Cinderella - Theatre Royal

It's been many years since I went to a ballet, but like a lot of little girls, the magic of the ballet has always stayed with me. Northern Ballet's Cinderella reignited this old flame of mine.

This production takes place in Imperial Russia, and the costumes are absolutely stunning; lots of traditional Russian peasant clothes alongside the brocades and velvets of the upperclass.Cinderella even has special sparkly ballet shoes for the ball. Swoon. The sets are ambitious and atmospheric, there are special effects and even magic all over the place, and one of the highlights was a scene where the dancers skated across the stage in the snow. The transformation of the stove to the carriage is just tremendous. If we, the audience hadn't been so spellbound there would definitely have been lots of audible ooh's and ahh's. The story itself was cleverly produced, with the fairy godmother actually being a fairy godfather (Cinderella's dead father played both roles). The 'ugly' stepsisters seem to actually want to be friends with Cinderella but are prevented from doing so by the Stepmother, who is racked with grief, and mean as a result. The fact that these roles were not played in the traditional comedy style really gave the show a sense of honesty and true emotions. The Stepmother is an exceptional dancer, displaying her emotion through fierce, edgy and angular movements, stalking about en pointe perfectly. The dancers were all full of energy, passion and excellent actors as well as dancers, as befits the Northern Ballet. Cinderella, played by American Martha Leebolt, was sweet, kind and perfect; just right for the role.I loved it so much. I cried. I laughed. I smiled all the way through it. There's a bear, a man on stilts, a room inside an envelope, magic tricks and perhaps most importantly, romance. I highly recommend going to this, the most magical, pretty ballet EVER. They're back with The Great Gatsby next year too!