made all the more hazardous when the dry ice is in full flow and the steps are hard to see, especially when exiting at speed as Muntagirov often had to. In particular, the trees at the moonlit lakeside are ravishingly atmospheric, with lighting by Howard Harrison.

Photograph :  Patrick Baldwin

Thinking about the audience is always a winner, and all of the steps have been thought out, to look good from every angle so that wherever you are sitting, you will get some great views (and inevitably some less great ones). However, this is at the expense of some of the mime ; this story is told through bold groupings and dazzling (literally) lighting. If you are susceptible to flashing lights, be warned.

Daria Klimentová was given the First Night honours as Guest dancer Polina Semionova had Visa problems and was unable to travel. I’ve said before that Klimentová is nobody's substitute. Tiny, yet made of solid steel, she pulls Muntagirov into the story and that’s just what he needs at this stage in his career. In rehearsals they laugh together all the time – here the tension crackles in the air as the drama of the story unfolds.

Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov

Photograph : Annabel Moeller

Muntagirov has the manner of a Prince, with precise, clean lines and pointed feet. His strong, highly arched feet power him through arabesque and beyond.  He has the ability to hang in the air, leaving behind a beautiful arabesque line. It’s tough on the Prince that he has to spend time on stage walking or sitting, unable to warm up before his first adagio solo. It’s harder still to control your breath sufficiently to see you through those controlled steps when you are nervous.

But here is the reason to see him right now – this very week : because he has humility, a way of expressing emotions without artifice that you don’t very often see in more experienced performers who have learnt not to.

I could have cried when I saw him softly drop to his knees and bow his head in front of Klimentová, as he acknowledged his betrayal of her Odette; every sinew in him felt that emotion and I felt it too – and I’ve seen him do it a few times. His first solo is the same, full of longing, despair and insecurity.

There is something about Muntagirov's speed in the air that reminds me of a conversation I had with one of the Concorde pilots.  He told me that flying at mach 2, twice the speed of sound, we were moving faster than a bullet from a gun.  You can't see a bullet, but you can see Concorde because it's bigger.  Same with Muntagirov.

I would like him to relax a little more; be a bit softer. Through his schooling he has the considerable advantage of having mastered the Russian and English styles, but it’s his Russian training, with its precise placing and a slightly formal stiffness, which is uppermost when he is nervous. I could see it in his ankles, and the way he moved his feet when standing.  Once or twice I saw a clenched fist with his left hand; something I can’t imagine in a Prince. The stiffness will go, and right now it’s endearing to see him working things through.

Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov

Photograph : Annabel Moeller

This is the only Swan Lake where you will see a flock of 60 swans on stage together. And it’s some sight. A point about the noise – it’s not that the dancers haven’t taken care with their pointe shoes – they have – it’s the floor, and there is nothing that can be done about it. The swans also have a lot of ground to cover and at times they fairly race on, and yes, you can hear them. But don’t let this put you off ballet. Appreciate instead the skill of standing in perfectly straight drills, on pointe, of always having your head directly behind the girl in front, and of the particular challenges of the lead swan in each row, who has to hit the right spot every time. All of the swans must use their elbows and have very soft arms, whilst at the same time their feet must be pin sharp. If you can picture gently wafting anemones wearing a tutu, multiplied a million times, that is your beautiful picture framed.

ENB’s company dancers have been augmented with 38 extra dancers for this production, who have been brought up to company standard in just three weeks by the excellent artistic staff, including Rosalyn Whitten, Jane Haworth (also performing as The Queen), Maina Gielgud and Stephen Beagley. Derek Deane has given the swans some of the best choreography – and some of the hardest. Time and again they drop to their knees right on the music, lowering to the floor with hands on their feet and never on the floor.

There were other cast changes too. Due to injury, Yat-Sen Chang was unable to perform, giving James Forbat a phenomenal debut in the Neapolitan dance alongside Senri Kou. It’s furiously fast and was taken at a real lick by the conductor Gavin Sutherland. Both dancers gave their all, Forbat really pulling every last inch from his jumps.

I want to mention Esteban Berlanga, whose beautifully shaped feet were wasted in green boots. He spent much of the evening sat on a stool, and yet on Saturday he will dance the Principal role with Begoña Cao. Both have exquisite, perfectly matched lines, and I’d urge you to see them.

Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov

Photograph : Annabel Moeller

I didn’t see anyone jump higher, or land more silently, than Muntagirov. By Act 111 Klimentová and Muntagirov show you why they opened the show. Klimentová flashes her eyes, busy with deceit, while Muntagirov falls helplessly under her spell. All of the tricks are there – the 32 fouetté rond de jambe en tournant from Klimentová and some stunning turns from Muntagirov, displaying his long limbs to perfection. On the ground he is tall and strong; in the air he seems to float and looks as light as a feather.  Rothbart, half-man, half-bird, danced very well by Tamás Solymosi, really came into his own in the last two acts, finally meeting his watery end in Act 1V.

The ending falls flat after the tempestuous demise of Rothbart, and its ambiguity doesn’t sit well – is it a happy ending or just a pause in the story ? It’s not emphatic enough. Left alone on the stage, Odette and Prince Siegfried turn slowly, wrapped up with each other. I can’t understand why Rothbart gets a call-back and yet the backbone of the tale – the swans – scatter from the stage never to be seen again.  They deserve an encore.

Daria Klimentová and Tamás Solymosi

Photograph : Annabel Moeller

Esteban Berlanga and Begoña Cao will dance the principal roles for one performance only, on Saturday 12 June at 2.30pm

Swan Lake is in rep at the Royal Albert Hall until June 19th
Box Office : 0845 401 5045

English National Ballet's Swan Lake in-the-round - casting announced

What better place to spend a warm (let's hope!) summer's evening than beside a lake.  Next month, English National Ballet will dance their mesmerizing Swan Lake in-the-round, at the Royal Albert Hall.  They literally triple the number of swans on stage - to 60 - and feathers will fly !  Everyone has been working flat out to bring you a perfectly drilled flock of swans - hypnotic in any setting but here, in-the-round, every angle is covered.

Here is a short video clip of the production which highlights the sheer scope of this production.  With so many swans to rehearse, the company de-camp to a film studio for several weeks - a normal studio just isn't big enough.  60 tutu's take up a lot of space !

Erina Takahashi as Odette

Photo: Patrick Baldwin

Vadim Muntagirov, ENB's young dancer who skipped 8 years in the corp de ballet to join the Company as a First Artist, makes his debut in the Principal role of Prince Siegfried and opens the run of performances.  His Odette/Odile for the First Night is Polina Semionova, a Principal from the Berlin State Opera Ballet.  On 17th and 19th June, Vadim is partnered with English National Ballet's Senior Principal dancer Daria Klimentová.  You won't want to miss any of them !
 

Sofiane Sylve and Friedemann Vogel

Photo: Daria Klimentová

When you read through the casting, in addition to Vadim opening the run of performances with Daria Klimentová - (a multi-talented lady whose beautiful photographs you can see on this page) - there are also two very notable debuts which I'd like to draw your attention to.

Begoña Cao and Esteban Berlanga will debut in the matinee performance on 12th June.  Both dancers have the technique and precision to make Swan Lake their own, with beautiful fluid lines and dramatic ability.

The casting is (in the order Odette/Odile, Prince Siegfried, Rothbart) :

9 June 7.30pm
Polina Semionova, Vadim Muntagirov*, Tamás Solymosi

10 June 7.30pm
Erina Takahashi, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Tamás Solymosi

11 June 7.30pm
Polina Semionova, Vadim Muntagirov, Tamás Solymosi

12 June 2.30pm
Begoña Cao*, Esteban Berlanga*, Tamás Solymosi

12 June 7.30pm
Erina Takahashi, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Tamás Solymosi

13 June 2.30 pm
Elena Glurdjidze, Arionel Vargas, Tamás Solymosi

15 June 7.30 pm
Polina Semionova, Vadim Muntagirov, Tamás Solymosi

16 June 2pm
Begoña Cao, Esteban Berlanga, Tamás Solymosi

16 June 7.30 pm
Elena Glurdjidze, Arionel Vargas, Tamás Solymosi

17 June 7.30 pm
Daria Klimentová, Vadim Muntagirov, Tamás Solymosi

18 June 7.30 pm
Elena Glurdjidze, Arionel Vargas, Tamás Solymosi

19 June 2.30 pm
Erina Takahashi, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Tamás Solymosi

19 June 7.30 pm
Daria Klimentová, Vadim Muntagirov, Tamás Solymosi

* Debut in role

9 - 19 June

Royal Albert Hall Box Office : 0845 401 5045

Please note that English National Ballet reserves the right to make alterations to the programme, casting, dates, times, discounts and prices as necessary.

Sofiane Sylve and Friedemann Vogel

Photo: Daria Klimentová