{"id":1253,"date":"2020-07-14T22:04:44","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T22:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wheeldon-cinderella-ballet-royal-albert-hall\/"},"modified":"2023-12-26T17:47:11","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:47:11","slug":"wheeldon-cinderella-ballet-royal-albert-hall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wheeldon-cinderella-ballet-royal-albert-hall\/","title":{"rendered":"Christopher Wheeldon: Cinderella Ballet at Royal Albert Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During lockdown, the English National Ballet has provided weekly ballets on Wednesdays, spoiling audiences around the world with their #ENBAtHome program, whose previous performances included Kenneth MacMillan\u2019s Manon<\/em><\/a> and August Bornonville\u2019s La Sylphide<\/em><\/a>. To close their generous program, the non-profit ballet organization has broadcast Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s Cinderella<\/em> ballet at Royal Albert Hall<\/a> (available from July 8 – 10, 2020). The whimsical Cinderella in the round show was filmed on June 5, 2019 and lasts about two hours, without intermissions. We review the ballet \u2013 and reveal how it differs from the traditional versions, below. (Spoiler alert: there is no fairy godmother.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Alina Cojocaru wears a gold dress in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella<\/em> in the round production.
Photo credit: Ian Gavan<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

ENB: Wheeldon Cinderella<\/em><\/strong><\/em> at Royal Albert Hall Review<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Act I<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The first act introduces three key characters as youngsters, Cinderella (Bonnie Bradfield), Prince Guillaume (Matteo Bynoe) and the prince\u2019s friend Benjamin (Ayan Hull-Jurkovic). Benjamin\u2019s adult role, danced by Jeffrey Cirio, adds a bit of humour, as well as an extra love interest for a certain stepsister, and gives the audience another chance to drool over some fantastic grand allegro choreography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wheeldon also keeps Cinderella\u2019s father (Fabian Reimair) alive throughout the show and opts to replace a single fairy godmother with a masculine masked quartet of Fates in blue, personified by Junor Souza, James Forbat, James Streeter and Francisco Bosch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019d think that the main event of the first act would be Cinderella\u2019s transformation. But since we can\u2019t see mice and bird helpers sew her a new dress, like in Disney\u2019s animated classic \u2013 and there\u2019s no way to do change such intricate costumes on stage \u2013 much of the choreography builds up to the big reveal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella<\/em> in the round production on the English National Ballet staged more than 130 dancers.
Photo credit: Ian Gavan<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Quirky white birds flood the stage, along with curious ogre-like creatures with ginormous heads and dance ensembles in vibrant two-toned costumes. At one point they crouch around Cinderella (Alina Cojocaru), giving the illusion of a voluminous rainbow-colored ballgown, before she disappears into a tree and reappears in a light gold dress with a regal train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she gathers the tail-end of the train in her hands and rockets forward, the fabric folds back into an arched carriage top, over the four wagon wheels. Behold, the belle is off to the ball!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Act II<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The second act heavily features sweeping waltzes over dizzying mandala projections. While the scene is assuredly grand, the dancers\u2019 big motions (needed to reach the far audience) eventually become monotonous: another twirl, another kick, another lift, another overhead arc of the arm. However, the choreography does work well to make the dancers part of the moving set when juxtaposed with the more complex duet between Cinderella and the prince (Isaac Hern\u00e1ndez), especially when the lighting casts the dancers in a different shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pairs
English National Ballet dancers perform Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella<\/em>.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We see the stepsisters posture like elementary gymnasts and \u2018in your face\u2019 flourishes when they dance, and Wheeldon creates parts for three exoticized females to demonstrate the extreme desirability the bachelor \u2013 including a flamenco dancer and a Thai dancer with long metallic finger ornaments. The worldly women don\u2019t add much, but the booze-fueled antics of the tipsy stepmother, Hortensia (Tamara Rojo), do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re interested in Asian representation on stage, see our interview with Phil Chan \u2013 co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface<\/a>… And if it\u2019s drunken antics in dance form that amuse you, check out Kenneth MacMillan\u2019s <\/em>Manon<\/a> and <\/em>Mayerling ballets<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The uniform pacing of the ball scene is broken when Cinderella knocks over a tray and frantically realizes she needs to depart before her identity is revealed. A pendulum ominously swings in the background and cogs spin on the floor as the leading lady fights her way to the exit, through the mass of bodies that crowd around her. When Cinderella dashes out of the palace, she passes through a set of pillars, which seem to stretch out endlessly before her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
Alina Cojocaru and Isaac Hern\u00e1ndez star in Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella<\/em> ballet at Royal Albert Hall.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Act III<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The final act opens in silence. Seated women fill a long row of chairs to try on the leftover golden shoe from the party. Among them, a bird, a large-headed creature and a one legged suitor try on the pointe shoe, which eventually makes its way to Cinderella\u2019s house. Here, Hortensia mercilessly hammers it onto her eldest daughter\u2019s foot. Edwina (Emma Hawes) hobbles around for a bit before toppling over, and Cinderella floats out with the other golden shoe, supported by her four \u2018Fates-ful\u2019 friends. Mystery solved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newly reunited pair share a lovely pas de deux in a secluded forest \u2013 but they\u2019re not entirely convincing as soul mates here \u2013 or at their wedding celebration. And the pairing off of Benjamin and younger step-sister, Clementine (Katja Khaniukova) seems to call for equal jubilation. Still, everyone acknowledges the new princess and the four Fates bow out, leaving her to navigate her own \u201chappily ever after.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[yasr_overall_rating null size=”large”]<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Wheeldon\u2019s Cinderella in the round choreography takes full advantage of the massive, circular stage at Royal Albert Hall. The 130+ dancers move uniformly to create mesmerizing floor patterns, complemented by the lighting, projections and costumes (namely, full skirts that bloom to cover the stage). Despite all of the magic, the piece lingers a bit too long in some sections \u2013 and transitions a few too many times from small ensembles to the corps and back again. Still, you\u2019re sure to find the experience enchanting, even from home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Christopher<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"English<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"English<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Were you able to see Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s Cinderella ballet at Royal Albert Hall in London? Or did you catch it online with the #ENBAtHome program? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During lockdown, the English National Ballet has provided weekly ballets on Wednesdays, spoiling audiences around the world with their #ENBAtHome program, whose previous performances included Kenneth MacMillan\u2019s Manon and August Bornonville\u2019s La Sylphide. To close their generous program, the non-profit ballet organization has broadcast Christopher Wheeldon\u2019s Cinderella ballet at Royal Albert Hall (available from July 8 – […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-1253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-show","tag-ballet"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/40.-Alina-Cojocaru-in-Christopher-Wheeldons-Cinderella-in-the-round-c-Ian-Gavan.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1253"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1261,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1253\/revisions\/1261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}