Cinderella - even better

Northern Ballet, Cinderella, Lyceum, Sheffield 29 Nov 2014


When I reviewed Northern Ballet's Cinderella at The Grand last Boxing Day I described it as "a triumph". Yesterday's performance at The Lyceum in Sheffield was even better.

It was much the same cast: Lucia Solari in the title role, Javier Torres as the Prince and Hiranao Takahashi as Cinderella's father and the Magician. The most significant change was that Hannah Bateman danced Cinderella's stepmother. I have admired Bateman for some time but I did not appreciate fully how good she was until yesterday evening. Having made her acquaintance at the Decadent Afternoon Tea last June to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Centre for Advanced Training I can attest to her amiability but in role she was the epitome of meanness, peevishness and vindictiveness. Her performance contributed considerably to my appreciation of the ballet. The other dancer I noticed particularly last night  was Rachael Gillespie who danced Cinderella as a child. She loves to dance. She radiates enthusiasm with her eyes and smile.

As with Gatsby two weeks ago I was able to concentrate on the score and choreography. First time round I barely listened to the Philip Feeney's music (possibly because it wasn't Prokoviev) but this time I did listen and fell in love with it.  It has been resonating in my brain - especially the closing scene where Cinders runs to the prince  - all nght. As in Gatsby there is some very clever choreography. The skating scene on the Crystal Lake, the performing bear and huskies and the ecstatic pas de deux between Cinders and the Prince are just three examples.

And talking of bears I now know why I did not appreciate the Royal Ballet's The Winter's Tale  first time round. Nixon has a performing bear danced by the entertaining Matthew Broadbent whereas Wheeldon uses fabric which just didn't work for me and still doesn't. I had seen Cinderella a few weeks earlier and it is so good that I think it spoiled me for everything else. In my last review I spoke of the magic and the Cinders mobile. This time I noticed the ingenuity of some of the other scenes such as the opening with its forest and river.

This year we have seen Cleopatra, Dracula, Gatsby  and now Cinderella which are Nixon's most popular works. The last is my favourite work in Northern's repertoire and I would argue that it is Nixon's best work.

Northern Ballet's Cleopatra in Sheffield

There are some ballets that have to be seen more than once to be appreciated fully. David Nixon's Cleopatra is one of them. I saw it in The Grand in Leeds on 6 March 2014 and reviewed it in  "Cleopatra - Northern Ballet, The Grand, Leeds 6 March 2014" on the 7 March 2014. Although I was impressed I was not bowled over as I was by Cinderella on boxing day (see "Northern Ballet's Cinderella - a Triumph!" 27 Dec 2013) or by Birmingham Royal Ballet's Prince of the Pagodas earlier this year (see "Lear with a Happy Ending - Birmingham Royal Ballet's Prince of the Pagodas 30 Jan 2014" 31 Jan 2014). I wrote: "This is a ballet that has to be seen more than once and probably many times to be appreciated fully."

Well, yesterday I saw Cleopatra again and enjoyed it so much more. I don't know whether that was because I had seen the ballet quite recently and knew what to look for or whether it was because I was more comfortable in the Sheffield Lyceum than I had been in Leeds and could concentrate on the performance. 

The Lyceum is in my humble opinion the best large theatre in Yorkshire allowing plenty of leg room, a good view of the stage from just about every point in the auditorium, spacious bar areas, efficient and courteous staff, ample parking across the road and plenty of reasonably priced eateries within walking distance. So much better than The Grand in every way. Why Northern Ballet does not make more use of The Lyceum - indeed why it dies not appoint it as its flagship theatre - beats me. For much of the day I have been asking on twitter and BalletcoForum why there isn't more ballet in Sheffield (a city region of 1.9 million and within an hour's drive of several million more) and I have yet to receive a convincing answer. As a Mancunian exile living in "Summer Wine Country"  with no axe to grind in Yorkshire rivalries I'd say that as a city Sheffield knocks Leeds into a cocked hat; but as I sport the red rose in inter-Pennine rivalries what do I know.

Anyway returning to the show, it was interesting to compare last night's cast with those who appeared on the 6 March 2014. On that occasion I saw Martha Leebolt for whom the role of Cleopatra had been created. Last night it was Michela Paolacci who interpreted the role quite differently. Now Cleopatra is not a nice lady. She marries and then murders her brother in his bath and she despatches Mark Antony with a chilling sauté but, whereas Leebolt's Cleo was as hard as nails, I somehow warmed to Paolacci's. I could imagine her defence counsel's plea of mitigation - a single mum, coming from a dysfunctional home, a victim of circumstances - all that sort of thing. For me the highpoint of the ballet is the confrontation of the fair Octavia danced brilliantly by Pippa Moore with Cleopatra over Mark Antony (Ashley Dixon). Octavia represents everything Western and decent while Cleopatra is sultry, sexy and degenerate. Of the other roles, Jospeph Taylor (who has only been with the company for a couple of years) was a great Wadjet, Hironeo Takahashi a convincing Caesar and Matthew Topliss (another recent recruit) a suitably imperious Octavian.

The cast three weeks ago was the company's first team. Last night provided an opportunity for Northern Ballet's promising newcomers, but yesterday's show was not in any way second rate. All danced well and all deserve to be commended. Even though I now know the ballet quite well I should still like to see it again. Too bad it is not to be staged outside Yorkshire this year. I do hope the company revives it again soon.

Northern Ballet's Cinderella - a Triumph!

Northern Ballet Cinderella Leeds Grand Theatre 26 Dec 2013

In my review of Scottish Ballet's Hansel and Gretel on 23 Dec 2013 I wrote:

"Brilliantly conceived, brilliantly orchestrated, brilliantly designed and brilliantly danced my only fear is that it will spoil me for the next ballet that I shall see which will be Northern Ballet's Cinderella at the Grand on Boxing Day."

Hansel and Gretel was not the only ballet that might have spoiled me. I had also seen Ashton's Cinderella with Sir Fred and Sir Bob as the ugly sisters. I had seen Matthew Bourne's Cinderella which is set in  wartime London and is the best work from New Adventures that I have seen so far. While waiting for the Grand to open I watched on my mobile phone the trailer for Christopher Wheeldon's new version for the Dutch National Ballet which looks amazing. How could anything that Northern might produce possibly stand comparison?

Well, it does. Nixon's Cinderella is his best work yet. Even better than Gatsby (see "Life follows Art: the Great Gatsby" 8 March 2013) and indeed Dream though the audience did not respond so enthusiastically (see "Realizing Another Dream" 15 Sept 2013).  As you can see from the synopsis Nixon has reworked the story and used a completely new score by Philip Feeney.  Setting the ballet in pre-revolutionary Russia has worked at least as well as Hampson's setting Hansel and Gretel in post-war central Scotland which I commended last week. The first scene brought Chekhov's Cherry Orchard to mind and the circus and skating scenes on the Crystal Lake reminded me of Petrushka. The setting provided the opportunity for some spectacular sets by Duncan Hayler with dashing uniforms for the men and gorgeous skirts and headdresses for the women.

Nixon also created a strong new male character: a magician who replaced the Fairy Godmother  in other versions of the story. Danced yesterday by Hironao Takahashi who was also Cinderella's father, Count Serbrenska, he literally wrought magic before our eyes. Conjuring tricks at first and then bigger ones such as doing the housework in a trice (making me and probably every other woman in the audience smile)- a better job than even James Dyson for all his technical wizardry could accomplish - and then finally, after audience dazzling light effects, his tour de force, the Cinders mobile. Her sleigh pulled not by mice but by huskies with the word "Cinders" on the sides in flashing lights.  Nixon and Hayler have probably started a new trend in stretched limos. Every girl in Adel, Bramhope and Harrogate will want one for her 18th birthday, prom or hen night.

I must say something about the leading dancers. Like millions of balletomanes I watched Acosta and Nuñez dance Basilio and Kitri in Don Quixote in the cinemas and on BBC4 on Christmas day. There was a special sort of rapport between them which I attributed to their being Latin Americans dancing roles derived from one of the classics of Spanish literature. I saw something of the same yesterday in  Javier Torres, who danced the prince, and Lucia Solari, who was Cinderella. Torres, like Acosta, is Cuban and Solari was born in Uruguay which is next to Argentina though she has lived in Europe for many years. Was it coincidence, my imagination or something more?  Whatever the reason I was captivated by their dancing, particularly the pas de deux at the end of the ball and the second pas de deux in the last scene.

It would however be unfair to single out those two for special praise.  All performed well. Teresa Saavedra-Bordes and Rachael Gillespie, who danced Cinderella's, were anything but ugly except in the way they treated poor Cinders. A strong performance from Jessica Morgan, the stepmother.  Oh and I loved the performing bear who I suspect was Matthew Broadbent.

If you want to know more about the show Janet McNulty, who seems to be as big a fan of Northern Ballet as me, has written some marvellous notes for Balletcoforum  I have just discovered that forum and am hooked on it. It is a wonderful resource and I commend it to all. Cinderella will be at Leeds until the 4 January 2014 and it will be staged in Hull and Cardiff in April. If you live in or near any of those cities you really must see it.

My only thought - which is only half frivolous - is will Cinderella spoil me for the next ballet that I shall be see which will be Giselle with Acosta and Osipova on 18 Jan in Covent Garden? When I tweeted that thought yesterday @norhernballet (Dolly?) replied that Giselle might give me the wilis which provided plenty of Myrthe.

Realizing Another Dream

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Northern  Ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream  West Yorkshire Playhouse 14 Sept 2013

Perhaps the best way to start this review is at the end. I could not help rising to my feet as the cast took their bows. And I was not the only one.  The English, unlike Americans, are very slow to give standing ovations (except at party conferences) and I have only seen other in my lifetime.  That was a special evening for Sir Frederick Ashton at Covent Garden in July 1970 when he retired as director of the Royal Ballet.   It seems from the tweets and video that Northern Ballet's short season at West Yorkshire Playhouse (6 to 14 Sept 2013) has also been very special.

I was reminded of Ashton's farewell evening in other ways.  That was the last time I heard a dancer speak. Then it was Svetlana Beriosova. I can't remember exactly what she said except that she spoke in French and her voice was as pure and as elegant as her dance. Last night we heard Kevin Poeung who doubled as Puck, an irascible ballet master, and Puck as Robin Goodfellow. Poeung spoke twice in the ballet - in Act 1 in a rehearsal studio which looked remarkably similar  to Northern's own studios (see "Realizing a Dream" 12 Sept 2013 to see how I know) and then at the very end of Act 3.  Poeung uttered the lines we all learned at school. 

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends."

It appears from a video of a rehearsal which was released at the time of the production that the choreographer, David Nixon, used voice a lot more in rehearsal. I should be interested to know whether he or other choreographers use that technique in rehearsing other works. In Giselle, perhaps, for when she is shown Albrecht's sword and goes mad and dies of humiliation.  Certainly, that technique proved very effective yesterday evening.

When I thought of Ashton I remembered that he had also choreographed Midsummer Night's Dream as had George Balanchine and several other choreographers.  Perhaps not surprisingly Nixon's Dream is very different from Ashton's and indeed Balanchine's as you can see from the synopsis.  It moves from the real to the ethereal and then back to reality again.  Something that ballet can do so much better than most other art forms including cinema if you think of Giselle, Swan Lake and even Nutcracker.   Nixon's version incorporates a chunk of Romeo and Juliet including Prokofiev's music not to mention Brahms (see John Pryce-Jones's video). I have to confess that I have been rather exasperated with Nixon in the past for taking liberties with familiar plots such as "Beauty and the Beast", "Ondine" and "Nutcracker". Even though I had bristled momentarily at Nixon's setting Romeo and Juliet in the 1940s which was nearly 20 years before Kenneth Macmillan staged that work for Nixon's compatriot Lynn Seymour his liberty taking yesterday succeeded brilliantly.

The transition from real to ethereal and back again - in this case, studio to station, a train, the land of dreams, back to another station and a stage in Edinburgh - was quite a challenge for a set designer. It was achieved seamlessly and imaginatively by Duncan Hayter. I loved the train particularly, as it pulled out of the station, and the cramped couchettes and WC.   I thought the sets in Gatsby had been good but yesterday's were even better.   So, also, were the costumes - both those of the mortals and those of the fairies - the best of all being Bottom's ass outfit.

Bottom, danced by Darren Goldsmith, had us in stitches as he pranced with Titania braying as she stroked his ears or gave him a carrot.  "Sounds like my central heating" whispered my companion who has had no end of problems with her plumbing.  Also as a carpenter hopelessly in love with a ballerina (Antoinette Brooks-Daw) - particularly poignant as the ballet was set in the late 1940s when class divisions were so much more rigid than they are today.  Matthew Broadbent as a tailor or dressmaker also made us laugh as he tried to retrieve his dignity when faced down by a supercilious choreographer (Hironao Takahashi) and bullying ballet master.

There was some brilliant choreography for some of my favourite dancers, Kenneth Tindall and Tobias Batley as Lysander and Demetrius and Pippa Moore and Martha Leebolt as Helena and Hermia.  The best bit for me was a pas de trois in Act 2 as Lysander and Demetrius competed to get rid of Hermia in order to pursue Helena.  But there was also brilliance from Takehashi as Theseus, Brookes-Daw as Hippolyta and. of course, Poeung as Robin Goodfellow.

This work is going to Newcastle, Woking and Nottingham this Autumn and in Spring to Edinburgh, Norwich, Milton Keynes and Southampton.  If you live anywhere near those cities and towns do go to see it. There is a charming note in the programme entitled "Tales from Touring". Quoting from Sarah Woodcock's history of the Birmingham Royal Ballet the note observes: "There was nothing like a long tour for welding the already close company into a company cohesive unit."  That must be particularly true of Northern Ballet.  It has matured so much since "A Simple Man", the first time I saw that company.

The programme note refers to "a huge if not totally discriminating audience" in the provinces and I suppose that must apply to me  as this post is less of a review than an encomium.  But I hope that those who know better will forgive me for I do so love Northern Ballet.